Hanami Bento: Sakura-Themed Food to Enjoy During Spring

While travelling through Japan during the fresh and merry months of March and April, you will, unconditionally, be confronted with the sakura (桜 cherry blossom) fever. Cherry blossoms are a specifically timed and ephemeral Japanese spring tradition.

The blooms would without doubt seduce anyone but today we’ll be focusing on a sakura feast. Indeed, these beautiful natural ornaments aren’t only for the eyes—they are edible as well. So while planning your next hanami (花見 flower-viewing) picnic, make sure to try out the following bites.

But before that, I want you to picture this: we’re strolling through Yoyogi Park and we find a cosy spot under the blooming cherry trees. We sit down with our friends and family and we take out our hanami bento (花見弁当) that we packed and brought with us. We have three beautiful and delicious sakura-themed bites that we are more than ready to eat. Have a peek:

1. Sakura-onigiri

Of course, every Japanese mama will have their preferences in shape and taste, but the sakura-onigiri (桜おにぎり)—flavoured rice balls decorated with pickled sakura flowers—are a cute touch to a lunch box, wouldn’t everyone agree? The fresh petals of the Yaezakura (八重桜) are pickled in rice vinegar and salt, or just salt for a more feisty taste. After a few days, they are then used fresh or dried and stored for later use.

2. Sakura tea

After that yummy sakura-onigiri, you might be feeling thirsty. Dried sakura blossoms are used in tea as well, sometimes in combination with kombu (昆布 kelp) in a fresh but salted tea. The floating flowers provide tea enthusiasts with a dreamy atmosphere in their cups. And the marriage of the salty sakura petals with a little sweet Japanese cake? That is just perfection.

3. Sakuramochi

These sweets are called sakuramochi (桜餅), a delicacy composed of pickled (salty) cherry leaves, enveloping a round piece of pink rice and sweet bean paste. The Japanese push the art of sweets even further, composing with sakura liquor, jellies and sugar-coated flowers. These beauties are less of a common occurrence, as they are mostly available in specialized Japanese confectionaries. We’ll keep it simple, but add just one of these sweet desserts to your bento lunch box, and most assuredly, the whole crew will end up wanting one bite of it.

We have a short week left to enjoy strolling between the blossoms at the parks, tasting sweet or savoury culinary delights and exchanging about the petals in our tea and over our heads. The sakura season is a delicate and ephemeral phenomenon, often parallel with the fragility of life, so let’s enjoy it while it lasts.