Another sakura (cherry blossom) season has come to pass. Despite the flowers blooming much later than predicted, we were given a few sunny days to experience the best of what the season could offer. Parks were brimming with picnic goers and hanami (flower viewing) festivities. Thankfully, it was the perfect opportunity to snap a few videos to capture the moment and celebrate new beginnings. This year, Savvy Tokyo did something different for our annual sakura contest. Instead of photos, we asked for Instagram reel collaborations, and you guys delivered!

Check out our top 10 favorite reels in order from No. 10 to No. 1. The No.1, 2 and 3 reels are our grand prize winners. Congratulations and thank you all so much for joining!

10. Toyama Sakura

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A post shared by Abhijit Sen (@bohotravelogue)

Reel by: Instagram user @bohotravelogue

9. Under the Cherry Blossoms

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A post shared by Varsha (@bhagat_varsha_)

Reel by: Instagram user @ebhagat_varsha_

8. Girl’s Bestfriend

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A post shared by Roxy (@risingsunroxy)

Reel by: Instagram user @risingsunroxy

7. Solo Dates

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A post shared by Writuparna Chakraborty (@eupho_ria_n)

Reel by: Instagram user @eupho_ria_n

6. Sakuras in Bloom

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A post shared by tMinnx (@tminnx_)

Reel by: Instagram user @tminnx_

5. Tokyo Sakura

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A post shared by Miriam Onishi (@oonishi.miriam)

Reel by: Instagram user @oonishi.miriam

4. Riverside Sakura

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A post shared by Maria – Content Creator in Japan (@nihonnoyume)

Reel by: Instagram user @nihonnoyume

Congratulations To Our JTB Travel Voucher Prize Winners:

The most liked reel winner is…

3. Sakura Festival

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A post shared by Alice アリス (@alice.in.nihon)

Reel by: Instagram user @alice.in.nihon

Our favorite top two reel winners are…

2. Spring Quartet

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A post shared by Edge Genciagan (@edge_genciagan)

Reel by: Instagram user @edge_genciagan

1. Hanami Picnic

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A post shared by Debolina | Tokyo Blogger (@ourglamsoul)

Reel by: Instagram user @ourglamsoul

You can view all the entries for this reel contest on our Savvy Tokyo Instagram.

Which one is your favorite reel contest entry? Share your thoughts in the comments!

Note: Those who submitted the top three winning reels will be contacted directly to be awarded their prize. If for any reason they are unable to claim their prize or do not respond to our direct message on Instagram within one week, Savvy Tokyo reserves the right to award the prize to anyone else on this list.

Unfortunately the peak of the sakura season this year was seen with so much wind and rain. However, we were so happy to see our readers head out to capture a picture of the beautiful blossoms this year anyway. We were simply amazed at the immense talent and creativity that we saw in all photos submitted for our annual #SavvySakura photo contest.

We would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who contributed—although you certainly made it extremely difficult, with help from the different departments in our office, we did manage to narrow down the submissions to our 10 favorites.

And don’t forget, the lucky top three photos get an adorable sakura prize box filled with various sakura-inspired goodies, plus a few extras. Our favourite of the three winners also receives a ¥3,000 gift card for Starbucks Japan! And for those who didn’t win this time—stay tuned for more contests coming up very soon. Thank you all! #SavvySakura2023

Without further ado, here are our top 10 favorite photos in order from No. 10 to No. 1. The No.1 photo is our grand prize winner.

10. In Kawagoe

© Photo by Instagram: judy4travel

Photo by: Instagram user @judy4travel

9. Mt. Fuji view

© Photo by Instagram: ___sarah___jp

Photo by: Instagram user @___sarah___jp

8. Sakura signs

© Photo by Instagram: babeehime

Photo by: Instagram user @babeehime

7. Random street

© Photo by Instagram: ginomempin

Photo by: Instagram user @ginomempin

6. Yozakura

© Photo by Instagram: vj_verdi

Photo by: Instagram user @vj_verdi

5. Local sakura

© Photo by Instagram: hascik

Photo by: Instagram user @hascik

4. Swans and sakura

© Photo by Instagram: 2_b_anne

Photo by: Instagram user @2_b_anne

We’d like to say a special congratulations to our three sakura box prize winners…

3. Kimono cutie

© Photo by Instagram: eupho_ria_n

Photo by: Instagram user @eupho_ria_n (You will receive one of our sakura box prizes!)

2. Sakura and airplanes

© Photo by Instagram: kristenyarber

Photo by: Instagram user @kristenyarber (You will receive one of our sakura box prizes!)

And our grand prize winner is…

1. One of those dreams

© Photo by Instagram: jessicaverhille

Photo by: Instagram user @jessicaverhille (You will receive one of our sakura box prizes along with a ¥3,000 Starbucks gift card, congratulations!)

Savvy comment: “There was so much rain this year during cherry blossom season. This photo represents that well in a beautiful shot.”

You can view all photos submitted for this contest on Instagram #savvysakura2023.

What is your favorite photo of the ten? Share your thoughts in the comments!

Note: Those who submitted the top three winning photo will be contacted directly to be awarded their prize. If for any reason they are unable to claim their prize or do not respond to our direct message on Instagram within one week, Savvy Tokyo reserves the right to award the prize to anyone else on this list.

Locally-produced, chemical-free, and delicious

Working directly with regional farmers and producers across Japan, Kokoro Care Packages are filled with unique and high-quality Japanese products. Unlike other care packages from Japan that are often filled with colorful sweets and treats full of harmful chemicals and artificial who-knows-what, Kokoro fills their packages exclusively with products that are free of all such chemicals like MSG.

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Thanks to its healthy eating habits, Japan is known to be one of the healthiest countries around, in fact, Bloomberg ranked Japan as the healthiest nation in Asia earlier this year. Striving to uphold that reputation and provide a nutritious product, Kokoro works directly with local farmers who not only produce fresh, healthy, and local food products, but each has a unique background and story to share, giving you a bit more insight as to why it’s so special to the locals of the area.

The theme for the September Nourishing Essential care package was Bento!

We were lucky enough to receive the Nourishing Essentials box for September 2019, and the theme this month was Bento Box Essentials. The box was filled with many bento-related ingredients such as Nikomaru rice, healthy 16-grain rice mix, hijiki flakes, dried pickle flakes, soy sauce simmered butterbur, nori (Japanese seaweed) paste, mulberry tea, and tasty dashi chips called Daships. 

So what do you do with all the products when you get them? Conveniently, the package comes with a handy ‘how-to’ instruction pamphlet for each item and also lists all the ingredients in English. We followed along and made our own little bento box! 

Putting our bento-making skills to the test

One of the main items in the package was the Nikomaru rice, the ultimate essential for any Japanese bento. The recommendation was to use the rice to make onigiri (rice balls), so that’s precisely what we did! 

Mochi mochi: the only way to describe this fluffy, soft, cloud-like rice.

We used the other ingredients in the box to make three different onigiri flavors: a healthy 16-grain mix, hijiki, and dried pickle flakes.

Making the onigiri was quick and easy—with the 16-grain mix onigiri, we just steamed the rice in the rice cooker with the contents of one of satchels in the pack. We then balled up the rice (our hands were pre-washed and clean) and voila! You’ve got yourself one scrumptious onigiri.

The other two onigiris were just as simple; after the rice was done cooking, we separated it into two bowls, added the hijiki and pickled veggie flakes, and made two more varieties of onigiri.

Hijiki and rice make for the perfect meal combo.

Rice is a staple ingredient for bentos, but we decided to fry up some crispy karaage (Japanese fried chicken) to accompany the onigiris. Add some fresh veggies, juicy fruits, and the sweet soy sauce flavored butterbur for the perfect okazu (side dish) to go along with the onigiri. 

Ta-da! Feast your eyes on this Savvy bento made from locally produced, healthy, and tasty ingredients!

Onigiri from left to right: dried pickle flakes, hijiki, 16-grain

The extra crunchy and savory dashi flavored chips were extra crunchy and the perfect side to the soft rice balls, and the mulberry tea (hailed as a superfood) was the most refreshing way to wash it all down.

These dashi chips were everything—brb, going to order some more because we ate them all.

Savvy Tokyo X Kokoro Care Packages Giveaway

We loved making our own bento with these fresh ingredients and we want you, our readers, to have a chance to get creative in the kitchen too. Savvy Tokyo is teaming up with Kokoro Care Packages to give away three November Monthly Nourishing Essentials packages!

All you have to do to enter the giveaway is follow the instructions below:

1. Follow @SavvyTokyo and @KokoroCares on Instagram
2. Tag a friend (Instagram or Facebook) who you think would also love a Kokoro Care Package
3. Share this giveaway on Facebook or repost to your Instagram page/story and tag us so we can see!

The giveaway ends at 12 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 25—good luck!

The Deets

Kokoro Care Packages
Pricing: 

• Monthly Nourishing Essentials: ¥5,880 (International Shipping), ¥5,346 (Japan Shipping)
• Seasonal Delights: ¥10,157 (International Shipping), ¥9,088 (Japan Shipping)
• Discounts for prepaid subscriptions. All prices are converted using the current fx rate from USD.

Summer days in Japan are not quite over yet, so if you’ve been suffering through the intense heat and are looking for something to give you a refreshing boost, then look no further than gazpacho!

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Gazpacho is a Spanish-style cold, raw soup bursting with flavor and exploding with nutrients that will improve your weight, skin, and energy. The summery vegetables are simple and easy to source, with the main ingredients being tomato, red bell peppers, cucumber, onion, garlic, extra virgin olive oil, and lemon. As simple as that sounds, there’s a ton of health benefits you can get from having a bowl of this delicious dish. Here’s five to get you started.

1. Gazpacho is like a facial in a bowl

One of the main gazpacho ingredients is red bell peppers. Red bell peppers contain beta-carotene which can protect the skin from sun damage. In fact, studies from the National Center for Biotechnology, a library of the latest research analysis on molecular biology, biochemistry and genetics, show that beta-carotene supplementation can protect against sunburn, especially when consumed regularly over time. Plus, they’re packed with vitamin C, an antioxidant great for protecting your skin from the sun’s harmful rays. So if you’ve been catching some rays and need extra protection — or, if you’re looking for that youthful glow — then gazpacho is a great way to make sure to include red bell peppers into your diet.

2. It’s hydration you can eat

If you have muscle cramps and swelling, headaches, or other aches and pains, it could very well be that you’re dehydrated from your body trying to stay cool in this temperature. Sometimes it’s hard to get in the recommended six to eight glasses of water per day. But it’s easy to stay hydrated when you select foods at your meals that are high in water content. Cucumber, another main ingredient in gazpacho, is perfect for hydration as it’s full of water content. Essentially, it’s hydration you can eat!

Gazpacho is a soup bursting with flavor and exploding with nutrients that will improve your weight, skin, and energy.

3. It’ll keep your brain alert

Have you been feeling forgetful or spacey this summer and blamed it on the heat? It can be so hard to focus when you’re trying to get comfortable. Luckily, the tomatoes in gazpacho are high in an antioxidant called lycopene, which can improve cognition. In fact, studies show that lycopene helps to protect cognitive decline due to a high-fat diet. So if you’ve been munching on barbecue, karaage and fries at summer celebrations, having some gazpacho for balance can ensure you’ll keep alert at work the next day.

4. It’ll help you lose the bloat and stay trim

Tomatoes, red bell peppers, cucumbers —they’re all packed with fiber and are high in water content, which means that gazpacho will help combat water retention and make you feel full even though it’s low in calories. Not only that, but a research study conducted on women found that daily consumption of tomato juice reduced their waist circumference, even while continuing their normal diets.

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So, if you’re looking to regulate your digestive system and shrink your waistline, then supplementing your meals with gazpacho is a tasty way to lead you to your goals.

A research study conducted on women found that daily consumption of tomato juice reduced their waist circumference.

5. It’ll strengthen your digestion and boost your immune system

Another key ingredient to gazpacho is lemon juice for that nice, refreshing zing. Lemons are perfect for regulating your digestive system as they stimulate your digestive acids. That means that having lemon juice in your diet will enable your body to digest all other foods you consume with ease. Plus, you have a triple boost of Vitamin C from lemon juice, tomatoes and red bell peppers, giving your body that extra support for your immune system —perfect if you’ve been going back and forth between being outside in the heat to inside in cold air-conditioned buildings.

Ready to give gazpacho a try but aren’t sure where to start? A new gazpacho product has just been released in Tokyo — a piece of tomato-related news that should come as no surprise if you follow us on Insta — and you could be in with a chance to win some!

From foreign food importers First Step Japan, the gazpacho comes in drink-like cartons, so you can easily store it in the fridge and pour it into your soup bowl whenever you’re in need of its refreshing benefits. That also means that they’re portable if you’re on the go. Reassuringly, this gazpacho uses only whole, healthy ingredients without any additives and preservatives. You can purchase a set of three, six or twelve bottles on their website for ¥1,950 a pack, or via Amazon or Rakuten. Also available at Costco Japan so you can even buy in bulk.

Delicious and healthy gazpacho soup came to Tokyo from Spain You can get it at @amazonjapan and @rakuten_official #gazpacho#gazpachojapan#coldsoup#vegetarianrecipes#spain#spanishfood#instagood#instafood

A post shared by Savvy Tokyo (@savvytokyo) on Sep 1, 2018 at 4:15am PDT

Staying cool doesn’t have to be so hard if you pick the right foods to help your body with hydration, vitamins, and energy, so try out a bowl of gazpacho and get all of the benefits you need.