There’s a reason why Japanese convenience stores are so darn great. Stop in at your local konbini and you’ll notice a plethora of new food items released every week. What’s more, you’re bound to find interesting specialities based on the season and major holidays.
When spring rolls around, expect everything to come in sakura and strawberry. The two flavours are synonymous with spring and are often put together in ice creams and other tasty concoctions. If you’re already well-versed in the signature meals from each konbini chain, try these special seasonal items the next time you’re feeling snacky.
Lawson x Ichibiko Ichigo Milk Sandwich
Lawson has teamed up with Ichibiko, Tokyo’s specialist strawberry shortcake café, to come up with a range of new strawberry desserts. One of the highlights is the Ichigo Milk Sandwich, a twist on the classic fruit sando made with strawberry jam, whipped cream, fresh strawberries and shokupan spread with condensed milk. ¥378
Lawson Uchi Cafe Sakura Strawberry Dacquoise
This delectable sakura strawberry dacquoise is like a fancy ice cream sandwich. The two outer layers are made from a sakura-flavoured dacquoise (almond and hazelnut meringue), and are filled with cherry blossom ice cream and strawberry sakura sauce. ¥258
FamilyMart Eating Ranch Strawberry Ice Cream
This ice cream cup is a standard FamilyMart dessert you'll find in the freezer section. Don’t miss the seasonal variations featuring different fruits layered with the classic Hokkaido milk ice cream. This spring, try out the Taberu Ranch Strawberry, which has a rich layer of strawberry gelato. ¥228
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7-Eleven Sakura and Peach Jelly
7-Eleven’s Seven Sweets spring lineup includes this refreshing sakura and peach jelly made with peaches, cherries and chewy warabimochi. The cup is topped off with a layer of cherry blossom jelly for maximum spring flavour. ¥292
Lawson Uchi Cafe Sakura Green Tea Latte
Thirsty? Pick up this sakura green tea latte from Lawson which features kamairicha green tea mixed with fragrant salted cherry blossoms. The tea leaves are steeped right in the milk, so there’s no dilution of flavour. ¥168
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7-Eleven Sakura An Dango Parfait
Another dessert from 7-Eleven, this sweet parfait blends together sakura-flavoured warabi (bracken starch) jelly, cherry blossom mousse and sakura an bean paste. It’s then topped off with a shiratama and yomogi dango (mochi dumplings) for extra chewiness. ¥300
Lawson Uchi Cafe Japanese fruit ice bar
Lawson’s Uchi Cafe range includes this fruity popsicle, which comes in different flavours every few months. The flavours revolve around domestic Japanese fruits like this season’s Miyazaki mango and tankan Okinawan orange flavour. The bar contains a sorbet-like mango centre with an orange-flavoured outer coating. ¥185
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