9 cherry blossom flavored dishes 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. Here's a list of 9 sakura flavored treats for you to try this spring.

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. Starbucks Sakura Chocolate with Strawberry Jelly

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.

8. Chocolixir White Chocolate Sakura Lala (Godiva)

Godiva is famous worldwide for its 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.

9. PABLO mini Sakura Mochi (PABLO)

PABLO is very well known in Japan for its 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, a pinkish sweet paste made with sakura leaves from Shizuoka is squeezed over it.

Read more: Fall in love with Cherry Blossom products in Japan

Source tsunagu Japan