Why did bananas become a symbol of Tokyo?

VHO - Visitors cannot come to Tokyo without visiting the stalls selling small, light yellow banana cakes that are individually wrapped.

These stalls are also decorated with images of the capital's most famous tourist attractions, and sometimes, even images of familiar Japanese cartoon characters.

Every year, hundreds of thousands of Tokyo Banana packages are wrapped in gold ribbons and placed for sale throughout the Japanese capital's transportation hubs and tourist areas.

These banana bread packages are considered the city's official snack.

What does Tokyo Banana have to do with Tokyo, a city without banana trees?

According to CNN, unlike many other Japanese dishes, which are made from indigenous ingredients from many different regions and are associated with thousands of years of production traditions (such as udon noodles, green tea and yuzu candy), Tokyo Banana was born with surprises and fun.

In the 20th century, although Tokyo developed into the largest city in the world and opened its doors to tourists from all over the world, the city still lacked its own unique features.

There were no prominent food or beverage products in Tokyo at that time.

Compare that to Kyoto, Japan's capital from the 8th to the 19th centuries: a restaurant has been making soba noodles from locally grown buckwheat since 1702.

Japan is also home to the world's oldest hotel, a hot spring resort that opened in 705.

Japanese snack company Grapestone saw a gap there and decided to create a Tokyo-centric product to market as a local specialty.

Tokyo is a gathering place for people from all over Japan, and it has become their home.

“We decided to create a Tokyo souvenir with a theme that all Japanese people feel familiar and nostalgic about. Bananas are the taste of luxury products or imported goods for older people. For younger people, it is the taste of fond memories of taking (bananas) on field trips,” Grapestone told CNN.

The result is a banana-shaped treat, soft and spongy on the outside with a banana cream filling.

Or, as Tokyo tour guide Katie Thompson puts it, a “luxury Twinkie.”

Gift giving culture

Tokyo Banana is a perfect example of omiyage (souvenirs), a Japanese tradition where visitors to the country often bring back gifts for friends, family and colleagues – often edible items.

Like many other Japanese customs, there are nuances to choosing and buying the perfect omiyage. Food is more than just a souvenir.

Unlike in the West, where returning travelers might bring back a magnet or T-shirt for a loved one, omiyage is almost always something to eat or drink and must be consumed immediately upon the purchaser's return.

Following that logic, gifts are often food products that come from only one region, or are famous for being a specialty of that region — for example, salt from the sunny island of Okinawa, traditional matcha from Kyoto, and apple pies from Aomori Prefecture in northern Japan.

While omiyage may be a Japanese tradition, Tokyo Banana's biggest market is foreign tourists, not locals. Grapestone shares that the company started a retail store at Haneda Airport in the 1990s, which is what inspired them to create Tokyo Banana in the first place.

With its Tokyo branding and product name clearly written in English, Tokyo Banana quickly became associated with the city of the same name.

Jeff Lui, a Canadian living in Japan, said Tokyo Banana has been brilliantly marketed to international tourists.

Meanwhile, TikTok users from abroad are also quick to seek out these snacks when they visit Tokyo.

Some have bragged about the rare taste, while others have shared suggestions for gifts to take home to family. And just like the American Twinkie, crushing them is just as fun as eating them.

In recent years, Tokyo Banana has made an effort to create more locally friendly flavors.

In addition, Grapestone regularly releases new flavors for this banana bread, such as lemon, cherry blossom, or honey.

To create attention, some products will only be sold at a specific store, such as the store in the trendy Ginza district.

The brand also collaborates with popular domestic characters like Pikachu, Chiikawa, Hello Kitty, and Doraemon. And of course, there's Tokyo Banana-flavored Kit Kats.

Source: https://baovanhoa.vn/du-lich/tai-sao-chuoi-lai-tro-thanh-bieu-tuong-cua-tokyo-160168.html