What to Eat in Japan During Spring and Hanami
Spring in Japan is not only visible in the landscape but also in what appears on menus, in shops, and in meals. As the season changes, so do the ingredients, flavors, and even the presentation of food. Some of these have been enjoyed for thousands of years, while others come from more recent trends. Below, we look at what people usually eat and drink during spring, including the foods commonly enjoyed during hanami.
Spring Seasonal Foods in Japan
Spring in Japan is closely tied to seasonal eating, where ingredients are enjoyed at the time they are naturally harvested. This reflects the concept of shun (旬), meaning food is at its peak in flavor and freshness when eaten in season. During spring, ingredients tend to be lighter and fresher, marking a transition from the heavier foods of winter.
Takenoko (筍, bamboo shoots)
Takenoko are one of the most representative ingredients of spring, harvested from young bamboo plants. They have a soft texture and a mild, slightly earthy flavor. Because freshly harvested takenoko can be slightly bitter, they are often boiled and prepared before cooking.
A common dish is takenoko gohan (筍ご飯, bamboo shoot rice), where the shoots are cooked with rice to highlight their natural taste. They are also used in soups and simmered dishes, often paired with simple seasonings.
Nanohana (菜の花, rapeseed blossoms)
Nanohana are early spring greens known for their slightly bitter flavor; they are typically harvested before the flowers fully open. This bitterness is considered refreshing after winter and is a characteristic of many spring vegetables in Japan.
Nanohana are typically served as a side dish boiled as ohitashi (seasoned with dashi and soy sauce) or as karashi-ae (mixed with soy sauce and mustard), which helps soften its sharp taste. They are also used in salads or simple mixed dishes that allow their flavor to stand out. The buds, stems, and leaves are all edible and provide a good source of vitamins.
Ichigo (苺, strawberries)
Strawberries are strongly associated with spring and are widely available during this time. Japanese strawberries are known for being large, sweet, and carefully cultivated, often eaten fresh or used in desserts.
They are commonly found in sweets such as daifuku, where a whole strawberry is wrapped with red bean paste and rice cake. Strawberries are also used in cakes, parfaits, and limited products, making them one of the most visible spring ingredients.
Traditional Spring Sweets
Spring sweets in Japan are often designed to look like the season as much as they taste like it; during this time, many sweets are designed to match the colors and atmosphere of spring, often using pink, white, and green to represent cherry blossoms and new leaves. These sweets are commonly enjoyed during events and are closely linked to traditions such as hanami and other spring festivals.
Sakura mochi (桜餅)
Sakura mochi is one of the most recognizable spring wagashi: a sweet pink rice cake filled with red bean paste and wrapped in a salted cherry leaf. Wrapping sakura mochi in cherry leaves helps prevent the mochi from drying out and transfers the leaf’s fragrance, while the saltiness balances the sweet filling, a combination characteristic of sakura mochi.
There are two main regional types: the Kanto version uses a thin, crepe-like wheat skin, while the Kansai version is made with domyoji flour, a coarse glutinous rice.
It is believed to have been created in 1717 by Shinroku Yamamoto, an official at Chōmeiji Temple. While clearing the many fallen cherry leaves along the riverbank, he decided to preserve them in salt and use them to wrap a rice cake filled with sweet bean paste. The resulting sakura mochi quickly gained popularity and became a well-known local specialty.
Hanami dango (花見団子)
Hanami dango, also known as tricolor dango (三色団子), are skewered rice dumplings arranged in three colors: pink, white, and green. These colors are said to represent the progression of the season, from the end of winter to cherry blossoms and the arrival of fresh greenery. Hanami dango are commonly eaten during spring picnics under cherry trees, making them one of the most recognizable sweets of the season.
Wagashi (和菓子, sakura-themed varieties)
Many types of wagashi are adapted for spring using designs and ingredients that reflect the season. These include sweets such as yōkan (羊羹, jelly) and manjū (饅頭, filled buns), often decorated with cherry blossom motifs or flavored with sakura. These sweets are commonly served during tea ceremonies and gatherings.
What to Eat and Drink During Hanami
Hanami is a spring tradition in Japan where people eat and drink outdoors under cherry blossoms. During this time, gatherings take place beneath the blossoms with family, friends, or coworkers, sharing food and drinks.
Because people often spend several hours in parks, sometimes in large groups, the food brought to hanami is chosen with practicality in mind. It is typically portable, easy to divide among multiple people, still tastes good at room temperature, and does not require heating or complex preparation.
Another important aspect is convenience: food can be either homemade or purchased, and both options are common depending on the group.
Bentō (お弁当)
Bentō are one of the most typical choices for hanami because they offer variety and convenience in a single container. A bentō usually includes rice, protein (meat or fish), and side dishes such as vegetables arranged in small portions, which makes it easy for groups to share different items.
Many people prepare bentō at home, especially for family gatherings, while supermarkets and convenience stores offer hanami bentō with spring ingredients and decorative presentation. These ready-to-eat options are especially common for coworkers or friends meeting after work.
A bentō typically includes dishes such as sushi rolls, inarizushi (vinegared rice stuffed in sweet fried tofu pockets), tamagoyaki (slightly sweet rolled Japanese omelette), and pink-and-white kamaboko (fish cake) to reflect the colors of the season.
Onigiri (おにぎり)
Onigiri are a practical choice for outdoor eating due to their compact shape and individual wrapping, which makes them easy to carry and handle without utensils. They are also simple and filling, often filled with ingredients that preserve well, such as salted salmon, tuna, or pickled plum, which makes them suitable for being kept at room temperature for several hours. During cherry blossom season, some shops also sell sakura-themed onigiri using salted cherry blossoms for a more spring-like flavor.
Karaage (唐揚げ)
Karaage is widely included in hanami meals because it is easy to share. It is usually prepared in advance and served at room temperature, which makes it suitable for picnics. It is commonly included in bento boxes or brought separately for group picnics.
Sandwiches
Sandwiches are also a common and convenient option, especially those sold in convenience stores, such as egg salad, fruit, or cutlet sandwiches. They are easy to transport, individually wrapped, and ready to eat.
These preferences are reflected in a Japanese cooking media poll, which ranked onigiri first (42 votes), followed by hanami dango, tamagoyaki, sakura mochi, and karaage among must-have hanami foods.
Green tea (sencha 煎茶 or matcha 抹茶)
Green tea is one of the most common drinks during hanami because it is easy to carry and suitable for all ages. Bottled green tea is widely available in convenience stores and vending machines, and it can be found both hot and cold.
The two most common types are sencha, a brewed tea made from steeped leaves with a light, refreshing taste, and matcha, a powdered tea mixed directly with water, resulting in a stronger flavor and thicker texture. Green tea is often chosen as a non-alcoholic option that pairs well with both savory foods and sweets.
Amazake (甘酒)
Amazake is a mildly sweet rice-based drink that can be either low in alcohol or completely non-alcoholic, depending on how it is made. It has a thick texture and is traditionally consumed during colder months, though it is also enjoyed in early spring.
Seasonal Drinks (sakura-themed beverages)
During spring, many cafés and convenience stores offer for a limited time sakura-flavored drinks, such as lattes, teas, or soft drinks. These beverages are usually lightly sweet and designed to reflect the season through both flavor and appearance, often with pink tones or cherry blossom designs.
Limited Spring Snacks and Drinks
Spring in Japan, like any other season, has a strong limited time snack culture, especially around sakura flavors, strawberries, and matcha, and it is very easy to find these items in convenience stores, supermarkets, and cafés. These products are typically available only for a few weeks, often from late February to early April.
Sakura Pastries
Bakeries and café chains release a variety of sakura-flavored pastries each spring. These can include donuts, sponge cakes, cheesecakes, and macarons infused with cherry blossom flavor, with pink tones and decorative elements that reflect cherry blossoms.
Sakura Café Drinks
Many café chains and coffee shops introduce special drinks during spring, including sakura lattes and teas. These drinks are often released as part of a limited menu, with variations each year in flavor combinations and presentation. For example, Starbucks Japan launched multiple sakura beverages this year, including cherry blossom white peach frappuccino, cherry blossom latte, and cherry blossom white peach soda.
Convenience Store Spring Items
Convenience stores such as 7-Eleven, Lawson, and FamilyMart play a key role in this time of year’s food culture. Each spring, as in other seasons, they release rotating selections of limited products, including snacks, desserts, drinks, and ready-to-eat meals made with ingredients commonly associated with this period, such as sakura or strawberries.
For this year, 7-Eleven Japan announced a spring sweets lineup based around sakura, strawberry, and matcha, including crepes with strawberry sauce and sakura cream, parfaits with sakura mochi, and rice cakes with matcha paste and strawberry. Lawson also ran a “sakura fair” featuring items such as sakura latte flavored daifuku, chocolate marshmallows, and baumkuchen.
What the “Sakura Flavor” Really Is
Something interesting to note is that the famous “sakura flavor” usually does not come from cherry fruit; it is linked to the aroma compound coumarin, a vanilla-scented compound found in many plants, which develops when cherry leaves or blossoms are salted and processed. Fresh leaves and flowers do not naturally have the familiar “sakura” flavor without this transformation.
Leaves from varieties such as Ōshima-zakura are used for foods like sakura mochi because they contain higher levels of these aroma compounds. This is why sakura snacks often taste floral and slightly herbal rather than fruity.
Most of the cherry trees people see during hanami are ornamental varieties that do not produce edible fruit, or produce very small, bitter cherries that are generally not consumed by people but animals.
Eating the Season
What people eat in Japan during spring depends as much on occasion as on ingredients. Some foods are tied to the season because they are freshest in these months, while others are linked to specific activities such as hanami, where convenience, and sharing matter most.
Spring also stands out for how strongly businesses engage with the season, releasing limited sweets, drinks, and snacks that quickly disappear from shelves. Together, these foods show that spring in Japan can be experienced not only through nature, but also through dishes and treats.
🍡 Experience the Season While It Lasts
Many spring foods in Japan are available only for a short time, and how they are enjoyed depends on being there at the right moment. An internship in Japan gives you the chance to experience this season as it happens. Join the program or reach out to us to find opportunities that suit you!
