Sakura Mochi Recipe: Easy Cherry Blossom Mochi, Kanto and Kansai Style, Plus Ready-Made Sakura Mochi

Sakura mochi is Japan’s spring sweet: sweet red bean paste wrapped in pink mochi and a salted cherry leaf, with a gentle floral, slightly salty aroma. There are two styles, a smooth rolled crepe from the Kanto region around Tokyo and a grainy, round version from the Kansai region around Osaka and Kyoto, and both are easy to make at home.

In this guide you will find:

• The difference between Kanto-style and Kansai-style sakura mochi
• Two cherry blossom mochi recipes, based on official recipes from Japanese rice-flour maker Maeharaseifun
• Where to get the harder-to-find ingredients, domyoji flour and salted cherry leaves
• Ready-made sakura mochi that keeps long enough to be shipped from Japan

Kanto vs Kansai Sakura Mochi

Both are wrapped in a cherry leaf preserved in salt, which gives sakura mochi its distinctive aroma. If you avoid gluten, the Kansai style is the one to make; see our guide on whether mochi is gluten-free.

What You Need

Most ingredients are easy to find: sugar, sweet red bean paste, and a little red food colouring for the pink. The two that are hard to buy outside Japan are domyoji flour for the Kansai style and salted cherry leaves (sakura no ha no shiozuke) for both. Shiratamako for the Kanto style is also easier to find in Japan than abroad. If you cannot find them locally, you can request them from Japan through kachicollect by sending the product link; more on that below.

Recipe 1: Kansai-Style Sakura Mochi (Domyoji)

This version is made in the microwave and needs no special skills. It makes 8 pieces and takes about 45 minutes, most of it resting time.

Step 1. Rinse the cherry leaves lightly and leave them to soak in water. Divide the bean paste into 8 and roll into balls.

Step 2. In a microwave-safe bowl, mix the domyoji flour, sugar, water and food colouring well. Cover with cling film and leave for 20 minutes.

Step 3. Mix again, cover, and microwave at 600 W for 10 minutes. Take it out and mix well with a spatula.

Step 4. Divide the mixture into 8. Spread one portion flat in your palm, wrap it around a ball of bean paste and shape it.

Step 5. Pat a cherry leaf dry and wrap it around the mochi.

Recipe 2: Kanto-Style Sakura Mochi (Chomeiji)

The Kanto style is made like a thin crepe in a frying pan and rolled around the bean paste. It makes 8 pieces.

Step 1. Rinse the cherry leaves and soak them in water for at least 10 minutes to draw out the salt. Divide the bean paste into 8 and shape into short logs.

Step 2. In a bowl, mix the shiratamako with a little of the water, crushing the lumps. Add the sugar and whisk, then sift in the flour and mix until smooth. Add the rest of the water as you go, strain the batter, cover and leave for 30 minutes.

Step 3. To colour it, dissolve the food colouring in about a teaspoon of water and add it a little at a time until the batter is pale pink. It darkens slightly when cooked.

Step 4. Heat a frying pan over low-medium heat, then cool it for about 15 seconds on a damp cloth. Oil it lightly, return it to the heat, pour in a ladle of batter and spread it into an oval about 6 × 12 cm. When the surface looks dry, flip it and cook for about 10 seconds. Keep the heat low so it does not brown.

Step 5. Make 8 crepes and let them cool without overlapping. Place a log of bean paste at one end, roll it up, and wrap it in a dried cherry leaf with the veined side facing out.

Tips

Getting the pink right. Add colouring a drop at a time; the aim is a pale blossom pink, not a bright one.

The leaf. Soaking removes excess salt. Whether to eat the leaf is up to you: many people eat it with the mochi for the salty contrast, while others take it off and enjoy just the aroma.

Eat it fresh. Homemade sakura mochi is best on the day you make it, as the mochi firms up over time. For more mochi you can make at home, see our easy mochi recipes.

Ready-Made Sakura Mochi You Can Get Outside Japan

Why Most Sakura Mochi Can’t Be Shipped

Sakura mochi from Japanese confectioners is a fresh sweet. Traditional makers typically give it a use-by date of one to three days, so it cannot survive international shipping. If you want ready-made sakura mochi outside Japan, you need a shelf-stable version made to keep at room temperature.

Seiki Sakura Mochi (In the kachicollect Catalog)

Seiki, a mochi maker in Ehime, makes a sakura mochi that does exactly that. Soft, chewy mochi is kneaded with powdered cherry leaf for the same delicate sakura aroma, then individually wrapped and packed in a 130 g resealable pouch. According to the maker, it keeps for 150 days at room temperature, which is why it is popular as a souvenir from Japan. It lists milk among its allergens.

Seiki sakura mochi is in the kachicollect catalog, alongside Seiki’s strawberry, white peach and matcha mochi from the same range. Our guide to Japanese mochi snack flavours covers the full range.

Ingredients and Other Sakura Sweets by Purchase Request

For domyoji flour, salted cherry leaves, shiratamako or seasonal sakura sweets that are not in the catalog, send the product link from a Japanese site. You get an instant quote and can buy it directly on kachicollect with no service fees, and that covers Japanese marketplace listings in general.

Proxy services such as Buyee, ZenMarket and FROM JAPAN can also buy from Japanese sites for you, but the fee shown upfront is only the starting point, and other costs are usually added along the way. They also buy at Japanese retail prices that include Japan’s 10% domestic consumption tax and pass it on to you, while kachicollect sells for export. A kachicollect purchase request gives you the same access without proxy fees, with the total including duties shown before you pay.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do you eat the cherry leaf on sakura mochi?

You can. The salted leaf is edible, and many people eat it for its salty, fragrant contrast with the sweet mochi. Others remove it. Either is fine.

Why is sakura mochi pink?

The pink comes from food colouring added to the dough, meant to evoke cherry blossoms. The flavour itself comes from the salted cherry leaf.

Can I make sakura mochi without domyoji flour?

Yes, by making the Kanto style, which uses shiratamako and wheat flour instead. Domyoji flour is needed for the grainy Kansai style.

How long does sakura mochi keep?

Homemade and shop-made sakura mochi is best eaten the same day and usually keeps only one to three days. Shelf-stable versions such as Seiki’s keep for months sealed at room temperature.

Conclusion

Sakura mochi is easier to make than it looks: the Kansai style needs one bowl and a microwave, and the Kanto style is a simple pink crepe rolled around bean paste. The hardest part outside Japan is finding domyoji flour and salted cherry leaves, and fresh sakura mochi from Japan cannot be shipped at all.

For a sakura mochi that can travel, Seiki’s shelf-stable sakura mochi is in the kachicollect catalog, and ingredients like domyoji flour and salted cherry leaves can be requested by sending the product link. You pay the item price plus shipping with no proxy fees, see the total including duties before checkout, and first-time customers can use the code WELCOME20 for 20% off. If you are new to mochi, start with what mochi is.