Tokyo Banana: Popular Tokyo Souvenir Fluffy Sponge Cake

The other day I went to “Makuhari Messe (幕張メッセ)”, a convention center in the city of Chiba, to see a live concert of the popular techno-pop girl group “Perfume”, and that night I stayed at my friend’s house in Tokyo.

The next day I hung out with him and headed to Matsudo, Chiba Prefecture, to eat a bowl of ramen by the popular ramen shop “Tomita (とみ田)“.

After that, I parted from him and headed for home to Niigata. On the way home from Tokyo, on a highway, I stopped by a rest stop in Saitama to buy gifts for my family and hometown friends.

Actually, standard Tokyo souvenirs can also be bought at rest stops in Tokyo’s neighboring prefectures. Since I had already decided what I wanted to buy, I immediately looked for that product and, as a result, was able to purchase it.

Tokyo Banana (東京ばな奈)

Actually, what I grabbed there is this “Tokyo Banana (東京ばな奈)”. Tokyo Banana is a popular banana flavor custard cream-filled sponge cake that the confectionery company “Grapestone” started to sell in 1991,

and now it has become one of the most popular Tokyo souvenirs loved by people of all generations.

Flavors

According to the official website of Tokyo Banana, currently (as of July 24, 2021) the Tokyo Banana sponge cake is available in 3 flavors (Original, Honey Banana, Coffee Milk).

By the way, the flavor I chose at the rest stop in Saitama is the original flavor, which, as you can see in the picture above, is a yellow sponge cake shaped like a banana and filled with banana-flavored custard cream.

Features

The banana-like sponge cake is nicely soft and fluffy and can be easily divided by hand, and as shown below, the inside is filled with banana flavor custard cream.

Taste-wise, while the outer sponge cake is sweetish, the custard cream filling inside is quite sweet and has a subtle banana flavor. 

Conclusion 

Every time I take Tokyo Banana home or present it to my friends, the sweet treat definitely delights them. And this time too, my family and friends were very satisfied with the fluffy banana sponge cake.