Ahead of the cherry blossom viewing season, JR Kyoto Isetan is hosting the "Sakura Sweets Collection" on its basement food floor until March 18th, bringing together a selection of cherry blossom-themed sweets. Eleven popular Kyoto brands, from delicate Japanese confections to creative Western confections, are offering seasonal cherry blossom sweets.

As the home of Japanese sweets, Kyoto is home to many long-established shops renowned throughout the country. Among them, Tsuruya Kotobuki, located in the city's famous Arashiyama district, is the first shop specializing in sakura mochi (cherry blossom rice cakes), and is known for being used as souvenirs by high-end restaurants. All ingredients are domestically sourced, and the cherry leaves are from the Oshima cherry tree, a specialty of the Izu region. The mochi, made by encasing smooth bean paste in domyoji rice cake and then wrapping it in two salted leaves, has long been loved by locals as a "white sakura mochi" that makes the most of the natural color of the ingredients. Sentaro, a popular Kyoto confectionery brand, will be showcasing the spring-like "Sakura Kohagi," a Domyoji rice cake wrapped in a tsubuan (whole bean paste) of Tamba Dainagon rice and topped with salted cherry blossoms. Tawaraya Yoshitomi, a 260-year-old Kyoto confectionery maker, and Kameya Yoshinaga, a shop on Kyoto's main street, Shijo Street, will each be showcasing seasonal cherry blossom-inspired fresh sweets. In addition to fresh sweets, unique cherry blossom sweets will also be on display, including the adorable rice crackers from Ganko Shokunin, which mix cherry blossom leaves into the dough and deep-fry them in cherry blossom-shaped mochi. Aozashi Karari, a new type of crispy confectionery fried using a unique method, will also be showcasing their pink-packaged fried mochi. Popular Kyoto confectionery shops will also be offering a wide selection of seasonal items. Juvencel, a popular Kyoto confectionery store that incorporates traditional Japanese ingredients into its Western confectionery, will be showcasing fresh chocolate with a spring-like aroma, featuring salted cherry blossom leaves. The "Sakura Roll" from Antenor, a cake shop with its main store in Kobe, is a luxurious roll cake made with cherry blossom-colored jelly and bean paste wrapped in matcha sponge and topped with cherry blossom bean paste cream.

Also, confectionery shop Kamanariya, famous for its kamamushi manju, will be offering a new product, the "Sakura Boussee," with cherry blossom cream sandwiched between crispy pastry, and popular bakery Andersen will be offering the "Sakura Cream Bread," a bread baked to be crispy on the outside and soft and fluffy on the inside, filled with cherry blossom cream.