In Kurume City, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan, a man in his 50s planted three banana trees on a public city street and tended to them unnoticed for two years. Despite watering them twice daily, his activities remained undetected until recently when authorities cut down the trees, which were illegal and obstructed drivers' views.
Faced with the choice of removing the trees or facing a year in prison and a 500,000 yen fine, the man complied. The trees' removal left him feeling lonely, missing his "beautiful banana." This unusual case drew national attention, with news crews documenting the event and interviewing the man, who even attempted to eat a raw banana from one of the trees. The mystery of how he evaded detection remains. Two of the banana trees found a new home in the garden of an 80-year-old man, while the third was gifted to a friend in Kurume for their birthday.