There was a fruit and vegetable store in the market with fruit on the right side and vegetables on the left

When I was a child, there was a certain amount of money for a snack when I went on a school field trip. It was not allowed to bring a very expensive snack with me. Then I had to use our brains to figure out what I should buy with the limited amount of money I had. What bothered me was that there were some things I couldn't decide if they were treats or not. Bananas, for example. They're a little too sweet to claim they're part of the lunchbox, and if they're a snack, it's going to reduce our snack budget. Bananas on a field trip were a tricky thing.

What is a banana anyway? Is it a fruit or a vegetable? According to Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries, there is no clear definition of what constitutes a vegetable or a fruit. However, the following characteristics are considered to be vegetables when they are produced.

• Things grown in the fields: Bananas are not vegetables because they are not produced in the fields.
• As a side dish: In Japan, it is unlikely to be eaten as a side dish. Therefore, bananas are not a vegetable.
• Don't assume processing: bananas are vegetables because they are generally eaten as is.
• Being herbaceous (something that is not a thing that becomes a tree): a banana is not a vegetable because it is a thing that becomes a tree.

In other words, not only from the point of view of whether it's a snack or a treat but also from the point of view of whether it's a vegetable or a fruit, bananas are positioned in the middle of the pack. They are sometimes called "a fruit vegetable".

Of course, bananas are usually sold in fruit and vegetable shops in Jakarta. But the fruit and vegetable shops I saw in the market seemed to be having a bit of a hard time with them. There were big tables on both sides of the shop, and on the left table there were vegetables such as carrots, onions and cauliflower, and on the right table there were apples and other fruits. So where were the bananas? On closer inspection, the bananas were on the fruit side of the table. But while the other fruits were on the table, the banana was hanging from a beam. I felt that the banana floating in the air, branched out and floating in the air, showed a half-hearted treatment that couldn't be called a vegetable, but it couldn't be called a full force fruit either.