Kit Kats are iconic among Japan’s many famous snacks and treats. In 2014, Nestlé capitalized on this success by opening the first Kit Kat (or KitKat) Chocolatory: a boutique specialty Kit Kat store offering a range of special edition products.
Beloved locally and internationally, these tasty little chocolate bars are particularly popular in Japan, where over 400 unique flavors have been released, and new seasonal varieties frequently appear. At the Chocolatory, Kit Kats come in different flavors and are hand-crafted with high-grade chocolate and special ingredients, overseen by renowned patissier Yasumasa Takagi.
While there are as many as eight Kit Kat Chocolatories in Japan, the Kit Kat Chocolatory in Ginza is one of the only chocolatory stores that isn’t located inside a department store and houses a café on the second floor. Here, you’ll find a menu that boasts a range of handmade offerings, from sweet treats to a light savory menu and a range of hot and cold drinks.
While everything is good, the desserts and cakes are the main events. The little cakes are especially popular: various shapes, sizes, and flavors, each bursting with color behind their display case. Beautiful and decadent, these decadent gateaux rival anything you’ll see in Paris, with particular emphasis on chocolate, cream, and seasonal fruit flavors.
However, if you’re more interested in desserts containing Japanese Kit Kats, you’ll have to order one of the store’s two parfaits. Parfaits are a common dessert option throughout Japan, where they mimic their American counterparts, combining various ingredients like nuts, yogurt, cream, fruits, and ice cream in a tall serving glass.
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The first parfait on offer at the Ginza Chocolatory is the “I ♡ Fruits” parfait, which layers three different flavors of ice cream with a selection of fresh fruit before topping it all off with a variety of fruit-flavored Kit Kats.
The second option, the “Sublime Matcha Parfait,” is a more quintessentially Japanese treat, showcasing the classic flavor combination of matcha green tea and chocolate. This parfait combines handmade matcha ice cream, chocolate cookie pieces, matcha sponge cake, and two crunchy bars of bitter chocolate and matcha-flavored Kit Kats for the perfect melding of bitter and sweet.
Finally, the restaurant offers a range of cold and hot drinks, from various coffees to premium matcha tea. Surprisingly, the fixed menu excludes hot chocolate, but that doesn’t mean you won’t find it! Over the years, various decadent chocolate drinks have appeared for a limited time—like the tart, rich Ruby Hot Chocolate from 2018!
Meanwhile, in the Kit Kat shop downstairs, you’ll find more than 15 types of premium Kit Kats. Some are sold individually, while others are only available in beautiful gift boxes. To begin with, there’s the Sublime collection: a range of premium Kit Kats created by Yasumasa Takagi that come in bitter, milk, white, ruby, matcha, and raw cocoa varieties.
The Sublime Volcanic range also features Kit Kats from an extremely rare cocoa cultivated on volcanic islands. These chocolate bars have a strong, earthy taste, making them perfect for lovers of dark chocolate.
Also available is the “I ♡ Fruits” collection, featured in the café’s fruit parfait. These chocolate bars are coated in white chocolate with various fruit flavorings, including strawberry, blackberry, raspberry, passionfruit, and yuzu.
Aside from these mainstays, the Chocolatory store also sells other limited edition flavors, like chili Kit Kats, sake Kit Kats, and dried fruit and nut Kit Kats. As with all limited edition goods, however, please note that since the stock changes regularly, it’s almost impossible to fully predict which 400 Kit Kat flavors will be offered!
Lastly, the Kit Kat Chocolatory in Ginza also offers a special “message gift service,” letting you personalize your chocolate gifts! For a fee, the patissiers at the Chocolatory will decorate three Kit Kat bars with a hand-written message and decorative pattern of your choice. The final product is then packaged in a dedicated gift box, making this one a no-brainer gift for the Kit Kat lovers in your life!
Overall, the Kit Kat Chocolatory is a must-visit for anyone with a sweet tooth. In Ginza, Japanese restaurants with luxury patisseries are a dime a dozen, but the Chocolatory stands out with fun decor and an impressive variety of treats.
This store shows that Kit Kats are more than a fun, gimmicky snack—they can also be a premium chocolate dessert to be offered as a classy gift or enjoyed as part of a high-end café experience. Have you ever been to the Kit Kat Chocolatory before? Let us know in the comments below!
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