kitto katsu

The makers of Kit Kat are struggling to cope with a surge in demand for the chocolate bar in Japan, because the country's teenagers believe that it will help them pass exams.

Kit Kat, an expression invented in Britain in the 1930s, sounds eerily close to “kitto katsu,” a Japanese exam-season mantra that literally means “I’ll do my best to make sure I succeed.”

Telegraph.co.uk — Exam fever gives Japan a craving for Kit Kat

I don’t buy that the Kit Kats are any harder to find than normal. They’re readily available from every convenience store and supermarket I frequent, and in a lot more flavors than the US sports. There are strawberry, lemon cheesecake, passionfruit, and green tea flavored Kit Kat, as well as “White” (white chocolate) and “Gold” varieties. Gold is interesting because it is an upgraded version of a normal Kit Kat; it has better wafer creme (vanilla?) in it, and the chocolate is dusted with cocoa powder, before individually wrapping each ½-stick. There are definitely too many brands of Kit Kat out there; maybe only one of them is hard to find?