Stir Cheat Sheet: 5 things to know about Sakura Days Japan Fair 2025

The anchor program of the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival features everything from sake tastings to taiko demonstrations

Sakura Days Japan Fair. Photo by Barry Yip

Sakura Days Japan Fair takes place on April 12 and 13 at VanDusen Botanical Garden as part of the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival

A HIGHLIGHT OF the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival, Sakura Days Japan Fair is happening April 12 and 13 at VanDusen Botanical Garden (from 10 am to 6 pm on Saturday and 10 am to 5 pm on Sunday). Created in collaboration with the Japan Fair Association of Vancouver, the cultural celebration features a whole host of activities and highlights. Here are five things to know before you go.

The yukata fitting service is back

Yukata is the name of the Japanese summer kimono, and festival attendees can take advantage of a complimentary fitting service. Guests are allowed to roam the garden while wearing the yukata for 20 minutes, as the quantity of available yukata is limited.

Traditional tea ceremonies are on offer

Tea-ceremony demonstrations will be offered by Urasenke Tankokai Vancouver Association, which promotes the traditional practice and belongs to the Urasenke School of Tea Ceremony based in Kyoto, Japan.

Authentic Japanese cuisine will be available for tasting

Sakura Days is a chance to get a taste of traditional Japanese cuisine. Among the items being served are yakisoba, stir-fried noodles with vegetables, meat, and a thick, sweetish sauce; takoyaki, a popular street food of small, piping hot balls of batter filled with green onions, ginger, crispy tempura bits, and octopus; matcha, a type of green tea in the form of a powder that is dissolved in hot water or milk; strawberry daifuku, a sweet that consists of a pillowy white mochi filled with red-bean paste that encases a whole juicy strawberry; and more.

Premium sake will be available for sipping

Made from fermented rice that has been polished, sake has an alcohol content of around 15 percent. Its flavour profiles are relatively mild, ranging from light and crisp to more substantial, richer, fruity notes.

Several performances will take place

Japanese dance, karate, singing, taiko drumming, and more will be on offer all weekend across two stages. Cherry Stage highlights include Appare Yosakoi Vancouver performing a style of dance that incorporates wooden instruments called naruko; youth ensemble GO Taiko; Hawaiian hula group Wailele Wai Wai; and BOYiSH7, dancers that cosplay as anime idol boys.

Featured

Gail Johnson

Gail Johnson is cofounder of Stir. She is a Vancouver-based journalist who has earned local and national nominations and awards for her work. She is a certified Gladue Report writer via Indigenous Perspectives Society in partnership with Royal Roads University and is a member of a judging panel for top Vancouver restaurants.

Articles

Stir Cheat Sheet: 5 events you won’t want to miss during the 12th annual Vines Art Festival

Live music, contemporary dance, drag performances, storytelling, circus arts, and a whole lot more hit Vancouver’s parks and beaches

Astro Arts Festival celebrates the spirit of street art with new murals and a gallery show, August 7 to 9

Hosted by the Astro Club Artist facility, the event—now in its second year—continues to pick up where the Vancouver Mural Festival left off

A music, film, and literary pick for the Powell Street Festival, August 1 and 2 in and around Paueru Gai

Sharon Minemoto Quartet concert, 1910: The Uncovering documentary screening, and Masako Fukawa reading are just a few of the events digging into deeper history amid the celebrations

Celebrating its 50th anniversary, the Powell Street Festival stays true to its legacy

Retaining its spirit of community and resistance, the long-running arts festival returns to Paueru Gai for a milestone weekend of food, performances, and storytelling

VIFF Live announces 2026 program of film screenings, immersive concerts, and “reworlding”

The series includes appearances by Canadian and international artists, including throat-singing duo Silla, composer Kelly Moran, and experimental rock act Xiu Xiu

Early Music Vancouver artist in residence Marc Mauillon loves the challenge of 17th-century opera

Tackling the title role in Monteverdi’s Orfeo as part of EMV’s Summer Festival requires a different approach, the French singer says—and a willingness to push beyond beautiful singing

Stir Cheat Sheet: 5 must-see acts at the Mission Folk Music Festival, July 24 to 26

Brass-band fusion, soul-stirring singer-songwriters, fiery fiddle, and more spread across the fest’s five stages on the scenic shores of the Fraser River

Music review: Main Stage highlights from Day 1 of the Vancouver Folk Music Festival

Stellar sets from Aysanabee, Hazlett, and Sahra Halgan got the 49th annual fest off to a great start, and the weather certainly didn’t hurt

Theatre review: Gleefully chaotic Goblins dismantle Oedipus at Bard on the Beach

Wug, Kravga, and Moog deliver a take on Sophocles’ Greek tragedy that, in addition to copious amounts of crude humour, has its share of chillingly effective moments

Vancouver’s socially conscious Buddie on evolving its sound beyond “grunge pop”

Performing at the Eastside Arts Festival, the indie-rock band says it has no intention of being pegged as strictly a ’90s throwback

At the Vancouver Folk Music Festival, the eclectic Valerie June promises a little bit of everything

The American singer-songwriter plays rock ’n’ roll, blues, folk, gospel, and country, along with well-chosen cover versions of songs by Nick Cave, Gillian Welch, and Duran Duran

Toronto-based Nastasia Y carries on a family tradition of song and rebellion, at Mission Folk Music Festival

The Ukrainian-born performer distills influences from Slavic folk to jazz and R&B into her music, as heard on her solo debut, Kyiv Soul

Theatre review: Bard on the Beach’s adaptation of Antigone opens new paths through timeless tragedy

Bold update by Kate Besworth brings mythic figures closer to us while continuing to ask the ancient questions posed by Sophocles

Canadian singer-songwriter Aysanabee is proud to be a role model for Indigenous youth

The Vancouver Folk Music Festival performer also tells us about his kick-ass band and the pressure he has put on himself as an award-winning recording artist

Eastside Arts Festival expands, opening the studio doors and public spaces of Vancouver’s arts scene

Marking its sixth year, the celebration brings communities together with more walking tours and hands-on workshops, from indigo dyeing to plein air drawing

Anita Majumdar’s Why We Work Out is an exercise in understanding, at Indian Summer Festival

Presented by the fest and Boca del Lupo, the multifaceted one-woman show carries long-standing reflections on workout culture and the life-altering effects of a pandemic

Concrete Vehicles’ noise-rockers specialize in music as unique as their band’s name

Intellectual-property disputes behind it, the project formerly known as Computer plays the Burrard Stage at this year’s Khatsahlano Street Party

Vines Art Festival unveils free programming set to transform Vancouver parks into open-air stages, August 5 to 15

With live music, drag, dance, art installations, and much more, this year's festival explores transformation through performances in conversation with their surroundings

Modern Biology is a conduit for the music of the forest, at Indian Summer Festival on July 13

For Tarun Nayar’s performance at VanDusen Botanical Garden, the festival invites attendees to settle in picnic-style and get into a meditative headspace

Fast-rising Punjabi singer Rashmeet Kaur is keen on eclectic sonic exploration

The Indian Summer Festival performer, who has collaborated with Major Lazer and contributed to Bollywood soundtracks, has forged some creative links to Canada’s West Coast