Meika-Hiyoko

Tokyo souvenir? Fukuoka souvenir? No, it is a "Souvenir of Japan”

I was a bit surprised to learn that “Hiyoko,” a well-known Tokyo souvenir, was born in 1912 in Chikuho Iizuka, Fukuoka Prefecture, and that it was made by a Tokyo-based confectioner. I was a bit surprised to learn that “Meika Hiyoko” was born in Chikuho Iizuka, Fukuoka Prefecture in 1912, and I had assumed that it was made by a Tokyo-based confectionery shop!

In the Chikuho Iizuka area, which prospered from coal mining at the time, people who worked hard and did a lot of physical labor liked sweets, and Shigeru Ishizaka, the second owner of the store, had the idea for “Meika Hiyoko”. Later, in 1957, a store was opened in Fukuoka City, and it became a popular confectionery in Hakata, and was already being treated as a Fukuoka specialty at that time. In 1966, the first Tokyo store was opened in the Yaesu underground shopping mall in Tokyo Station, and soon afterwards became a popular Tokyo souvenir for passengers on the Tohoku Shinkansen bullet train, which opened soon afterward.

Well, it seems that although the confectionery was born in Fukuoka, it was only in Tokyo that it spread and took root as a souvenir that was recognized throughout the country. Even today, “Meika Hiyoko” and “Tokyo Hiyoko” are made in different locations, and although they are made in the same mold, there are slight differences between the two.

There is no shortage of interesting topics like rumors that the Hakata Hiyoko are more plump, the bean paste is slightly different in terms of moistness, and they have different expressions. The one I bought this time was a set of three “Tokyo Hiyoko,” but I felt that each of the three had a slightly different expression, and I am sure I may not even be able to tell the difference between the Hakata Hiyoko and Tokyo Hiyoko, lol.

The taste is always consistent. Hiyoko” is now available everywhere, and is even sold at the terminals of international airports, the gateway to overseas destinations. It may become a “souvenir of Japan” rather than a Hakata or Tokyo souvenir.