KYODO NEWS - Oct 18, 2018 - 18:10 | All, Lifestyle, Japan

Japan is known for its ever-growing list of unique KitKat flavors, but now Nestle Japan Ltd. is taking its premium version of the chocolate bar to the next level -- a new specialty shop in downtown Osaka offering customers made-to-order creations that are chilled at the spot by liquid nitrogen.

While personalized bars have been available for limited occasions at pop-up stores in the past, the KitKat Chocolatory shop that opened Wednesday is the first and only permanent spot in Japan where custom KitKats can be made.

Customers can pick from five types of chocolate and choose three toppings from a selection of nine, such as dried mango, pineapple and marshmallow. The KitKat bar is then chilled at minus 196 C by having liquid nitrogen poured over it.

Prices start from 702 yen ($6) a bar, depending on the choice of chocolate. Customers can also choose to have all nine toppings on their chocolate bar for 2,214 yen, according to Nestle.

Given the popularity of Kitkat products among foreign tourists as souvenirs from Japan, the latest KitKat Chocolatory store is located right in front of the ticket gates at Nankai Electric Railway's Namba Station, which is in Osaka's major sightseeing and business district frequented by overseas visitors.

A train ticket counter with multilingual staff is also available next to the store, the railway company said.