Production of Salted Sakura at Peak in Kanagawa Prefecture

The Yomiuri Shimbun

18:12 JST, April 18, 2025

HADANO, Kanagawa — Production of salt-pickled cherry blossoms has reached its peak in Hadano, Kanagawa Prefecture, known for edible yaezakura double-flowered cherry blossoms.

Members of the Chimura Wakatake-kai, a group of producers, are now busy manually removing dust and dirt from picked flowers one by one. The flowers are then soaked in salt and ume plum vinegar for about a month to complete the process. The group makes about 300 kilograms of salt-pickled cherry blossoms a week during the peak time and ships them to be used as ingredients or garnishes.

“The flowers bloomed later than usual this year, but the color and shape are perfect. So it seems we will be able to produce beautiful and fragrant salted pickles,” said the 45-year-old head of the group.