Chocolate surprise

One of the important lessons we learned in our early days in Japan was this - it's not wrong, just different. You can apply that to many things we bump up against day by day and it's always a good principle to remember. But one thing that really is different here is chocolate. It's quite incredible just what the chocolate makers in Japan come up with. The humble Kit Kat seems to change its colour and flavour almost every month as more and more bizarre kinds appear - apple vinegar, caramel & salt, wasabi, cucumber to name but a few! It's quite fun to look on the shelves in the supermarket to discover the latest flavour - not that we might want to buy them. Now drinks are following on. Chocolate sparkling soda has hit the market. There is even a beer called Chocolat Brewery Bitter. And at Christmas time a neighbour brought us some chocolate-coated potato crisps. Everyone liked them (except David) but none of us is very keen to try to the chocolate sparkling soda. As the blurb on the box says - 'By breaking down old customs and producing consistently original items, we are pursuing a new level in chocolate enjoyment'. In many ways that sums up modern Japan - how to blend old customs with originality, even at the level of chocolate.