Every year, thousands of people in Japan gather in parks during spring to appreciate cherry blossoms in a custom that’s called hanami. This year, however, the coronavirus pandemic has restricted people from gathering for hanami, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t show your love for spring in other ways.

Village Vanguard, a Japanese novelty item shop, recently released a fashion item that can help you find a way to still enjoy the season, with hats that look like sakura mochi.

The hats are handmade by a Japanese hatmaker, who has come up with other hats based around vegetables and fruits. They previously released a slightly different version of the sakura mochi hat in 2017, but the design has now been updated for 2020.

The 2020 design retains the bright pink felt with a cherry leaf sitting on top, but it also adds a single cherry blossom petal and a gold floral pattern lining.

If you want to add the sakura mochi hat to your wardrobe, it can be ordered online at the Village Vanguard Online Store. It costs 6,050 yen and due to its handmade nature, orders are limited to one hat per person.


By - Jen Laforteza.