Part 1 here.

At the risk of being all doughnuts all the time lately: While Mister Donut may not be bringing back the sakura donut for 2014, Krispy Kreme is! (But only until March 31, so  you’ll have to hurry!)

Krispy Kreme is less on my radar because we didn’t have any in Ishikawa when I was there. I’ve been to some in Osaka and Tokyo, though, and it’s interesting to see how Mister Donut, which began in the US and now is headquartered in Japan and Krispy Kreme, which is headquartered in the US, vary. I consider Mister Donuts to be more of a “native” product rather than something localized for another country’s cultural flavor, like Krispy Kreme.

Krispy Kreme Japan has gone for an all-Japanese flavor line-up of matcha, sakura, and kinako as their “Haru [Spring] Doughnuts.” The tagline reads, “Spring in Japan: ‘Wa’ Doughnuts”; wa indicating that the doughnuts are Japanese-style and, in this case, Japanese flavors vs. Japanese form. Most of the site is bilingual, but the copy here focuses on Japanese popular flavors with a lot of loan words:

A dozen (ダズン) doughnuts to help you deliciously enjoy spring in Japan. Three flavors of ‘wa doughnuts’; Kurisudo’s [an abbreviation like Mister Donuts ‘Misodo’] popular original doughnuts; and custard-filled “smile” doughnuts [a special spring campaign]. At places where smiling faces gather, let’s share the happiness [ハッピーをシェアーしましょう].

That last sentence might be the most Japanese-style ad copy ever.

Have you seen any other chains doing sakura foods? Have you tried these? Let me know in the comments!