November 11 is a day crowded with commemorative dates. October 10 has the most; November 11 is said to come next. Cheese Day, Salmon Day, Soccer Day, Garden Eel Day, Bean Sprout Day, Geta Day, Nishijin Day, Noodle Day, Mirror Day, Kiritanpo Day, Standing-Bar Day, Sock Day.... Among them is “Pocky & Pretz Day.”
According to maker and seller Ezaki Glico, the first of these days was set on November 11, 1999 (Heisei 11), because the numeral “1” looks like a stick, and it was certified by the Japan Anniversary Association. “Thanks to years of promotion, awareness in Japan now exceeds 90 percent, and it has grown into a day when customers nationwide enjoy Pocky and Pretz,” the company says.
Pocky and the Palaceside Building are, in fact, the same age. In October 1966, when the Palaceside Building opened, Pocky (then sold as “Pocky Chocolate”) began test sales as “the world’s first stick-shaped chocolate” and caught fire. Pocky has been a long seller for 55 years.