Explore

Make Your Own KitKat at Miyashita Park’s KitKat Chocolatory

Break me off a piece of my own personalized KitKat bar.

By Aaron Baggett Oct 2, 2020 5 min read 2

2024 Update: The KitKat Chocolatory at Miyashita Park is permanently closed. Currently, only the Saitama branch is open.

Japan does KitKats better than anywhere else. Although a UK confection, most people here will tell you KitKats are a distinctly Japanese treat. Can you blame them? It’s practically a cultural phenomenon. Japan is Nestle’s best in sales and profits, and the company has released around 400 flavors nationwide. But what better flavor than something of your own invention?

The new Miyashita Park shopping complex recently opened in Shibuya, with it, the Kit Kat Chocolatory. Here, KitKat devotees and chocolate lovers can design their own personalized KitKat using the store’s My KitKat program.

Having a bit of a sweet tooth myself, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to make my own KitKat. Want to try yourself or learn if the experience is worth your time? Read below to find out.

Become a KitKat chef

After you sit down at the KitKat Chocolatory’s My KitKat station, you’ll receive a checklist to select your chocolate flavor, four toppings, and a gift box. The checklist is available in English, so no worries.

The chocolates available are milk chocolate, dark chocolate, and ruby chocolate, which tastes like raspberry. There were 19 different toppings, such as pretzels, fruits, nuts, and marshmallows.

Truthfully, this was a bit disappointing. I expected to make a jalapeno-infused bacon KitKat with Gummy Bear garnish if that’s what my heart desired. This is more like decorate your own KitKat. So lower your expectations if you plan to go all out with wacky flavors.

Don’t expect to get crazy with the toppings.

Nevertheless, I chose dark chocolate with pretzels, coconut, cacao nibs, and silver dragees because I’m a sophisticated gentleman.

After handing over your checklist, you’ll start making your KitKat. The store provides all the tools you’ll need, and a guide will help you along the way. In my experience, they only spoke in Japanese, but everything was pretty straightforward, and you could watch the guide and other participants if you got lost.

Cut your wafers

Try not to break your Kit Kat before you can even break me off a piece of that Kit Kat bar.

First, you’ll be given a wafer to cut into four pieces with a butter knife. This was, without a doubt, the most difficult part of the process. All around me, people were crying out in pain as their little wafers snapped in half. You’ll feel rushed, but take your time. Besides, you won’t notice the break after adding the chocolate.

Shape your chocolate

Next, you’ll get an official KitKat shaping tray and your chocolate. Initially, it didn’t look like a lot of chocolate, but the tray overflowed with excess chocolate by the end.

You must then carefully press the wafers into the chocolate enough to submerge them. My wafers may have survived the butter knife, but they did not survive my awkward bony fingers. But, again, you’ll hardly notice.

Just piece them together and spread the chocolate over them.

Decorate that bad boy

Nothing wrong with being ugly and delicious.

Finally, you can add your toppings and decorate your KitKat however you want. Because I could not make the monstrosity I had in mind, I considered just making the ugliest KitKat imaginable. Still, as soon as I added the cacao nibs, I couldn’t help but make sure every inch of my KitKat was evenly garnished.

Afterward, the staff will take your KitKat to cool it in a refrigerator for about 30 minutes. During this time, you’re free to explore Miyashita Park, which has tons of restaurants and chill outdoor seating, or just hang out at the Kit Kat Chocolatory.

Exploring the KitKat Chocolatory

The Kit Kat Chocolatory is a small but cute store with a gorgeous chocolate fountain. The My Kit Kat section is the main attraction, but the cafe space features a colorful Kit Kat-inspired piano, and all the cafe seats face toward it like an auditorium.

This is for you if you can play the piano and feel like showing off. As someone who just started learning piano a few weeks ago, I felt pretty proud of myself for playing a couple of video game tunes. Then, a guy immediately sat down after me, nearly bringing everyone to tears.

Your My Kit Kat ticket also comes with a free drink, which you can use now. If you’d rather splurge on something fancy, try a Kit Kat waffle cone, an exclusive Kit Kat Chocolatory treat.

My chocolate masterpiece

After checking out Miyashita Park and getting a bite at Panda Express, my friend and I returned to the Kit Kat Chocolatory to receive the fruits of our labor. My own personal Kit Kat, complete with an official brand, was presented to me in a charming Mount Fuji box.

Not only did it look like a Kit Kat, albeit one that fell onto a movie theater floor, but it also tasted like one too. And, no lie, it may have been the best Kit Kat I’ve ever had. That may be because it was freshly made, but I like to think it was because of all the love and sweat I put into it.

I had a lot of fun, and I can definitely see it as a couple’s attraction and something families can do, especially those with young children. The kids I saw making their own Kit Kat were having a blast. Tourists will also enjoy its novelty and the cool gift box you receive.

In Japan, Kit Kat is synonymous with the phrase kitto katsu, which roughly translates to “absolutely win” in Japanese. Students receive the chocolate as a sort of omamori, or charm for good luck. What more thoughtful Kit Kat omamori can you give a person than one that you personally made?

Try it yourself

The entire experience takes just under an hour and isn’t expensive. First, you must make an online reservation using the official website. My Kit Kat is a popular activity, especially on the weekend, but you can find availability if you book a spot far enough in advance. I didn’t have much trouble purchasing two tickets for a weekday afternoon.

Price: ¥2,160 (includes a drink)

Ticket reservation: kitkatchocolatory-miyashitapark.com

Address: 50-0002 Tokyo, Shibuya City, Shibuya, 1 Chome−26−5 South2階 MIYASHITAPARK - Map

Hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Have you tried making your Kit Kat yet? Tell us how it went in the comments!

Topics: Food and Drink / Tokyo / Travel