You cannot visit Tokyo without meeting them. These pale yellow boxes of individually wrapped bite-sized cakes are decorated with images of the capital’s most famous tourist attractions, and sometimes the most famous animated characters in Japan.
Every year, hundreds of thousands of packages wrapped in gold ribbons of Tokyo bananas are sold around transport hubs and tourist areas in Japan, and are branded as the city’s official snack.
But what does Tokyo bananas have to do with Tokyo, a city that doesn’t actually have banana trees?
Unlike many Japanese treats, made from ingredients unique to various regions and associated with thousands of years of manufacturing tradition (think Udon noodles, green tea, and Yuba candies), Tokyo bananas were born purely from capitalism.
In the 20th century, Tokyo grew into the world’s largest city and opened to tourists around the world, so there was still not much tradition to call itself. There were no outstanding food or drink products unique to Tokyo.
Compare it to Kyoto, the capital of Japan from the 8th to the 19th century. Since 1702, one restaurant has been making buckwheat noodles from locally grown buckwheat.
Japanese snack maker Grapeston saw a vacuum there and decided to create a Tokyo-centric product that could be sold as a local specialist.
“Tokyo is a place where a variety of people come all over Japan and it will be their hometown,” a representative from Grapeston told CNN.
“We decided to invent Tokyo souvenirs with a nostalgic theme that all Japanese people are familiar with. Bananas are a taste of high-end or imported products for the elderly.
The result was a banana-shaped snack that was fluffy on the outside and filled with a banana-flavored cream.
Or, as Katie Thompson, a Tokyo-based tour guide, says, “fantastic Twinkie.”
Tokyo Banana is the perfect example omiyagea Japanese tradition in which people who have recently travelled bring gifts (usually edible) to friends, family and colleagues.
Like so many Japanese customs, there is a nuance to choosing and purchasing the perfect omiyage.
They are more than just souvenirs. Unlike the West, where returning travelers may reclaim magnets and t-shirts for their loved ones, Omiyage is mostly a food and drink that must be consumed immediately after the buyer’s return.
By that logic, gifts are usually foods known only from one region or especially good. Examples include salt from the sunny islands of Okinawa, traditional matcha from Kyoto, and Apple Treats from Aomori Prefecture in northern Japan.
But while Omiyaji may be a Japanese tradition, the biggest market for Tokyo Bananas is foreign tourists rather than locals, a move the company says is intentional. Grapestone told CNN that retail space was offered at Haneda Airport in the 1990s, urging them to invent the Tokyo banana in the first place.
Tokyo Banana was quickly associated with the city of the same name, as the branding and product names of Tokyo were clearly written in English.
Jeff Louis, a Canadian living in Japan, believes that Tokyo bananas are sold beautifully to international tourists.
“You’re very little obligation to go back home and buy this omission for your friends. They say, ‘Hey, I was thinking of you while I was there, and there’s this thing you know you’ll use.’ ”
But on social media, that’s another story.
Tiktalkers from outside of Japan will make beelines for snacks when they arrive in Tokyo. Some show off the unusual flavors they caught, while others give hints on what they bring back as a gift for their family. And like the American Twinkies, they’re fun to hang out just like they eat.
The creator is dining with Adrien’s Tokyo Banana review. It has earned around 260,000 views on Tiktok, and yelled the commenters to say what amount they want to buy for themselves.
Thompson, who has lived in Japan for about eight years, admits that Tokyo Bananas are not her personal snack.
“I’m not my biggest fan. I think the inside is a very artificial tasting. Bananas don’t really help to become sweet custards and candies.”
She says that back to our home country, friends and relatives asked about Tokyo Bananas, but she won’t buy it for them.
“It’s my go-to. If you’re traveling internationally, I’ll pick up a sugar butter sand tree. It has a stupid name, but it’s actually a delicious cookie.” Coincidentally, cookies are also a brake product.
Louis agrees that Tokyo bananas are not something he picks up and eats himself, but he deals with many questions from his hometown of Canada’s loved ones on the visit.
“Every time someone from Toronto comes (to Japan), they say, ‘Ah, I saw this Tokyo banana thing, I bought some boxes to take home,'” and on his website Tokyo Chase, Louis reviews other Japanese snacks and tries to maneuver people in different directions, especially if they want to be foodies, if they want to be foodies.
In recent years, Tokyo Banana has been working hard to become more locally friendly.
Grapeston regularly fires new flavors such as lemon, cherry and honey. To create a buzz, certain products can only be purchased at certain outlets, such as in fashionable ginza-area shops.
The brand works with popular homemade characters such as Pikachu, Chikawa, Hello Kitty and Doraemon. And of course there is also a Tokyo banana flavored kit cat.
In 2022, Tokyo Banana opened its flagship store within Tokyo Station. To celebrate, they tried some delicious products. “We tried a spin on a popular Japanese curry bread made with pork and beef stewed in onions, heavy cream and banana puree.
Grapeston does not accurately reveal the number of products sold in a year, but its website states that Tokyo bananas are the most popular food souvenirs in Japan’s capital.
The brand tells CNN that if they laid out all of the Tokyo bananas sold over the year, they would reach the US from the Pacific Ocean.
But they usually travel in the air.
Editor’s Note: CNN’s Contribution to Nishikawa.