2020 Sakura Snacks: The Best – and Worst – Hanami-Inspired Combini Goods

Feb 26, 2020

2020 Sakura Snacks: The Best – and Worst – Hanami-Inspired Combini Goods

You always know when the hanami season is truly upon us. It’s not the onset of spring. It’s not the apparent decrease in people saying ‘samui desu ne’. It’s not even the hesitant blooming of cherry blossom trees in the park. No, it’s when the convenience stores start filling up with all kinds of sakura-flavored products. But are they any good? We have taken it upon ourselves to sample a few of them, so you, perhaps, don’t have to.

Sakura Odama Chocoball

Whenever I hear the words ‘choco balls’, I immediately think of that classic South Park episode (and yes, I’m old enough to have bought the CD single), so I’m already on the back foot. This is the first one, and my Japanese wife immediately says, ‘oh, tastes like sakura!’ Well, surely that should be par for the course, but not knowing quite what sakura flowers taste like, I’ll have to take her word for it. Artificially sweet, with a flowery white chocolate burst. The biscuit inside isn’t so bad, but that’s as good as it gets. I’d prefer to chew on Chef’s.

Sakura Mintia

As a lover of garlic, spicy food, and beer in copious quantities, I live in constant fear of being plagued with halitosis. As such, I am always sucking on an extra-strong ‘Mintia’ mint. This, however, isn’t minty. With that said, it is what I expected sakura to taste like, though with a hint of cherry. It’s very flowery, but kind of in a fresh yet old fashioned way; if you can imagine the perfume of a youngish grandmother, then you’re halfway there. If you’ve ever had Parma Violets, then that’ll get you across the finishing line.

Starbucks Sakura

Now, I’m not a coffee drinker, and as such, I can count on the fingers of one hand how many times I’ve ventured into Starbucks. But at this time of year, my Instagram is usually choc-a-bloc with pics of sakura coffee. Fortunately, this isn’t coffee, it’s cherry blossom, white chocolate, and cheesecake flavored milk pudding drink. Quite a mouthful, eh?

And what a mouthful it is. I had expected this to be sweeter than a kitten in a cup, but it’s pleasantly restrained. There is no real discernable sakura taste, and with the chunks of ‘milk pudding’ floating in it, it’s kind of like drinking annin tofu with a hint of cheesecake taste, in the best possible way. It’s waaaaay better than coffee on any road.

Sakura Tea Latte

Okay, as a Brit, tea is much more up my alley, though I generally only pop in a dash of milk after stewing the bag for about ten minutes, so ‘latte’ is a little out of my comfort zone. And just as I thought, it’s really sweet. If you’ve had one of those abominable ‘Royal Milk Tea’s that you find at the convenience store, then you’ll get the idea. They’ve just taken one of those and chucked in a bit of sakura spice. Give me a proper brew over this, anytime!

Sakura Cream Daifuku

I’m a big fan of the 7-Eleven daifuku (a soft mochi ball with sweet cream inside), so this one was already on to a winner. Okay, so this is really sakura-y. Sweet, soft, with that lovely chewy mochi. Most definitely the best so far. 7-Eleven’s daifuku never lets me down!

Cherry Blossom Dorayaki

Dorayaki, however, is very much not my thing. I’ve got nothing against the pancake outer sides, but the anko [anzaki beans] inside is most definitely not my cup of tea. But here goes. Well, there’s a turn up for the books! The mix of anko and sakura gives an almost maple syrup vibe. It’s maple syrup and pancakes! Who would’ve thought it!

Sakura Chocolate Blanchul

Not being exactly au fait with the world of French cookies, I had to google ‘blanchul’, and apparently it’s what I would call a chockie bickie (chocolate cookie to you), so I’m already intrigued. This is another one that has little or no sakura taste. The crunchy cookie outer sandwich isn’t too bad, but the white chocolate filling is kind of ‘meh’. I’d much rather have a custard cream any day of the week.

Yawa Mochi Ice

Okay, and now for the real test. When it comes to faddish ice cream, Japan’s convenience stores can get it really wrong. Spaghetti or scrambled egg flavored popsicles, for a start. Let’s see how we get on with the cherry blossom. Coming up at the rear, I think we have a winner. A sweet sakura ice cream topped with chewy mochi and all held together with an anko sauce that isn’t too… well… anko-y. For years I’ve been suspicious of the annual sakura shenanigans of the conbini store, but this one has won me round.

I can’t wait to see what comes up next year!