Sakura Donuts

By Greg VessarApril 10, 2019

It was a nice sunny day the other day here in Misawa, so I decided to explore a little of northern Japan. I had no real destination in mind, I just got in my car and drove. I ended up taking the local toll road. I exited at Hachinohe, which is a city about 45 minutes from Misawa. Hach, as the local American expats call it, is bigger than Misawa and offers more variety when it comes to dining and shopping options. On this day, I was just exploring and I hoped to find a unique place to have lunch. I stopped at a popular shopping area to have a look around and was immediately interested in an advertisement I saw. Take a look at the ad:

Mister Donut Sakura Advertisement. April 4, 2019. Hachinohe, Japan.

Are you kidding me? Sakura flavored donuts at Mister Donut! You had me at donut! Ahh donuts…my achilles heel…I love’em! I know I shouldn’t. Gotta watch the waistline, but man, it is hard to pass up a good glazed donut! Or any donut to be honest. Anyway, back to the ad! Sakura is Japanese for cherry blossom. As spring begins, cherry trees all over Japan begin to blossom and this is called Sakura Season. All of Japan welcomes spring by celebrating the blossoming of the cherry trees. From the first moments of spring, all over Japan people are preparing and attending sakura hanami parties, picnics, festivals to celebrate and pay homage to the cherry blossoms and the renewal of springtime. They even broadcast charts on NHK and other media outlets announcing when the cherry trees will blossom! It is a beautiful time and tradition in the Land of the Rising Sun.

Cherry blossom map. Misawa should see sakura between April 20-30. Map courtesy of the Japan Meteorological Corporation. March 2019.

I know, what about the Mister Donut advertisement for sakura donuts? As I stated, I could not pass it up! I walked into Mister Donut, perused all of the sakura options, and ordered a sakura cake donut, a sakura glazed donut, a sakura donut hole, and a Coca-Cola. Yeah, I might as well have ordered a few cups of sugar while I was at it, but c’mon! Sakura donuts! And yes, they were tasty! Check out the video at the end of this blog to see for yourself.