The sweets from TOKYO BANANA are everyone’s go-to Tokyo souvenir. Many of you have probably seen the brand’s iconic yellow package. Its wide array also includes ones featuring illustrations of animals, such as sea otters or bears, as well as ones in collaboration with KitKat or other brands, and they are all extremely popular. And this time, TOKYO BANANA has collaborated for the first time with Itohkyuemon, a long-established tea shop in Kyoto. Their “TOKYO BANANA World × KYOTO Itohkyuemon MATCHA CAKE” is now available only at Fa-So-La shops!

TOKYO BANANA World × KYOTO Itohkyuemon MATCHA CAKE 8pcs. / Tax-free price ¥1,300 12pcs. / Tax-free price ¥1,950

Itohkyuemon is a tea shop in Uji, Kyoto Prefecture, that has been in the business since 1832, offering Uji teas while preserving the traditional method that has been passed down in the tea town of Uji. Always with meticulous attention and sparing no effort in making high quality teas, its tea artisans grind only the necessary amount of tea with a grindstone based on the temperature and the humidity of the day.

The matcha cake is a masterpiece made by carefully and generously mixing Itohkyuemon’s fragrant matcha into both the dough and the cream. Making many prototypes by changing the types of matcha and the water content, they have created a fluffy texture like that of raw sweets.

There are two kinds of cream inside, Uji matcha and milk, and the cream is wrapped in the sponge dough with the nice aroma of Uji matcha, creating the perfect balance between the matcha flavor and the sweetness of the milk cream.

The topside of each piece features four different kinds of pictures inspired by TOKYO BANANA or tea, making them look very Japanese. These pictures are flawless because every single one of them is photographed and checked at the factory’s production line for any problems after the images are printed onto the dough. Moreover, the nicely-colored package features a back shot of a woman dressed in kimono, and her hair accessory inspired by TOKYO BANANA is also very pretty, making it a perfect souvenir from Japan.

The matcha cake is a special sweet available only at the Fa-So-La shops, including Fa-So-La AKIHABARA.

The new go-to sweet available exclusively at Fa-So-La shops lets you enjoy both the popular taste of TOKYO BANANA and the meticulously-prepared flavor of Itohkyuemon’s matcha. This perfect Japanese souvenir will surely delight anyone.

Also, the official YouTube channel “Narita Airport Duty Free Shops: Fa-So-La Shops” visited the factory to see how the matcha cakes are made, from dough mixing to packaging. You can’t see it anywhere else, so please do check it out too!

■DATA Available at: Fa-So-La AKIHABARA Instagram：https://www.instagram.com/fasola_akihabara/?hl=ja

(Information as of September 2023.)