The Best Sakura Food and Drinks to try in Japan

Japan is very famous for its beautiful cherry blossom spots and its culture of hanami (sakura trees viewing), but did you know that there are other ways to enjoy this beautiful flower?

During spring and during spring ONLY, Japan offers a wide variety of sakura flavored food and drinks, made either with the petals of the flower or with their leaves, which are indeed edible, to my delight!

In this article, I will introduce my favorite foods and drinks and where to find them.

Shops

KALDI COFFEE FARM

カルディコーヒーファーム

Definitely my favorite place to go to stock up on sakura items, Kaldi is a real gold mine for sakura addicts like me! They offer a wide selection of delicious foods from early February, and here are some of my favorites:

And the best news is that you can also buy all these delicious items online!

caférrant - coffee and world food market

カフェランテ

Often located in Aeon and Aeon Style supermarkets, this shop offers a coffee beans selection and a variety of world products similar to KALDI COFFEE FARM. During spring, they have many sakura flavored cakes and candies in their storefront. Look for pink, you cant miss it!

LUPICIA

ルピシア

If you enjoy drinking tea or are looking for a great gift or souvenir, you should check LUPICIA. During springtime, they have a wide variety of cherry blossom flavored teas with beautifully designed boxes and packages. They match perfectly the previously introduced sakura sweets.
You can find anything you want: green, black or fruit teas; loose tea and tea bags; even liquid tea honey to perfume your yogurt and ice cream; and they often propose tea testing when you enter the shop.

You can also check their 2023 spring tea collection online here (see complete catalogue here, in Japanese). They also have international websites (USA, France, Taiwan, Australia).

Cafe & Restaurants

Since almost every cafe and restaurants in Japan has their own version of sakura drinks and menus during spring, it would we hard to list them all, so I picked up my favorites.

STARBUCKS

スターバックスコーヒージャパン

Starbucks offers every year a new collection of cherry blossom beverages, cakes, mugs and other products as well as a spring coffee blend (you can check all items here).

This year again, they released their AR features to enjoy taking pictures with your phone with different sakura stickers, check details here (in Japanese, please let us know on our SNS if you would be interested to get the how-to article on this event).

PABLO

焼きたてチーズタルト専門店PABLO(パブロ)

The sakura cheese cakes from PABLO are really a must try! They cost only 300 yen and are really delicious. They are usually released in March so stay tuned. You can check the sotres locations here (you can select English language on the bottom left of the page).

Baskin-Robbins

サーティワンアイスクリーム

This might be my favorite of all sakura foods in this list… And my favorite of all Baskin Robbins’ flavors! The taste is just amazing! Don’t miss out!

GODIVA

ゴディバ

Godiva also has their own Sakura drink released since February 17th this year.
It is a frozen drink made with white chocolate and cherry blossom bean paste, topped with whipped cream, a cherry blossom crunch made with cherry blossom petals and leaves, and green tea powder to create an image of cherry blossoms in full bloom. Is it a bit sweet but I think you should try it at least once.

Other honorable mentions include Mister Donut, Tully’s Coffee Japan, THE ALLEY, Cinnabon, Lindt… And it is always a good idea to check Japanese bakeries.

Convenient Stores & Supermarkets

They also have some seasonal items in all convenient stores and supermarkets, so check out for pink and wait for spring while enjoying the sweet flavor of sakura.

In addition to the traditional sakura mochi, manju, doriyaki, onigiri, tea, sake, etc. that you can find in any supermarket, some famous chocolate brands like Pocky and KitKat, and other favorites like Lipton, Mt. RAINIER, etc. always have delicious spring-only delights on the shelves so be sure to try them out. And don’t forget the fresh desserts section for some delicious sakura Mont Blanc cakes and the like!

Please note that during springtime in Japan, almost every product, from edibles to cleaning supplies, is redesigned to include the seasonal cherry blossom flowers on their packages, but it does not always mean they are sakura flavored/scented! Check the ingredients list if you are not sure.

So, will you try these delicious foods? Please let us know if you liked them on our Twitter or Instagram!

Since most of these foods and drinks actually come up in the stores very early spring in mid February, my advice would be to stock up on the sakura items you like, so you can actually enjoy them under the sakura trees when picnic time comes!

The Best Sakura Food and Drinks to try in Japan

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