Sparkling strawberry KitKat is made with a pink colored chocolate and the regular cookie center.  The cookie also contains a powder that creates a small fizzing sensation.  This is what gives this flavor the “sparkling” name.

      


There is an advertisement on the back for making your own customized KitKat boxes. You can check the Chocollabo link below. The website is only in Japanese.


KitKat Chocollabo
KitKat BreakTown
Nestle Japan

Ginger Ale KitKat comes in a box that contains two packs of KitKat. Each one has two sticks. The front of the package shows a glass of Ginger Ale with a slice of lemon in it. The front of the box also mentions that 0.3% of Lemon Powder is used along with artificial
ginger ale flavors.

The candy bar is an off white color and has the scent of ginger and lemon. The first bite revealed a lemon flavor and a ginger taste slowly started to appear. The lemon and ginger blend went really well together to create a refreshing flavor. A ginger taste lingers as an aftertaste.

If you like ginger ale then this would be a good snack to try. If you are not a fan of ginger then this snack may not be for you as the ginger flavor lingers for a while after eating. All in all, this is a nice refreshing flavor for KitKat!

The back of the package reads:
「ジンジャーエールの爽やかさを
キットカットで表現しました。
今しか食べる事の出来ない
この味をお楽しみください。」

「ジンジャーエール風味のチョコレート」
「ジンジャーエールパウダー＋レモンパウダー
＋シュワシュワパウダー入りクリーム」

This last part means that they used ginger ale flavored chocolate which is filled with a cream that contains ginger ale powder, lemon powder and “bubbly” powder.

Enjoy!
Steve

All links are Japanese Only:
Calorie Information
KitKat BreakTown
Nestle Japan

Royal Milk Tea is a popular black tea drink in Japan. It is black tea with milk and a lot of sugar. Most brands are very very sweet. I am not sure where the name Royal Milk Tea comes from however it seems as though it is the image of British Tea.

The package of this KitKat has a nice plaid background and a British guard which just reinforces the idea that Royal Milk Tea is a British flavor. The candy itself has a sweet smell with a soft hint of black tea. Milk tea is a good flavor for KitKat because the creamy texture of the chocolate matches the normal taste of milk tea. The flavor is milky with a little tea and the tea flavor remained as an aftertaste.

This is a very delicious KitKat for lovers of Royal Milk Tea. I also recommend this for anyone who likes very sweet candy.

The back of the package reads:
「紅茶の本場、英国でも
好んで飲まれるミルクティー。
まろやかなミルクティー味を
英国生まれのキットカットで
お楽しみください。」

Enjoy!
Steve

All links are Japanese Only:
Calorie Information
KitKat BreakTown
Nestle Japan

In lieu of a review I will give you some suggestions for how to use this test. If you are planning on taking the Level 1 or Level 2 test this year you should run to the store (or to your favorite online store) and buy this as soon as possible.

Two or more weeks before the official test, you should sit down in a quiet place with a timer and take the test. Follow the official times and make sure that you do not get distracted by anything. You want to simulate the actual test environment as close as possible. In my experience, some examinees do not have enough time to complete the test so timing yourself during the test is important. Once you have completed the test you should take a break and walk away.

Relax. Come back an hour later (or the next day) and check your answers. Pay attention to the sections that you had the worst score on. Those are the sections that you need to work on the most. Go through each of the problems that you got wrong and check why you got them wrong. This is very important. Was it a careless mistake? Vocabulary problem? Grammar problem? Do you know that information but made a mistake or is it something that you are not familiar with? Look up unfamiliar vocabulary. Practice grammar that you do not know. Listen to your textbook and test CDs as practice.

If you are planning on taking the level 1 test, start with the level 2 test. This should be easy for you if you are really at level 1. This can help build your confidence while giving you a little more test taking experience。

Samples:

Sample answers, CDs and Back Cover:

Japan Educational Exchange and Services

In lieu of a review I will give you some suggestions for how to use this test. If you are planning on taking the Level 3 or Level 4 test this year you should run to the store (or to your favorite online store) and buy this as soon as possible.

Two or more weeks before the official test, you should sit down in a quiet place with a timer and take the test. Follow the official times and make sure that you do not get distracted by anything. You want to simulate the actual test environment as close as possible. In my experience, some examinees do not have enough time to complete the test so timing yourself during the test is important. Once you have completed the test you should take a break and walk away.

Relax. Come back an hour later (or the next day) and check your answers. Pay attention to the sections that you had the worst score on. Those are the sections that you need to work on the most. Go through each of the problems that you got wrong and check why you got them wrong. This is very important. Was it a careless mistake? Vocabulary problem? Grammar problem? Do you know that information but made a mistake or is it something that you are not familiar with? Look up unfamiliar vocabulary. Practice grammar that you do not know. Listen to your textbook and test CDs as practice.

If you are planning on taking the level 3 test, start with the level 4 test. This should be easy for you if you are really at level 3. This can help build your confidence while giving you a little more test taking experience.

Sample pages:






Answer key sample, CD, Back Cover:



Japan Educational Exchange and Services

When opening the bag, a wonderful coffee aroma filled the room. Opening the first bar revealed a slightly stronger coffee flavor and an off-white colored chocolate bar. The bar has the same smooth and delicious flavor that you would expect from a KitKat. The coffee and milk flavors beautifully match the chocolate and cookie.

Fans of coffee would love this new flavor. It is a 期間限定 (limited time) candy so run to the local supermarket or convenience store if you want to try it.

KitKat Breaktown
Nestle Japan

Why do I consider it to be the best?

1) Examples, examples, examples!

This dictionary is loaded with example sentences and snippets of how to use a lot of the vocabulary words! This is the most invaluable for students of the language. In the beginning you will find some of the examples difficult to understand perfectly due to the fact that you may not understand the grammar used in that particular sentence but they were nice enough to provide English translations of all the examples sentences. Also in some cases they point out that the difference between literal translations and actual meanings.

2) Clarity.

Sometimes in English a word can take on multiple meanings (esp. phrasal verbs) and this dictionary lists the most common meanings. Eg. “turn down” means: fold over 折り畳む, lower 下げる and refuse 断る. Other special cases are usually given examples, such as: “turn down the TV” テレビの音を小さくする.

3) It’s paper.

No, really! Stick with me. I think that online dictionaries have their place. Electric dictionaries are lightweight, small, convenient and portable but there are big advantages to paper dictionaries. First, they force you to remember the Japanese alphabet. This may seem pretty trivial but a few months after learning kana many students forget the proper order. Second, it is easier to scan a page and find what you want. You can also find other interesting words when scanning through a page. Finally, I think paper dictionaries are nice because you can open them to any page at random and learn some new words.

4) It is relatively cheap.

When you compare the price for this dictionary to that of an electronic dictionary you will see what I mean. Also, since most electronic dictionaries are designed for Japanese speakers they can be frustrating to use until your knowledge of Japanese improves.

5) Extras / Other

Furigana is the use of hiragana to write out the reading of kanji. What a lot of other dictionaries do is use Romaji, or romanization or Japanese sounds, which slows down your progress. All kanji in this dictionary are written with furigana so that you can read the sentences. This dictionary also includes conjugation information as well as a list of numbers and counters. The appendices also include a list of Japanese prefectures, some selected Japanese cities and foreign countries with the names written in katakana.

Disadvantages

There are just a few negatives. First, this dictionary is filled with the basic vocabulary for learning Japanese therefore more advanced words and slang are not included. Next, it is about 1200 pages so it is not so portable. Finally, I found the font to be too small. Some more advanced kanji are very small and can be difficult to write. I have sometimes needed to type the word into the computer to see all the strokes, or consult a kanji dictionary.

In conclusion, “Kodansha’s Furigana Japanese Dictionary” is a fantastic resource for studying Japanese. If you are new to Japanese or you have been studying for a few years, head to your local bookstore and check it out. You will probably find it to be a great resource in your Japanese studies.

Why peach and peach? Well, there are many varieties of peach in the world. When you are shopping in most supermarkets in Japan most peaches are labeled as “peach” or “white peach” (depending on city and supermarket chain). Peaches are usually written as 「黄桃」or 「おうとう」and white peaches are written 「白桃」or 「はくとう」 in Japanese.

The peach flavor in the mint is really strong and refreshing. These mints are sugarless and contain peach flavors in three ways: peach juice, peach capsules and peach chips. Juice is easy to understand but capsule and chips are pretty vague to me. I think that capsules are artificially flavored capsules and chips are small pieces of fruit however I am only guessing.

Mintia Peach and Peach is a delicious mint for fans of peaches! They make a great after meal mint.

Mintia’s Homepage
Asahi’s homepage

Caramel Pudding KitKat is made from caramel pudding flavored chocolate with some caramel powder in the cookie wafers. The flavor is very creamy and the more you crunch up the cookie, the stronger the caramel flavor becomes. It is quite sweet.

If you are a fan of caramel, or having a Halloween party, then I would suggest giving these a try. Each individual package has a small message on it. I saw about 5 unique messages in the pack I bought but I am not sure how many there are in total. It just adds to the fun!

Enjoy!

KitKat BREAKTOWN
Nestle Japan

The December 2009 test application period is from August 28th to October 2nd. In Japan, a payment of ￥5,500 needs to be made at a post office and the letter needs to be sent using registered mail. The December test is for all four of the current JLPT levels. In 2010, the test levels will be updated.

Good news! Some information was released in the guide book about the 2010 test. It looks like N5 is the current level 4. N4 is the current level 3, N3 is new and is a step between the current level 2 and 3. Level 2 and 1 stay the same. The document says: 「ほぼ同じレベル」 which means “about the same level” so we will have to wait for the official documentation to be published to be sure.
For those people that have taken the Summer 2009 test, they advise that you wait to get your results before applying for the winter test.

Good luck everyone!
みんなさん、がんばって！

Steve

For more information check the official JLPT website at http://www.jlpt.jp/