Sakura season is just around the corner.
From March to April, travelers from all around the world flock to Tokyo’s streets to witness the iconic pink cherry blossoms in full bloom. 🌸 Over the years, the frenzy has spread from simply experiencing these magical, delicate blooms to injecting them into popular snacks.
Now, you can also taste the sakura thanks to the limited edition Japanese snacks that are usually available during springtime. If this sounds crazy to you, think: a delicate and subtle floral flavor with hints of cherry, almonds, and slightly earthy undertones. It’s the kind of flavor you won’t find in anything else, so be sure to try it out when you’re in Japan. In this article, we’ll be sharing some of the best sakura food that should be on your eat list. 😋
Places to find sakura food
Don Quijote is a great place to look for snacks | Photo by Willian Justen de Vasconcellos on Unsplash
Before getting to taste sakura food, the question you should be asking is where to look for it first. Konbinis (Japanese convenience stores) are a great place to start, but selections might be limited. We recommend checking out bigger stores like Don Quijote for a wider selection.
Klook tip: Is Don Quijote’s selection not enough to satisfy your sakura cravings? You can also check out a MEGA Don Quijote, which is pretty much the same thing except bigger, as if it were on steroids. 😎
Here are some snacks we spotted that we think you’d like:
1. Sakura Kit Kat
Japan is known for its outrageous Kit Kat flavours and it’s no surprise to anyone that they would have sakura-flavoured ones. In fact, we found not one but 2 types of cherry blossoms Kit Kat. There might even be more we don’t know about!
Aside from the Sakura & Roasted Soy Bean and the milk chocolate flavours above, there’s also been Matcha Sakura and even Sake flavours in the past.
2. Calbee Sakura Prawn Crackers
If you’re a fan of Japanese snacks, then you’re no stranger to Calbee. Famous for their potato chips and various other tidbits, they also have sakura-inspired snacks. We managed to find cherry blossom flavoured prawn crackers everywhere in convenience stores.
Make sure to give them a try or perhaps bring it back home as souvenirs for your friends, family or colleagues!
3. Cherry blossom sake
It’s a universal truth that you should never drink on an empty stomach, so all the sakura snacks are the perfect pair for this beautiful cherry blossom sake! Each bottle comes with a whole sakura flower – perfectly preserved in full bloom.
Quite the popular sakura-themed beverage in Japan, you can also find this in markets aside from Don Quijote.
4. Suppamucho Chips Ume Plum Flavour
The popular Suppamucho Chips can easily be found in Japan and this one, in particular, is a plum flavour. Plum blossoms are one of the flowers you can find right before and sometimes during the sakura season. They bloom to become the famous Japanese Ume – sour plums.
When used in snacks like potato chips, it gives them the iconic sour-sweet flavour that you can’t find anywhere else!
5. Sakura Coca-Cola
You can expect the sakura Coca-Cola to come out every year with a different design each time. We have to say, we’re not quite sure how this will taste but just the look of the bottle itself is enough to make you want to try it.
6. Mike Popcorn Ume Flavour
Mike Popcorn by Frito Lay Japan is no stranger to coming out with unconventional flavours. Having come up with flavours like Indian butter chicken curry, takoyaki and clam chowder in the past, we’d have to say, the plum blossom flavour is one of the more subdued ones.
Other flavours you might like to try is their butter & soy sauce, salted seaweed, chocolate, maple butter and more.
7. Sakura candies
For those with a sweet tooth, you can find an assortment of sakura-themed candies in convenience stores and Don Quijote. There are chewy candies and hard candies, flavoured with sakura or plum blossoms. You can expect the ones with the ume plum in the picture to be sweet and sour.
8. Plum Blossom Furikake
While it’s not exactly a snack you’d want to eat by itself, this ume furikake will easily transform your boring ol’ rice to something fun to eat. Furikake is a type of dry Japanese seasoning used to sprinkle on top of cooked rice, vegetables and fish.
In fact, you can go crazy and use it as a finishing touch to any dish you’d like whether it’s on pasta, tofu, sandwich or wherever your imagination takes you.
Traditional sakura food
Photo caption + alt text: A spread of wagashi, Japanese sweets | Photo by Christian Laborde on Unsplash
If you’d like to try something more traditional, we recommend trying wagashi. They’re essentially a variety of Japanese sweets served with green tea, but in the spring, you can try the sakura version. In fact, sakura tea can be drunk instead of green tea (it has a somewhat salty but light floral aftertaste). Prefer something cold instead? Try cherry blossom iced tea to go with it! 🥤
A must-try kind of wagashi is sakura mochi. These are pretty pink rice cakes with a sweet red bean paste filling wrapped in a pickled cherry blossom leaf for that sweet and salty balance.
If you’re looking to try traditional sakura food like these, you can also join cherry blossom tours that are quite popular during the spring. Usually, local vendors would sell these confections and sakura-flavored street food around tourist attractions. Booking a tour to Mount Fuji, in particular, is one of the best ways to see cherry blossoms in person and sample local delights. 🗻
Sakura essentials in Japan
For more cherry blossom food & drinks, check out these limited edition sakura products! Lockdown those dates for your hanami by referring to the Japan sakura forecast. Need more inspiration? Check out the cherry blossoms Instagram spots! Get the transport for your sakura chase sorted with a JR Pass or make sure you’re always connected with a WiFi Device!
Now that you’ve got a list of your sakura food must-eats, all that’s left to do is book your tickets to Japan! 🥳 Make sure to check out this Japan cherry blossom viewing guide for 2026 to figure out the best time for you to visit in time for sakura season.
FAQs
1. What is sakura food in Japan?
Sakura food are seasonal snacks and drinks inspired by Japan’s cherry blossom season. These limited-edition treats are often made from preserved sakura petals or leaves, along with pink sakura-themed packaging.
2. What are the most popular sakura-flavored foods?
For traditional sakura food, sakura mochi is one you can’t miss during the spring. Some popular snacks are sakura-flavored Kit Kats, Suppamucho Chips, and candies.
3. What does sakura flavor taste like?
Sakura food tastes like a mix of cherries and almonds, with earthy undertones, while sakura drinks are slightly salty with a floral taste.
4. Is sakura food only available during cherry blossom season?
Yes, sakura food is mostly available during cherry blossom season. That’s why you should take advantage of sakura food when you see it, because it's a limited edition for the season.
5. Where can you try sakura food in Japan?
You can find Japanese snacks in convenience stores and chain stores like Don Quijote. For traditional snacks, check out the popular tourist attractions like Mount Fuji; local vendors usually set up stalls to serve sakura food like sakura mochi or sweets.
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