You can’t explore Tokyo without noticing them. These pale-yellow boxes hold individually wrapped bite-sized cakes, often decorated with the city’s iconic landmarks or Japan’s most famous animated characters.
Every year, hundreds of thousands of gold-ribboned Tokyo Banana packages are sold at the city’s train stations, airports, and tourist spots, marketed as Tokyo’s official snack.
But what connection does Tokyo Banana really have to a city where bananas don’t even grow?
Unlike traditional Japanese treats tied to local ingredients and centuries of history—like Kyoto’s soba noodles, green tea, or yuzu candies—Tokyo Banana was created entirely for commercial purposes. As Tokyo expanded into the world’s largest city in the 20th century, it lacked a food product that could serve as a recognizable symbol for locals and tourists alike.
By contrast, cities like Kyoto have centuries-old culinary traditions: a restaurant there has been making soba from local buckwheat since 1702, and Japan’s oldest hotel, a hot springs resort, has been operating since 705.
Seeing this gap, snack manufacturer Grapestone decided to develop a Tokyo-specific product. A company representative told CNN: “Tokyo is a place where people from all over Japan gather, becoming a hometown for them. We wanted to create a souvenir that evokes familiarity and nostalgia for all Japanese. Bananas represent high-end imported treats for older generations, and fun memories for younger ones, like school field trips.”
The result: soft, banana-shaped cakes filled with banana-flavored cream—what tour guide Katie Thompson calls “a fancy Twinkie.”
A Gift-Giving Tradition
Tokyo Banana fits perfectly with the Japanese custom of omiyage, where travelers bring back edible gifts for friends, family, or coworkers. Unlike Western souvenirs, omiyage are almost always consumables, ideally sourced from a specific region known for that product—such as Okinawan salt, Kyoto matcha, or Aomori apples.
While omiyage is a local tradition, Tokyo Banana’s primary audience has always been tourists. Grapestone explains that retail space at Haneda Airport in the 1990s inspired the product’s creation. With English branding and clear Tokyo imagery, the treat quickly became synonymous with the city. Tourists often feel compelled to buy it for loved ones as a thoughtful memento.
On social media, Tokyo Banana has gained fame among international visitors, who share rare flavors and gift recommendations on TikTok. Some even enjoy the cakes simply for the fun of squishing them, much like an American Twinkie. Creator Eat With Adrian’s TikTok review has over 260,000 views, with fans eager to try the snack themselves.
Despite its popularity, not everyone is a fan. Thompson admits she finds the banana cream artificial, preferring Grapestone’s other treat, Sugar Butter Sand Trees. Likewise, Canadian reviewer Lui notes he rarely eats Tokyo Banana himself but often answers questions from friends visiting from Toronto.
Evolving for Locals
Recently, Tokyo Banana has aimed to appeal more to local tastes, introducing flavors like lemon, sakura, and honey, and releasing exclusive items at select stores, such as their Ginza location. The brand has also collaborated with characters like Pikachu, Hello Kitty, Chiikawa, and Doraemon—and even produced a Tokyo Banana Kit Kat.
In 2022, the company opened a flagship store at Tokyo Station, debuting a savory version inspired by Japanese curry bread, filled with pork, beef, onions, cream, and banana puree.
While exact sales figures aren’t disclosed, Grapestone claims Tokyo Banana is Tokyo’s most popular food souvenir. According to the brand, if all Tokyo Bananas sold in a year were lined up, they would stretch across the Pacific from Tokyo to the U.S.—though most still travel by plane.