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In Japan, the Kit Kat Isn’t Just a Chocolate
- yohann305 8y agoI'm surprised to see this on the first page of HN. I'm trying really hard to see how this could belong here. Anyone care to explain?! thanks
- kurthr 8y agoSometimes a boring but previously popular product finds a new niche in a different country/culture and booms. That boom could reach all the way back to the home country, because they innovated elsewhere (while protecting their base cash flow).
- wst_ 8y agoIs it less boring because they added few flavors? Not to mention that Kit Kat in Japan is really just another kind of cheap sweets among hundreds of others. Is there anything to learn here? Is the article thoughts provoking? I thought those are key points not to get flagged in the first place.
- kurthr 8y agoThey are doing something new and it is spreading across cultures... https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2018/10/cryogenic-candy-in-japan-we-dine-at-the-worlds-first-custom-kit-kat-shop/ https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2018/10/cryogenic-candy-in-ja...
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]
- enqk 8y agoIt's the modern version of orientalism. Somehow you can make anything sound intriguing if you add "... in Japan" at the end.
- Isamu 8y agoYou don't eat Kit Kats while hacking? Time for a survey: what is your go-to hacking snack or drink?
- noir_lord 8y agoBlack coffee with a touch of honey. Raisins. Bland but doesn't upset my stomach.
- sexydefinesher 8y agoClub Mate and Cheez Crunchers
- kzrdude 8y agoHacking for fun is one of those activities that engulf me and make me forget to eat for many hours.
- PurpleRamen 8y agoLicorice and coke.
- RankingMember 8y agoDiet Dr Pepper or Iced Green tea
- islandowl 8y agoJava Monster Mean Bean and Ms. Vickies' Salt and Vinegar crisps.
- bovermyer 8y agoCoffee, black. Or if it's after 5 PM or so, beer. But my code quality drops dramatically after a couple of those...
- dagw 8y agoWork hacking: Coffee before lunch, roibos tea after lunch. Fun hacking: red wine.
- ourmandave 8y ago
- pxtail 8y agoAgree, semi-clickbait articles from mainstream sources like theverge, theguardian , nytimes (this one especially) seem to be thriving recently(?). I suppose that HN got widely recognized as source of high quality traffic and content is artificially pushed to fp now.
- dang 8y agoNo, the situation has been the same for many years, as you can easily tell from looking at old submission histories.
- Raphmedia 8y agoI believe that HN readers also have a special place in their heart for Japanese snacks after those articles got trending: https://www.candyjapan.com/behind-the-scenes/algorithmic-fitting-of-japanese-candy https://www.candyjapan.com/behind-the-scenes/algorithmic-fit... https://www.candyjapan.com/behind-the-scenes/how-many-lines-of-code-is-candy-japan https://www.candyjapan.com/behind-the-scenes/how-many-lines-...
- slazaro 8y agoTopics here don't have to be technical in nature. From the guidelines [0]: On-Topic: Anything that good hackers would find interesting. [...] anything that gratifies one's intellectual curiosity. [0] https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
- burke 8y agoPeople voted it up, therefore it belongs here.
- enraged_camel 8y agoThese types of “why is this article on HN” posts need to be made a bannable offense. Sorry but you aren’t entitled to seeing only the submissions you want to read.
- emsy 8y agoWhen I was in Japan I think I came back with 7 different flavours of KitKat. And they all (but one or so) tasted really good. It's too bad they aren't available elsewhere. Another type of Candy where the Japanese get creative with flavours are Pocky sticks. There's always a flavour you didn't try yet.
- dforrestwilson 8y agoI have been pleasantly surprised with Japanese takes on American desserts and pastries. They tone down the sugar and elevate the texture and flavor imho.
- aidenn0 8y agoI can get matcha flavored KitKats at a local store here in the US. That has not been good for my waistline.
- bootlooped 8y agoI was most amused to find a "Men's" Pocky in Japan. I couldn't believe I'd been eating gender-neutral Pocky the entire time before.
- Kagerjay 8y agoTomato flavored pocky is so good
- pbhjpbhj 8y agoFWIW Pocky are called Mikado in the UK (made under license from Glico by Kraft AFAICT, [0]). They're marketed as quirky [and] Japanese, rather like [1]. But, I think they only do one flavour. Are the flavoured ones the same thin breadstick with different flavoured coatings? Are they all chocolate based? To me they're vaguely reminiscent of Corinthians[2], which are rather like the inner part of a kit-kat too. Corinthians used to be served in ice-cream in UK restaurants. [0] https://www.otakunews.com/Article/1451/is-mikado-pocky-a-taste-comparison https://www.otakunews.com/Article/1451/is-mikado-pocky-a-tas... [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mikado https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mikado [2] https://shop.countdown.co.nz/shop/productdetails?stockcode=58444&name=corinthians-wafer-sticks-chocolate https://shop.countdown.co.nz/shop/productdetails?stockcode=5...
- tokyodude 8y agoThis is just my personal observation with no data but AFAICT Kit Kat is *mostly" for tourists here in Japan. If there's an obsession it seems to me it's tourists buying them. I could be wrong but I've never personally seen Japanese people buying them (of course they must, just saying that I haven't noticed). I just walked over to 3 convenience stores that have a large candy selections. The 7/11 had no Kit Kats out of 80 chocolate based candies on display. There were also non-chocolate based candies as well as other snacks. The 2 Family Marts, one had a single "maple" flavor. The other had a chestnut flavor but similar to the 7/11 those were 1 of 50-90 other chocolate candies. That said since you're more likely to be a vistor if you're reading this, if you want to go crazy for Kit Kats there's a few of "high end" Kit Kat stands you can bring back more rare $4-$5 per stick Kit Kats (probably mentioned in the article) https://nestle.jp/brand/kit/inbound/en/chocolatory/store.html https://nestle.jp/brand/kit/inbound/en/chocolatory/store.htm... You can see examples here https://nestle.jp/brand/kit/inbound/en/chocolatory/product.html https://nestle.jp/brand/kit/inbound/en/chocolatory/product.h... or better pictures here https://nestle.jp/brand/kit/chocolatory/product/ https://nestle.jp/brand/kit/chocolatory/product/
- dforrestwilson 8y agoSpending 50% of my time in an investment office in Japan - at least one secretary I know loves Kit Kat and Reese’s
- timr 8y agoSame. Lived in Japan, rarely saw anyone outside of tourists buying them. Combinis and grocery stores hardly ever feature them (unless those stores get tourist traffic).
- vanwalj 8y agoSame observation here, before my first trip I expected Kit Kat to be huge there
- ForrestN 8y agoI saw a very popular seasonal KitKat stand within Seibu department store when I was visiting Japan, and I didn't notice any other tourist-looking people around. Is it possible that it's just not popular in the convenience store market, but is more popular in competition with all of the higher-end sweets people were constantly giving me, talking about, and eating while I was there?
- JohnJamesRambo 8y agoI always wondered what the back story is on that show about Kit Kats in Japan that is on Amazon Prime and now I know. https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B0779HX39G https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B0779HX39G It was a pretty good show, I liked it a lot. Seeing how they grow Wasabi, make 7-spice, etc. was really fascinating.
- GreaterFool 8y agoIt is just chocolate. Personally, Strawberry Pocky > KitKat.
- anthk 8y agoMatcha Tea Pocky >> Whatever.
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]
- amyjess 8y agoIf you enjoy reading about this kind of phenomenon, TV Tropes has a whole article on things that have developed huge cult followings in export markets but are considered rather pedestrian in the home market. It's titled "Germans Love David Hasselhoff". https://tvtropes.org/Main/GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff https://tvtropes.org/Main/GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff
- akeck 8y agoFor example, Kit Kat Japan won a Cannes Media Grand Prix award in 2009 for creating a candy-box-post-card sold in Japanese post-offices. I believe the idea was to enable a convenient way to send a gift during Japan's gift-giving seasons.
- codesuki 8y agoI wonder how Kit Kat is made in Germany. To me they taste better than the Japanese (plain) Kit Kat. Different chocolate? Sweeter? Not sure.