At this point, Japan's reputation for combining unusual flavors is more of a badge of honor than a quirky trend in their confectionery and beverage culture. If anything, foreign visitors are just as likely to search out the newest and most exotic Kit-Kat flavor as they are an authentic cup of green tea. Whether you see that as a good trend or not is up to you, but in the fast moving world of strange flavored products, a new Frankenstein's Monster of flavors has arrived: Potato-chip flavored cola.

The boundary-testing snack comes courtesy of a collaboration between Namco and Kimura Drink (who already has several unusual cola flavors--eel, ripe tomato, and sweet potato). While cola-flavored potato chips have been produced a few times before in Japan, this time the strange combination will be available in liquid form.

They are supposed to taste like "washing down chips with cola"

The previously released cola chips

So how does it taste? According to Namco, the reality-bending potion is said to have the flavor of potato chips being washed down by cola, and even though it's a beverage allow you to savor a snack, killing two birds with one stone. While "soggy chips" may not exactly be what you call a "hard sell", it's probably the only way this was going to go.

If you want to get your hands on the soda-drenched potato chip beverage, you'll have to earn it, however. The cola isn't available for retail, and will instead be available for a limited time only at game centers and arcades in Japan, starting March 18th. Sometimes these goods find their way to retail shelves later on, so keep your eyes peeled.

But hey, at least hard-working gamers at arcades won't have to dirty up their fingers for their chip-fix!