3/28-29 Subaru Cherry Blossom Festival of Greater Philadelphia

Hello, everyone. March is already here, and spring has arrived in the blink of an eye. Speaking of spring, it's the season for our annual, hugely popular Cherry Blossom Festival. This year, we'll be setting up our booth again in West Fairmount Park, lined with rows of cherry trees.

Have you ever experienced hanami? Hanami is a Japanese cultural term meaning to go out to places like parks to view and enjoy the blooming cherry blossoms. In Japan, from late March to early April each year, families, friends, and colleagues gather under the cherry trees. They sit on mats spread on the ground, drink, eat bento lunches, sing songs, and spend enjoyable time together.

The concept of the cherry blossom festival likely originated from this hanami culture. Philadelphia's peak cherry blossom bloom typically occurs between the last week of March and the first week of April. This year's festival will be held earlier than usual, during the last weekend of March, offering an even greater chance to see the cherry blossoms at their peak.

The Subaru Cherry Blossom Festival is organized by Japan America Society of Greater Philadelphia (JASGP), with tremendous support from title sponsor Subaru of America, Inc. Featuring a variety of events throughout the city, this yearly festival brings a taste of Japan to Philadelphia and highlights the beauty of Japanese sakura - the flowering cherry trees that brighten city streets and parks with their distinctive pink and white blossoms.

As we will attend this festival as a food vendor, we will introduce some of the items we are going to offer at the festival. (We'll offer some non-food and non-beverage items as well.) Even if you cannot come to the festival, most of them, if not all, are offered at our store in Ardmore, so you can still get them when you come visit us!

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Some of The Items We Will Offer

AnyYums, Demon Slayer Sparkling Water, Yuzu

AnyYums, Demon Slayer Sparkling Water, Passion Fruit

AnyYums, Demon Slayer Sparkling Water, Pineapple

AnyYums, Demon Slayer Sparkling Water, Mango

AnyYums, Demon Slayer Sparkling Water, Strawberry

AnyYums, Demon Slayer Sparkling Water, Watermelon

AnyYums, Demon Slayer Sparkling Water, Peach

AnyYums, Demon Slayer Sparkling Water, Lychee

Anyyums Sparkling Water, featuring designs of popular characters from Demon Slayer will be available for purchase. Not only are these drinks super cool/cute with their character packaging, they are also delicious. One sip and you will feel a burst of refreshment from every can. If you walk through the park with a can featuring your favorite character, you are sure to be asked where you bought it!

There will be 8 flavors you can choose from. Each flavor features each character!

Shirakiku, Ramune, Original

Shirakiku, Ramune, Strawberry

Shirakiku, Ramune, Lychee

Ramune are bottled Japanese soda. They are characterized by a marble inside the bottle near the drinking spout. One of the fun parts to drink a bottle is to remove the top lid and press it to open the bottle.

They were introduced to Japan when the Gunboat Diplomacy happened in 1853 (After Commodore Matthew C. Perry led the fleets with him near the end of the Edo Period, Japanese people's lifestyles and cultures have become westernized). Ramune came to Japan from England as carbonated lemonade. At that time, a bottle did not have a marble, but was closed with a cork.

In 1865, the first lemonade was produced in Japan and sold as lemon water. However, the name lemon water did not catch on, and the name ramune, which is a pun on lemonade in Japanese, took root. It is surprising that the word ramune originated from lemonade.

Asahi, Calpico Strawberry

Asahi, Calpico Lychee

Asahi, Calpico White Peach

Calpico is a refreshing drink with a fresh flavor created from freshly squeezed Japanese milk and the fermentation of lactic acid bacteria and yeast that have been passed down for 100 years. It is a globally popular beverage that aims not only for physical health but also for mental health, symbolized by the smiles that its delicious taste brings.

Ito En, Oi Ocha Green Tea

Oi Ocha delivers an authentic taste of Japan with every sip. Made from premium green tea leaves, it offers a pure, refreshing flavor that is both invigorating and soothing. With more than 100% Daily Value of Vitamin C and free from artificial additives, this tea supports a healthy lifestyle.

Conveniently packaged for easy, on-the-go enjoyment, it’s perfect for carrying around at the festival. Enjoy the unmatched quality and taste of Oi Ocha Japanese Green Tea by ITO EN, bringing traditional Japanese tea culture to you.

Pokka, Coffee Cappuccino

Pokka, Milk Coffee

These are popular Japanese-style, ready-to-drink canned coffee beverages. They feature real brewed coffee from roasted beans, combined with milk and sugar, offering a creamy, sweet, and convenient caffeine boost. Cappuccino offers a velvetier, frothy taste, while Milk Coffee is a classic, rich, and creamy, coffee-candy-like beverage.

Bandai, Super Mario Charapaki Chocolate

It's a Japanese snack and play excavation candy produced! It features a crispy, multi-flavored chocolate bar (milk, white, strawberry, and caramel) with 8 possible character designs including Mario, Luigi, Yoshi, and Toad that must be broken out of the surrounding, patterned chocolate frame.

This snack resembles a Japanese staple festival snack called Katanuki. Katanuki, or die-cutting involves delicate, brittle candy slabs made of sugar and starch. Players use a needle or pick to meticulously carve out shapes such as animals, stars, or flowers without breaking the candy. Successfully removing the shape often wins a small prize. (Please note that we won't offer any prizes.)

Bandai, One Piece Collectible Sticker and Wafer

This is a popular collectible candy toy series. It includes a crispy chocolate-flavored (or cocoa cream) wafer cookie, each containing a random collectible sticker or card featuring characters from the One Piece series. Collecting stickers is fun, and trading them with friends is fun too!

JFC, Botan Ame Rice Candy

Botan rice candy are soft and chewy candy with an outer layer covered with an wafer sheet made of starch. When dry, the wafer sheet is transparent and plastic-like, but it melts in the mouth and can be eaten.

In 1924, exactly 100 years ago, with the growing popularity of Western confections in Japanese society, this type of candy was made to resemble Western-style caramel.

In Japan, they are sold as dagashi, candy and snacks marketed to Japanese elementary school children, but of course, they are also popular with adults. The yummy candy with bright and colorful packaging, bundled with a sticker inside, are enjoyable in many ways.

Meiji, Hello Panda, Chocolate

Meiji, Hello Panda, Strawberry

Hello Panda are bite-sized biscuits with some filling inside that is perfect for snacking. They are products of the Japanese confectionery company Meiji, which are a classic favorite in the U.S., Southeast Asia, etc. but, to your surprise, they are actually not sold in Japan. Did you know that?

The cute packaging is another reason for the popularity of these items. Also, each biscuit has a different pattern of panda on it, so it is fun to eat them while looking at them. We also sell other flavors in our store.

Meiji, Chocorooms

Chocorooms are the perfect combination of chocolate indulgence with the crunch of a crisp cracker. Their unique, bite-size mushroom shape makes them easy to hold for nibbling, a perfect topping for yogurt or ice cream, or decoration for your next baking creation. They’re a contrast and complement of taste and textures: crispy, dense, light, and indulgent. Find a moment of bliss in your day with this snack!

Calbee, Shrimp Chips Mini, Original

Calbee's Shrimp Chips are long-seller that have been around over 50 years. They are so popular in Japan that there is no one who does not know about them, and we are selling various flavors of them at Maido. The mini version will only be offered at the Cherry Blossom Festival.

Blending the savory taste of shrimp with authentic Japanese and Asian seasonings, Shrimp Chips are a healthy take on a traditional Asian snack.

Calbee, Jagarico Original

Calbee, Jagarico Hokkaido Butter

Jagarico are potato-based snacks that have been manufactured and marketed by Calbee since 1995. They are made by shaping potatoes that have been once blanched into thin sticks and deep-frying them. The unique crunchy and crispy texture and a variety of flavors make them popular, especially among children and young people. They are a signature product of Calbee.

Jaga is short for Jagaimo which means potato in Japanese, and Rico means delicious in Spanish. Just by hearing the name, it is easy to see how delicious they are, isn't it? Once you try them, you will be addicted. We offer more flavors at the store!

JFC, Norimaki Arare Rice Crackers

This is a snack consisting of crispy, savory soy sauce flavored arare rice crackers wrapped in nori seaweed. The arare rice cracker dough is carefully baked using glutinous rice, dipped in a special soy sauce-based sauce, and wrapped in nori.

The rich aroma of the nori, the delicious taste of the glutinous rice when you bite into it, and the lingering aftertaste of the sauce will make you want to eat another one.

Amanoya, Himemaru Rice Crackers

Himemaru are golden-hued deep-fried rice crackers in the shape of a shell. With the crunchiness and a light soy sauce flavor, this treat achieves just the right balance between sweetness and saltiness while retaining a incredibly crispy and fresh texture. The spice gives a kick in the flavor and makes this snack perfect.

This product has been selling very well at the store. It is even loved by people who are not familiar with Japanese snacks including young children.

JFC, Daifuku Aka

JFC, Daifuku, Yomogi

Daifuku are popular Japanese confectionery consisting of a small, soft, chewy, pounded sticky rice cake called mochi filled with a sweet red bean paste. Daifuku literally translates to great luck.

Aka means red and Yomogi means Japanese Mugwort. Japanese mugwort leaves are kneaded into the mochi dough for the yomogi ones.

Imuraya, Frozen Monaka Wafer Sandwich, Vanilla

Imuraya, Frozen Monaka Wafer Sandwich, Matcha

These are popular Japanese ice cream sandwiches featuring creamy ice cream encased in a light, crispy, and delicate wafer shell made from glutinous rice flour. The Vanilla flavor provides a classic, creamy experience while the Matcha flavor offers a fragrant green tea taste.

Nissin, Cup Noodles, Original

Nissin, Cup Noodles, Curry

Nissin, Cup Noodles, Seafood

We will sell not only drinks and snacks, but also instant noodles to stuff your stomach at the Cherry Blossom Festival.

Nissin's Cup Noodle, which can be stored for a long time in a cup and can be eaten only three minutes after pouring hot water, has been around since 1971. When it was launched as the world's first cup noodle, it became very popular as a fashionable food for young people. The noodles have a unique smooth texture and a familiar soup.

The original flavor has the soy sauce based soup with a hint of pepper. It has seasoned minced pork, shrimp, scrambled egg, and green onion as toppings.

The curry flavor has a mild, thick soup with sweet vegetable flavor. Potatoes, minced pork, carrots, and green onions are the toppings.

The seafood flavor has a rich soup of pork and seafood. Ingredients include imitation squid, squid, crab flavored kamaboko fishcakes, scrambled eggs, cabbage, and green onions.

D-Plus, Natural Yeast Bread, Chocolate

D-Plus, Natural Yeast Bread, Hokkaido Milk

D-Plus' bread are baked moist and fluffy using germinated brown rice yeast and their original baking method. They are long-life bread with an unprecedented texture.

At the Cherry Blossom Festival, the Chocolate flavor, which is a persistent favorite among people, and the soft Hokkaido Cream flavor, which has a thin layer of paste made from Tokachi raw milk folded into the dough, will be offered.

They will be perfect as a snack or a light meal you can eat while walking around at the park. There are other flavors available at the store as well.

Onigiri Rice Balls

Do not forget. Here is our most popular item at the Cherry Blossom Festival: Onigiri rice balls, which the Maido staff works together for hours to prepare for everyone.

All of you who are reading this might know what they are already, but our onigiri are made from cooked rice formed into a triangular shape with some filling and wrapped in nori seaweed.

It is the only time of the year we make so many onigiri (literally hundreds of them!) to offer. Do not miss out on the many varieties of fillings onigiri we will be selling again this year - Salmon, Salmon With Mayo, Salmon With Wasabi, Tuna With Mayo, Spicy Tuna (Without Fish Roe), Ume Pickled Plum, Kombu Seaweed, and Plain (Salted White Rice).

BAGGU Standard Baggu - Maido x BAGGU

We'll bring Maido x BAGGU reusable bag that was designed by our employee to the cherry blossom festival. It can hold approximately 50 lbs./22 kg of stuff, yet weighs only about 3 oz./80 g. It's not only light but also very thin, so you can carry it in your main bag or even in your pocket.

It'll be very convenient at the festival, as you'll probably get some items and carry them around throughout the day. You can come empty handed and leave with this bag with full of stuff in it.

We also sell it online! Click here to check it out.

Maido Tote Bag

This is another exclusive item from our store. Designed by a former Maido employee, it's an adorable bag featuring a collaboration between Maido's popular food items and the employees' pets. It's also perfect for carrying your purchases from the cherry blossom festival. If you carry it, you'll definitely get asked where you got it!

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We'll also offer some other food and drinks not listed here including everyone's favorite snacks Pocky and Hi-Chew! We'll bring Demon Slayer T-shirts that will make you stand out at the festival. We hope to see you at The Subaru Cherry Blossom Festival. Make sure to put the dates (3/28-29) on your calendar now! Don't miss out on this once-a-year opportunity to experience authentic Japanese flavors!

Official Website of the festival: https://japanphilly.org/programs/festivals/cbf-2026/

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There is a lot of food items, housewares, stationery, and gifts available at the store and our online store, Maido! Kairashi Shop, where you can place your order for shipping or store pickup! Happy shopping. :)