Sakura season is a very popular time in Japan. Brands start coming out with sakura themed merchandise, sakura desserts, sakura drinks, snacks, and other food even before the first cherry blossom trees start to bloom. Many stores even decorate their shelves with faux cherry blossom branches and use the pretty sakura flowers and pink colors in their advertisements and signage. It certainly is a nice way to transition into spring. March is the perfect time to catch a glimpse of the sakura craze, as it is typically the time of year when the sakura flowers start blooming.

This sakura season, the Japanese shops and cafes, sure have outdone themselves. There are so many gorgeous and delicious sakura desserts to try. Unfortunately most will disappear from the menus by mid April. While they are still around though, we highly recommend giving these desserts a try!

Mister Donut Sakura Donuts

Mister Donut is one of the biggest donut chains in Japan and they are known for their fun seasonal menu and variety in donut flavors and designs. They often have character donuts like Pikachu, and collaborations with other animes like Cocotama and DragonBall! This month, they came out with a line of sakura flavored donuts just in time for cherry blossom season!

For the month of March and into early April, Mister Donut is offering 6 different sakura themed donuts including:

Sakura Petal Donut – Sakura Flavor: 129 yen

Sakura Petal Donut – Kinako Flavor: 129 yen

Sakura Petal Donut – Azuki: 140 yen

Sakura-Fashioned: 129 yen

Sakura-Chocolate Fashioned: 140

Sakura-Fashioned Honey: 140

These limited edition sakura donuts are a must try this spring! The sakura shaped donuts are inspired by the traditional sakura mochi dessert wrapped in a pickled sakura leaf and filled with red bean paste. The dough was made with a special mixture to give it a more chewy and springy texture similar to the traditional mochi dessert. The Sakura-Fashioned donuts are made with the classic and ever popular old fashioned dough and a mixture of sakura flavored powder is kneaded into the dough.

Starbucks Sakura Chiffon Cake

Every year, Starbucks Japan launches a line of sakura themed drinks, desserts, and merchandise. This year they brought back the popular sakura chiffon cake as well as a couple other fun desserts like sakura donuts, sakura roll pie, and sakura milk pudding.

The Sakura Chiffon Cake was our favorite out of the Starbucks desserts. It was moist, soft and had a nice hint of floral sakura. This is a great dessert to eat with a nice cup of tea or one of Starbucks’ limited edition sakura drinks!

Cinnabon Sakura cinnamon buns

The popular American cinnamon bun cafe released sakura minibon, a small cinnamon bun coated in sweet cream cheese sakura icing and a sakura crumble on top. This limited edition sakura minibon will be available for the month of March and end mid April on the 18th.

This sakura treat is definitely on our list of must tries this spring! It would be a perfect dessert for a spring hanami picnic!

Sakura Mont Blanc

Cafes and donut shops aren’t the only places getting on board with the sakura themed desserts. Many can be found at convenience stores, supermarkets, and department stores. This one in particular is the Sakura Mont Blanc from the Daimaru Department Store which features a delicate cherry blossom cream on the outside with strawberry jam and cream in the middle. Mont Blanc is a very popular type of dessert in Japan and this sakura edition is a must try!

Sakura Mochi

Sakura mochi is a common seasonal dessert found at sweet shops, and even convenience stores and supermarkets. It typically comes wrapped in an actual sakura leaf and with sweet red bean paste in the middle. The leaf is a bit bitter so it wouldn't be for everyone but is a nice traditional Japanese dessert to try during sakura season!

There are so many sakura desserts and snacks right now with sakura season upon us. Which one of these desserts are you dying to try? Let us know in the comments!

Are you looking to try some sakura snacks? Check out popular sakura chocolates and treats on JapanHaul.com!

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