The Best Sakura Food and Drinks to try in Japan

As the warm weather starts to creep in, the cherry trees’ first blossoms begin to form, and the entire city gets ‘Sakura Fever‘! Hanami parties are held under the flowers, and cherry blossom decorations start to pop up all over the city. Japan loves a food trend, and come to the springtime, the trend of Sakura flavoured food explodes all over Japan. Sometimes there are even frenzies over these magical treats. Finding all these Sakura-flavoured foods is like a scavenger hunt. A fun way to discover new foods as you explore the country and the wonders of Sakura season!

What is Sakura?

“Sakura” is the Japanese word for cherry blossoms. The pale pink petals are indeed edible. They have a very mild flavour and can be slightly bitter, so they are often paired with sweets as the sweetness balances out the bitterness. The taste is a hint of cherries, while the dominant flavour is very floral.

Sakura Mochi

Sakura mochi is my favourite way to enjoy the taste of the cherry blossom. This is a traditional Japanese sweet made with pink-coloured rice wrapped in a pickled sakura leaf. Often there is also a pickled or sugared sakura blossom placed on top or inside the leaf to add extra flavour. 

While the rice-wrapped Sakura mochi is the most popular, a Kanto-style version is made using a dough flavoured with the Sakura. Red bean paste is placed inside the dough and the entire thing is wrapped up in a pickled sakura leaf.

Sakura-Cha

One of the most delicate ways to have Sakura is in a cup of tea. Sakura-cha (cherry blossom tea) is made with salted sakura blossoms and sugar. It is one of the most prestigious blends, often served at weddings. As sakura blossoms are thought to represent good luck, this is another reason for their popularity at many celebrations. Look for this tea in tea houses and special cafes.

Sakura Kit Kat

One of the most popular souvenirs to bring home for your friends and family (and to eat yourself) is Sakura flavoured Kit Kats. Flavoured Kit Kats are an obsession in Japan, despite seeming like an American import. They have been transformed into hundreds of different varieties, from red bean to peach parfait and even wasabi! In the springtime, we find a variety of Sakura-flavoured Kit Kats in stock pretty much everywhere you go. In the past, they have offered flavours like; sakura mochi, sakura sake and even Sakura macha. You can find these all over the place in convenience stores, Don Quijotes, supermarkets and even at Duty-Free before you get on the plane home. Perfect for last-minute souvenirs!

Sakura Pepsi

While I am admittedly more of a Coke fan over Pepsi, Sakura Pepsi is the one exception. While Coke does come out with some rebranded packaging during Sakura season, the product remains the same. Pepsi, on the other hand, offers this neon pink drink flavoured with Sakura. It’s very similar to cherry Pepsi but perhaps just slightly more floral and a little bit sour.

Sakura Pocky

Pocky is one of the most famous Japanese exports, which people are even addicted to here in North America. Pocky was invented in 1966 by Yoshiaki Koma. The original Pocky sticks are long, thin stick like biscuits which are coated in chocolate. During the Sakura season, the Sakura Pocky sticks are covered in a pale pink, white chocolate flavoured with Sakura. Another excellent idea for souvenirs for friends and family.

Starbucks Sakura Drinks

Every holiday season, Starbucks comes out with a variety of specialty drinks. And Sakura season is no different. In fact, it is one of the most popular times of the year for Starbucks. In addition to the new flavours of drinks, Starbucks always comes out with seasonal merchandise. The sakura merch is known to sell out as soon as it hits the floor, with people lining up well in advance of store openings to ensure they get it! This year the drinks on offer are special sakura berry lattes and frappuccinos. The sakura blend is mixed with strawberry jam for an even more sweet and refreshing way to welcome in springtime.

Starbucks Konbini Drink

Cheaper options for Starbucks lovers are the Starbucks konbini drinks. These are made from Starbucks blends but at a much lower price as they are mass-produced and don’t require a barista. In any fridge section of the konbini, you can get the Sakura smoothie. The smooth is flavoured with sakura and mixed with vanilla plus a layer of strawberry jelly on the bottom. It even comes with its own little green straw to drink with, like the stem of the cherry blossom!

Starbucks Sakura Foods

Starbucks is one of the best places for seasonal food every season in Japan. More than any other country, Japan Starbucks is famous for its seasonal menus, and the Sakura season is undoubtedly the best time for this. The menu changes every year, but their sakura cakes and donuts are a staple for the Spring and a delicious accompaniment for your hot or cold drink.

Lipton’s Sakura Tea Latte

Another popular konbini drink is Lipton’s Sakura Tea Latte. This uber-sweet beverage is a black tea combined with milk and sakura flavouring. These come in the most adorable pink packaging with lots of sakura flowers on the outside. They are to be drunk chilled so find them in the fridge section of your local konbini.

Sakura Sugar

Another way to bring some sakura home with you is in these souvenir bottles of sakura sugar. These bottles have inside them sugar marinated in sakura flavour and dried bits of the flower itself. This is an excellent centrepiece for your at-home tea & coffee station and makes for an extraordinary gift. These are sold in lots of souvenir shops around Japan, but if you missed out, you could usually find it at duty-free as well.

Calbee Sakura Prawn Crackers

Calbee crackers are a popular everyday snack here in Japan, eaten since 1964. They are made of prawns and potatoes and shaped into iconic sticks. During sakura season, the crackers get a dusting of sakura petals which gives the snack that addictive sweet-salty flavour.

Sakura Sake

Sake is no doubt the most traditional Japanese liquor. It somehow feels more elegant than other drinks. Maybe it’s the beautiful and delicate ceramic glasses you pour the sake into before drinking it. Or perhaps it’s how the clear liquid looks so simple yet has such a deep, complex flavour. But in the springtime, there is the most beautiful version of sake (in my opinion), the sakura sake. This pale pink bottle comes with a whole sakura flower inside, perfectly preserved in the peak of its bloom. These can usually be found inside Don Quijote or other liquor stores around Japan.

Sakura Higashi Candies

One of the oldest forms of candy in Japan is higashi. Higashi are sweets made by pressing fine sugar into simple wooden frames moulded in the form of different seasonal flowers. Once the sugar is dried, it is popped out of the frame and painted with edible colour. These sweets are meant to be eaten alongside a cup of matcha, which can be quite bitter to balance out the candy’s sweetness. During sakura season, these candies are shaped into sakura flowers and flavoured with the delicate taste of the bloom. These can be found in Don Quijote and many confectionary shops along touristy streets.

Sakura-Matcha Cream Collon

Cream Collon is one of the top-selling sweet snacks in Japan. Cream Collon is a cylindrical waffle-style biscuit filled in the center with various varieties of cream. During the springtime, you’ll find the limited edition of Cream Collon that is flavoured with cherry blossoms and, instead of a vanilla wafer, it features a matcha biscuit!

Sakura Tokyo Banana

Tokyo Banana is a popular kind of omiyage which many Japanese people buy to bring home to their friends and family after a vacation. This is considered polite and almost a requirement when you return to the office, almost as a treat for your co-workers who didn’t get to go away. Since you need to serve so many people, omiyage is usually individually wrapped snacks, great for sharing. Tokyo Bananas are little sponge cakes filled with banana custard. During the sakura season, the yellow sponge cake is printed with pink sakura petals. The banana cream is given a hint of sakura flavouring to add to the limited edition cakes.

Sakura Beer

Asahi is the top-selling beer in Japan. Although the beer’s taste doesn’t change during the springtime, they always come out with limited edition designs on their cans and bottles. These feature pretty pink cherry blossom petals and celebratory designs. Other brands also come out with sakura bottle designs so keep your eye open wherever you go. These are a great addition to your hanami party.

Sakura Mister Donut

The Japanese love their donuts. Although donuts seem as American as apple pie, the Japanese have come to love the sweet treat, and the most popular place to buy a freshly made donut is at Mister Donut. In the springtime, they come out with a limited series “Sakura Donuts Menu”. They offer various different kinds of donuts with cherry blossom flavours. These start to come out during the first week of March and continue into early April.

Sakura Mochifuwa Pancake

Mochifuwa pancakes are a favourite treat in konbinis year-round. They are soft pillowy pastries with a layer of butter and maple syrup inside, like a little pancake sandwich. These are coloured with pink food colouring and filled with sakura petals and red bean paste during the springtime. The taste is so delicate and I really like these better than the original.

Sakura Baumkuchen

Baumkuchen is an adorably shaped dessert which has gained notoriety in Japan despite the dessert’s origin in Germany. The word “Baumkuchen” in German translates to “tree cake,” as the dessert is formed by creating concentric rings of cake that resemble a tree’s rings. Head over FamilyMart in the springtime to find the Cherry Blossom Baumkuchen. It is so soft, like a pillow and perfectly flavoured with cherry blossom syrup.

Sakura McFloat

McDonald’s in Japan offers ice cream floats with any of their soda pops on tap. Something which I’m truly WAITING to come to North America! During sakura season, McDonald’s offers the Sakura McFloat, which is made with a limited edition cherry soda and topped with a swirl of soft-serve ice cream. If you’d prefer the vegan version, without the ice cream, you can always order just the cherry soda without the soft serve.

Sakura Anpan

Anpan is one of the oldest Japanese pastries. It is made from a sweet roll and then filled with red bean paste. Find limited-edition anpans during the Spring inside convenience stores. These are coloured pale pink and topped with candied cherry blossoms.

Sakura Parfaits

One of my favourite desserts in Japan are parfaits. The country seems to love creating these opulent layered treats, which are as colourful as delicious. You can find gourmet sakura parfaits sold at dessert shops and cafes around the city. But if you’re looking for a more affordable version, then the Konbini as they have their fair share of fantastic sakura parfaits.

Sakura Mintia Mints

To keep your breath fresh but on-trend, you need to pick up a pack of Sakura Mintia Mints. These are both floral and sweet and are packaged inside the most beautiful little box. Your breath might be less than appealing but that doesn’t mean the antidote has to be just as nose curling.

Sakura Ice Cream Sandwiches

Inside konbinis, everywhere you go are these huge freezers in the middle of the aisles with hundreds of frozen treats. During sakura season, head over and find one of their sakura-flavoured ice cream sandwiches. These are so delicious as the delicate flavour of the sakura really sings inside the creamy dessert. They also have plain sakura ice cream for those who can’t eat gluten, a great option that doesn’t feel like a sad alternative.

Sakura Royal Milk Tea

Whenever you’re visiting a new country, you NEED to make a point of visiting a grocery store. There are so many incredible things to eat that don’t require an entire kitchen to be found there. I think visiting a grocery store is a great way to get a sense of the real people who live there, not just of the touristy food which caters to visitors.

Grocery stores have lots of neat things you might never have imagined you can bring home as a souvenir or gifts for friends. One of these things is powdered milk tea packs. They come in large bags with lots of small packs inside of instant milk tea. Just pour in boiling water and you have an instant tea latte. During the spring, these come in darling pink packages with sakura flavoured milk tea inside. A great way to keep springtime with you all year round!

Sakura season is truly a magical time to be in Japan. Enjoying these treats is one of the best ways to relax and enjoy the springtime weather as you take in the sights of the beautiful cherry blossom trees! Let me know which of these delicious treats are your favourite or if there are any you love that I missed!

Happy Travels, Adventurers!