Feb 28 (Japan Today) - For many years, the city of Utsunomiya in Tochigi Prefecture claimed to be the nation's gyoza capital, boasting the largest outlays in terms of annual household consumption.
But then in 2012, Hamamatsu in Shizuoka Prefecture eclipsed Utsunomiya, and the title has swung back and forth between the two cities.
Then suddenly last year, the two cities were relegated to second and third place, as Miyazaki City in Kyushu found itself at the top. According to data collected in 52 cities compiled by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, Miyazaki's citizens in 2021 spent an annual average of 4,184 yen on gyoza, as opposed to 3,728 yen by Hamamatsu residents and 3,129 by Shizuoka. (The data, it should be noted, does not include consumption in restaurants.)
"Miyazaki people have long had a deeply rooted culture of carrying food home for consumption," a staff member of the city's tourism office told Shukan Jitsuwa (March 10). "Along with fewer people eating out due to the coronavirus pandemic, take-out specialty stores have become more widespread. It's also customary to present packs of gyoza as summer and year-end gifts. All of these have contributed to our number one ranking."
Another factor was the establishment of the Miyazaki Gyoza Council in September 2020.
"Council members included gyoza specialty shops, gyoza wholesalers, Chinese restaurants and others," the aforementioned official added. "After its founding the frequency of gyoza purchases accelerated. We also held promotional events and campaigns to attract visitors from outside the prefecture. Our citizens strongly felt the desire for their city to be Number 1."
Gyoza are actually quite a tourist drawing card. In 2019, 54% of visitors to Utsunomiya were said to have consumed gyoza locally or carried home gyoza souvenirs, adding to the city's coffers several billions of yen.
