[2019 Edition] 15 Cherry Blossom Flavored Foods to Try This Spring
Spring in Japan means sakura (cherry blossom) season! It's one of the most anticipated seasons of the year, with sakura viewing parties and decorations gracing many establishments throughout the country. It's also a time when you can expect limited-edition sakura flavored goods and products with sakura designs to pop up everywhere you go. So, here's a list of 15 sakura flavored treats for you to try this spring!
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Packaged Desserts and Snacks
Bitte, Sakura Flavor (Glico)
A dense, sakura-infused chocolate coating and sakura-flavored cream sandwiched in between 2 cookies, this dessert makes for the perfect accompaniment to a cup of coffee!
The biscuits are made with cultured butter which brings out a rich flavor that blends together nicely with the sweet chocolate and cream.
*This special limited edition is only sold at 7-Eleven.
Sakura Milk Tea (Lipton)
A rich milk tea made with 100% Ceylon tea leaves. With a sakura fragrance, this milk tea has a delicate flavor that goes down smoothly. The packaging has vivid colors with a cute design that will make you feel like spring has come!
Dorayaki (Sakura ＆ Sweet Red Bean) (7-Eleven)
Dorayaki is a type of Japanese pancake that typically has a sweet red bean spread. This special edition includes a filling of sweet red bean paste and whipped cream with sakura petals.
The combination of the fluffy, springy pancake with the decadently sweet spread makes for a truly luxurious treat!
Pocky Zeitaku Chocolatier, Sakura Flavor (Glico)
The black packaging and the gold colored font give off a somewhat elegant, mature look. Each box contains 4 packs of 6 Pocky sticks each.
The buttery pretzel sticks are covered in sakura-flavored chocolate, with bits of rock salt and sugar sprinkled on to give it a more complex flavor.
*This special limited edition is only sold at 7-Eleven.
Pocky, Sakura Matcha Flavor (Glico)
This special edition Pocky is a combination of quintessential Japanese flavors. The pretzel sticks, tinged a pink hue with sakura flavoring, are coated in matcha chocolate.
While the sakura flavor is quite gentle and light, it matches beautifully with the matcha, and the colors look great, too!
Branchul Mini Chocolate, Sakura Flavor (Bourbon)
The Branchul Mini Chocolate series consists of bite-size, square sandwich cookies with a layer of chocolate sandwiched between 2 cookies. For the sakura flavor, the chocolate bar is pink with the gentle flavor of sakura.
The delicate sakura chocolate flavor goes very well with the cookies. Eat it in one bite to fully enjoy the taste of spring!
Kappa Ebisen, Sakura and Salt Flavor (Calbee)
This version of shrimp flavored chips features flashy gold packaging with sakura illustrations. The crackers are decorated with flecks of pink from the sakura leaves.
When you open the bag, you'll get a whiff of sakura and shrimp. The flavor of the actual crackers themselves are on the light side, with a faint sakura flavor and a moderate amount of saltiness.
Country Ma'am, Vanilla and Sakura Milk Flavor (Fujiya)
With this package, you can enjoy 2 different flavors: vanilla and sakura milk! Each bag comes with 11 vanilla cookies and 7 sakura milk cookies.
The sakura and milk flavors blend together seamlessly for a deliciously sweet treat. Country Ma'am cookies can be enjoyed in a variety of ways: baked, warmed up in a microwave, or frozen!
Starbucks Sakura Chocolate with Strawberry Jelly (Starbucks)
You'll be able to enjoy creamy sakura and white chocolate flavored milk and strawberry jelly with this drink! The jelly has a great texture and flavor as it's made with strawberry juice.
Even though these Starbucks drinks are pre-packaged, don't think that they are any less delicious than the made-to-order drinks you can get from brick and mortar Starbucks locations! (Some reviewers even said they preferred these drinks above all others!)
Cafe and Restaurant Sweets
Sakura An Toast (LeBRESSO)
LeBRESSO is a trendy shop that dishes out fresh, high-quality bread and premium coffee. For the spring season, they're serving sakura-an (sweet red bean paste mixed with sakura) spread over a slice of toast topped with creamy mascarpone and cashew nut paste. To finish it off, they garnish it with a sakura flower!
It's a creative dish that brings together Japanese and Western flavors, all presented beautifully on a plate! Try a slice of it with some of their delicious coffee.
Shack-ura Shake (Shake Shack)
This popular American fast food restaurant chain crossed the ocean into Japan several years ago. Now they even have a Japan-only menu, like this Shack-ura Shake, complete with a gorgeous sakura cup design!
In February, you can order the Shack-ura Shake Sakura, and in March, you can try the Shack-ura Shake Cherry&Sakura. If you don't feel like drinking a shake but you really fancy those stylish sakura cups, you can get it by ordering a small drink during the Shack-ura Shake season!
Mont Blanc SAKURA (patisserie KIHACHI)
"patisserie KIHACHI" was born from the exquisite dessert menu at restaurant "KIHACHI". You can expect their desserts to be absolutely stunning, and their spring special, the Mont Blanc SAKURA, is no exception!
This light pink colored Mont Blanc consists of a mellow, shiro-an (sweet white bean paste) milk mousse, which is topped with a generous dollop of butter cream that has a faint sakura fragrance. Sakura leaves are mixed into the crunchy pie crust, and the dessert is topped with a lightly salty sakura flower. It's not only delicious, but gorgeous to look at as well!
Chocolixir White Chocolate Sakura Lala (Godiva)
Godiva is famous worldwide for their exquisite, high-quality chocolate. Though most people associate their name with chocolate, they also have a range of other sweet products, like this spring special!
This sweet, frozen beverage has a vibrant red and pink color scheme. It has layers of whipped cream and sakura jelly, and is topped with sakura sauce and eye-catching chocolate chips that resemble sakura petals. The distinct flavors of the sakura and cherry mixed in with the gentle flavor of the white chocolate make for a really great, refreshing drink!
Sakura Mont Blanc Plate (Q-pot CAFE.)
Q-pot is a Japanese brand known for their cute, tasty-looking accessories, which is where Q-pot CAFE. comes into the picture by turning these sweet trinkets into actual desserts! The store focuses on Japanese kawaii and lolita fashion, and has many special campaigns throughout the year.
For the sakura season, they're serving the Sakura Mont Blanc Plate, which is made with sakura-an cream wrapped over chestnut cream and raw matcha chocolate. They also have many other options on their sakura menu, such as the SAKURA Afternoon Tea Set pictured above, and a sakura parfait! Check out their website to see the whole spread!
PABLO mini Sakura Mochi (PABLO)
PABLO is very well known in Japan for their delicious cheese tarts and cheesecakes. It should be no surprise that their contribution to the sakura season follows the same cheesy theme - a sakura-flavored cheese tart! After the cheese filling is poured into the crunchy tart and baked, gyuhi (a soft, sweet rice cake) is placed on top of the cheese tart. To top it off, pinkish sweet paste made with sakura leaves from Shizuoka is squeezed over it.
The springy, chewy gyuhi combined with the spring-like fragrance of the sakura combine to create a dessert that tastes like you're eating a cheese tart spinoff of sakura mochi!
Enjoy Spring in Japan!
Spring is coming upon us, and with it, the sakura season! There are so many sakura-flavored treats out there to discover, so get your fill of them before the season is over!
If you're planning a springtime visit to Japan yourself, check out our 2020 Cherry Blossom Forecast for all you need to know. We've covered when all the best sakura spots in Japan will be at their peak so you won't miss a thing!
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The information in this article is accurate at the time of publication.
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