Tokyo Banana (東京ばな奈, also written 東京バナナ or 東京ばなな with the same pronunciation) is a Japanese banana-shaped sponge cake with cream filling. It is the official souvenir sweet of Tokyo and is manufactured and sold by Grapestone Co. .
Tokyo Bananas come in many different flavors and are usually packaged individually in plastic. The original flavor is known as Tokyo Banana Miitsuketa (見ぃつけたっ), and is filled with a banana custard cream.[1] The cream filling uses strained banana puree. After baking, the sponge cake is steamed to bring out a soft texture.
Tokyo Banana Miitsuketa is manufactured at MASDAC Corporation's factory in Tokorozawa, Saitama. Tokyo Bananas are sold across stores in Tokyo and in several major Japanese airports.[2]
Tokyo Banana Miitsuketa (見ぃつけたっ), the original banana custard flavor, first went on sale in 1991.[3] Even before Tokyo Banana, there were a large number of souvenir cakes in Tokyo, but Tokyo Banana was the first to include "Tokyo" in its product name.
As of 2016, the yearly sales are roughly 4 billion yen.[4]
The first store selling Tokyo Banana outside of Tokyo was established in Osaka by Grapestone in April 2020 as travel slumped during the COVID-19 pandemic.[5] In 2022, a new flagship store dedicated solely to Tokyo Banana products was opened in Tokyo Station.[6]