You might call it bubble tea. You might call it boba tea. In Japan, it’s known as tapioca drink, or simply tapioca. And it’s taking over.
Originally created in Taiwan, bubble tea first hit it big during the 1980s. According to TV show Matsuko no Shiranai Sekai SP, the drink first became popular in Japan in 1992 when it was sold as “coconut milk” with white tapioca balls.
タピオカって昔は白いイメージだったんだよな… #マツコの知らない世界 pic.twitter.com/WbyUJYXVV3
— ゆくブラっ! (@YukuBuraaaaaaaa) May 28, 2019
In the past, tapioca was typically a transparent white colour, but now it’s usually dark.
Japan’s second boom was in 2008 when popular Taiwanese boba brands began setting up shop, selling the dark-coloured tapioca balls. The third and current boom in Japan began last year.
There are well over 300 tapioca shops in Tokyo alone, with new ones sprouting up all the time.
第3次のブームだったのか… #マツコの知らない世界 pic.twitter.com/tdUtmpE6eX
— ゆくブラっ! (@YukuBuraaaaaaaa) May 28, 2019
What caused this latest boom? According to Toyo Keizai Online, there are several reasons. First, the Taiwanese teahouse Chun Shui Tang, which claims to have invented boba tea, arrived in Japan in 2013. Since then, more and more famous bubble tea shops have opened up in Japan. In 2017, there was a surge in new boba tea businesses, laying the groundwork for the recent boom that followed.
Another reason Toyo Keizai gives is that even though the drinks are packed with calories, the chewy bubble balls are a light meal. People enjoy the sensation of chewing the boba pearls while drinking sugary milk tea. There has also been a tea boom going on in Japan, so that has helped tapioca drink sales. Another reason is that more and more Japanese people have been travelling to Taiwan. It’s a popular destination, where many Japanese travellers seem to have fallen in love with the drink.
原宿多すぎる #tbs #マツコの知らない世界 pic.twitter.com/3AIYH32nQw
— ふひひっ☆ (@satoda3104s2) May 28, 2019
Because of this, the streets in areas like Tokyo’s Harajuku are now home to several bubble tea shops — sometimes right next door to each other!
新小岩の商店街に密集している #tbs #マツコの知らない世界 pic.twitter.com/jAs8Zccz90
— ふひひっ☆ (@satoda3104s2) May 28, 2019
A shopping street near Shin-Koiwa Station, for example, has bubble tea shops right across from each other. It’s not only the increased number of boba businesses but the number of places where the beverage can now be purchased, including convenience stores and conveyor belt sushi restaurants. But even with a wider availability for tapioca drinks, some places still draw massive lines with people even waiting for hours to order.
増えてた pic.twitter.com/J0oCKPBXo3
— オルタ絶望せよbot (@Alter_despair_) July 13, 2019
At one tapioca place in Nagoya, the wait was six hours long! This is highly unusual for Japan (long waits might be between 20 minutes to an hour), and Twitter users pointed out that it would be faster to fly from Nagoya to Taipei than wait in this bubble tea line.
タピオカ5時間待ちのやつ、台湾でニュースになってた pic.twitter.com/eAUlF0HVIm
— まメっち (@mametch0116) July 15, 2019
No wonder this line even made the news in Taiwan!
The other reason that tapioca drink has become popular in Japan is, no doubt, Instagram. Some people appear to be ordering bubble tea, taking photos, and then leaving half-finished drinks on the street.
歩いててたまたま見つけた。
COCOさんのタピオカミルクティーLサイズの忘れ物?それとも放置してるの?もしインスタ映えのために買ってポイ捨てするのならやめてください。#原宿 #タピオカ #ポイ捨て厳禁 pic.twitter.com/AuK6yfugkv
— れいちょる (@Reeka31) July 14, 2019
GWやからかしらんが
大阪のミナミ周辺
ゴミめっちゃ落ちてるやんタピオカのゴミが多かった
しかも飲みかけがほとんどバエる写真撮るだけとって
後はポイですか!!そんなんやったら買うなよ!
掃除する人の事を考えましょう pic.twitter.com/TYdYjF61Zm
— ミナミの喜山くん★大阪情報局 (@KiyamaShinji) April 27, 2019
Even the ones who finish the drinks are leaving behind lots of plastic cups and big plastic straws, sometimes in the waste bins and sometimes not.
渋谷のタピオカジュースの容器のポイ捨てがエグすぎる…。 pic.twitter.com/UtGwi4uaUr
— ペケポン@ポケカ SDBH (@pekepon_youtube) July 15, 2019
The above image was taken by YouTuber Pekepon.
タピオカのゴミ見ると渋谷来たかんあってすこ pic.twitter.com/CW45401rfo
— たかみん (@UEC_takamin) July 6, 2019
とくダネでタピオカの話しを聞いたけど、そろそろオリンピックが来て、ゴミ箱を置いた方がいいんじゃない?と私が思う????
私もこの間、原宿でゴミ捨てたくて、ゴミ箱なくて、ずっと持って歩いたけど、買い物したくて持ちたくない若者が多いかなと思う。#ゴミ箱賛成 pic.twitter.com/P86Dp6a1lv— PiNKII (ナタリアなっちゃん) (@itsPiNKII) June 10, 2019
最近至る所にポイ捨てされているタピオカ
タピオカが流行るのはいいことだし飲むなとは言わないけどしっかり後始末くらいはしてもらいたい pic.twitter.com/XahdLXXHoN— ぱぱ (@DoubleSuiRice) July 15, 2019
大須の某自販機周辺はひどいもんだねぇ。だいたいタピオカドリンクと唐揚げ入れてる容器だよねぇ。後はチーズドッグの容れ物と串か。どんな教育受けたらこんな事できるのかねぇ。ゴミはゴミ箱にって子供でも知ってると思うんだけどねぇ。やだやだ。 pic.twitter.com/2ptCRHqGdi
— ベアマックス (@wolf_kuma) May 2, 2019
さっきからチラチラ見かけるけど、
タピオカ類の残骸多すぎん?
今流行ってるからってマナーは守らないかんでしょ(一部の人だろうけど…)ポイ捨てダメですよ! pic.twitter.com/QNrDmCVGrz
— ペイン@喋れる人を作りたい (@pain_ota120) July 14, 2019
渋谷ハチ公前のゴミ箱。
さまざまなゴミの散乱が顕著で、特にタピオカのゴミが多い。
なんか綺麗なまちづくりに取り組む事がイケてるっていう風潮作りたいなーとふと。
特に来年、五輪あったらより汚れるし、日本って綺麗な街だねって言われたいよね。デザインで解決できないかな。 pic.twitter.com/rdxeiWNzsb
— 高橋奎/インターンデザイナー (@_keitakahashi_) June 2, 2019
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