Cherry Blossom Food You Can Enjoy Only in Japan

There are many foods and products which include “sakura” in their names.

Something with name cherry blossom, in Japanese “sakura”, reminds people of sweet-sour smell and pink color.

In spring, many companies sell products with sakura package or change into sakura color as spring limited edition.

Cherry blossom taste

Sakura-mochi

When it comes to sakura food, the most famous one would be sakura-mochi. There are two types of sakura- depends on location.

The left sakura-mochi is the west side version of sakura-mochi. As you can see the grains of rice, the main ingredient is rice, and it has a chewy texture.

On the other hand, the east version of sakura-mochi is made of flour, so the surface is smooth.

Both types are wrapped by sakura leaf which helps to add sakura flavor.

Judging from the fact that sakura-mochi has been loved by Japanese people over 1000 years, it is reasonable to say sakura-mochi is Japanese traditional spring dessert.

Sakura-no-shiozuke(salted cherry blossom)

When people preserve sakura, they salt down cherry blossoms like pickled vegetables.

The easiest way to enjoy salted cherry blossoms is to pour hot water and serve like tea.

Of course, using them for decoration is also a perfect way to make use of them. Any dishes and desserts turn into spring edition.

Sakura drinks

Many chain coffee shops and restaurants release sakura drinks and sakura foods.

In fact, sakura edition is always popular, so it is sold out as soon as it is released.

So if you travel in Japan during the sakura season, it’s  better to buy a sakura memory as soon as possible, not wait until the end of your trip.

Cherry blossom smell

Smell of sakura, which is a sweet refreshing flower smell, is also used in beauty products such as perfume, shampoo, hand cream, etc.

This smell is not too sweet and strong, thus it is popular for daily use products.

Cherry blossom motive

There are some food which is not used sakura, but named sakura-something.

This is because food has pink color, or the main season of the food is spring.

Let’s take a look at an example.

The picture bellow, small pink shrimp called Sakura-ebi in Japanese, is common food in spring.

In fresh, the most common way to eat is sushi, of course. 

Other ways are used in salad, tempura, okonomiyaki…. there are too many ways to tell here!

Japanese people are waiting for sakura season

So, why are there so many products related to cherry blossom in Japan?

This is because sakura products remind people of the coming sakura season and make people excited about it.

If you want to know the significant meaning of cherry blossom in Japan, people read an article below.

When you visit Japan in spring, don’t forget to eat sakura food while watching sakura!