Cherry blossom season has already kicked off in Japan, and one important part of the celebration is selecting the perfect snacks and treats to enjoy while appreciating the beautiful blooms.

Wagashi are a classic choice, as there’s a few Japanese sweets traditionally eaten around this time of year such as sanshoku dango. But if you want to go for something that combines tradition and modern pop culture, you can go for wagashi shaped like some cute characters.

‘Tabemasu’ is a sweets company that excels in this field, with super detailed and colourful sweets. For spring they’ve already released a couple of cherry blossom-inspired Sumikko Gurashi characters and now fans of Doraemon are in for a treat.

Two sweets are on offer with different cute expressions to choose from.

But it’s not just the outer appearance of the sweets that differs, the fillings are distinct too. The cheeky tongue-out Doraemon has a custard flavour, while the winky face one has a spring-appropriate strawberry flavour.

The adorable characters are made from nerikiri, a type of wagashi made from white bean paste and glutinous rice flour.

The two are sold separately and cost 285 yen each. They can currently be found in the chilled desserts section of Lawson convenience stores.


By - grape Japan editorial staff.