The Popularity of Taiwanese Foods in Japan: Factors of Attraction

Conference: The Asian Undergraduate Research Symposium (AURS2021)
Title: The Popularity of Taiwanese Foods in Japan: Factors of Attraction
Stream: Culture, Popular Culture and Cultural Studies
Presentation Type: Virtual Poster Presentation
Authors:
Chinatsu Takeda, Ritsumeikan University, Japan

Abstract:

Taiwan is a small country famous for its “delicious food at reasonable price” in Japan. In recent years, many foods that allude to a Taiwanese origin, such as "Taiwan bubble tea," "Taiwan melon bread, "Taiwan maze-soba," etc.) have appeared on the market, attracting much public attention. In addition, according to Japan National Tourism Organization, the number of Japanese travelers to Taiwan has been gradually increasing since 2018. Maehara and Park (2021)* defined three major waves of tapioca tea boom in Japan. The amount of imported tapioca during the first wave (around 1992) and the second wave (2003-2008) was under 2,000t, while during the third one which started in 2018, it increased dramatically to reach about 17,000t, which shows how big and influential has the third boom been. The purpose of this research is to reveal what factors have contributed to the popularity of Taiwanese food in Japan and how the current boom of Taiwanese foods will contribute to the relationship between Taiwan and Japan. The results presented here are in based on a questionnaire survey conducted among 109 Japanese students aged 18-22 in October to November, fieldwork research I conducted in August 2021 in the city of Nagoya, which is considered to be the birthplace of a Japanese original Taiwanese food. In addition, examination of Tabemiru, database service provided by Japan’s largest recipe sharing online platform Cookpad, particularly focus on the frequency of searches for foods related to “Taiwan” has been rapidly increasing since 2018.




Virtual Poster Presentation


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