Sakuramochi is a traditional dessert that is made to depict sakura (cherry blossom), so the rice cake is usually pink in color. Most of the times, sakuramochi contains red bean paste and it is covered with a salty cherry blossom leaf, which some people consume together with the rice cake, and some don't.
Although the sweet treat is sold throughout the year, it can be found most easily in spring, when cherry blossoms are in season. It is believed that sakuramochi was invented in 1717 in Edo by a guard named Yamamoto Shinroku, using the leaves from the trees along the Sumida River.
"Peel off the leaf to take in the sakura aroma, and then eat the mochi with the leaf for the perfect combo of sweet and salty."
"This sophisticated sweet has elegantly sweetened red bean paste, which matches perfectly with the slightly salted Japanese cherry leaf wrapping the cake."