A new cherry blossom honey from Osaka's Kashiwara is now available at Miel Mie, a honey specialty store based in Kyoto. Released on April 15, 2026, the "Single Origin Raw Honey 0490 – Cherry Blossom Honey from Kashiwara, Osaka Prefecture" is the first new honey of honey hunter Ichikawa Takusaburo's 2026 buying season.
The Work of a Honey Hunter
Honey hunter Ichikawa Takusaburo travels directly to beekeepers around the world, carefully selecting honeys based on the flowers blooming in each location, the year's weather conditions, and the specific moment of harvest — factors that can never be replicated.
While honey is often blended during distribution — obscuring its origin and harvest date — the Single Origin Honey series is committed to delivering honey "just as it is." Each honey is bottled only after Ichikawa personally tastes and approves it.
Reading flower bloom cycles and weather patterns to identify the perfect harvest window is, in every sense, a craft defined by working in harmony with nature.
The Honey That Marks the Start of the Year
— The 2026 Honey Season Begins Here —
Among all honeys, cherry blossom honey holds a special place as the first of the year. For Ichikawa, it is the honey he sources first every season — a personal milestone that signals the start of a new year of buying. Cherry blossoms are also a vital nectar source for beekeepers across Japan.
However, cherry blossom blooms are heavily dependent on weather and temperature, meaning honey yields vary significantly from year to year and consistent harvesting is difficult. The flavor and aroma also change depending on the location and timing of harvest, giving each region's cherry blossom honey a distinct character of its own.
The cherry blossom honey from Kashiwara, Osaka Prefecture, is known for producing particularly fragrant honey each year around early to mid-April.
Once again this year, this honey announces the arrival of a new season.
The Harvest: April 9, 2026
On April 9, cherry blossoms were in full bloom across Kashiwara in Osaka Prefecture. In the soft spring air, bees were actively moving between flowers.
Having received word from the beekeeper a few days earlier that the harvest was ready, Ichikawa rearranged his schedule and drove to Kashiwara early in the morning, before the bees' peak activity hours of the day.
This year's cherry blossom honey has a slightly gentle aroma, but carries the soft, delicate elegance characteristic of cherry blossoms with a pleasantly mild sweetness. It pairs easily with a wide variety of foods — from toast and yogurt to many other ingredients — thanks to its clean, understated flavor.
A taste that could only exist on this particular day, under these particular natural conditions, is now captured in a single jar.
Product Details
Product Name: Single Origin Raw Honey 0490 – Cherry Blossom Honey from Kashiwara, Osaka Prefecture
Release Date: April 15, 2026 (Wednesday)
Price: ¥1,404 (tax included)
Contents: 140g
Type: Floral
Features: Honey collected from cherry blossoms blooming in Kashiwara, Osaka Prefecture, on April 9, 2026.
Flavor Profile: A bright, elegant aroma on entry, with a mellow, lingering sweetness.
Product URL: https://miel-mie.com/c/honey/so_0490
Single Origin Honey: "That Place, That Year, That Moment"
The Miel Mie Single Origin Honey series puts the focus on where, when, and from which flower each honey was collected.
Even honeys from the same type of flower can taste significantly different depending on the region and the year. The idea behind the series is to capture those fleeting, unrepeatable flavors and deliver them just as they are — each honey bottled with its own distinct origin intact.
Every honey in the series has been personally sourced by Ichikawa, verified with his own eyes and palate during visits to beekeepers. The lineup currently includes over 100 varieties from more than 20 countries worldwide and over 20 prefectures across Japan.
This cherry blossom honey is, likewise, a one-of-a-kind taste — one that could only have come from Kashiwara, Osaka, in the spring of 2026.
The 2026 Honey Season Continues
This cherry blossom honey marks the beginning of the 2026 new-harvest season for Honey Hunter Ichikawa Takusaburo.
Going forward, new honeys sourced from each region's unique seasonal conditions will continue to arrive, including honeys from Kyushu and Wakayama, as well as apple blossom honey and acacia honey. Summer arrivals from Hokkaido — including linden honey and buckwheat honey — are also planned.
Updates on this year's harvests and scenes from the field are shared on the Honey Hunter's official social media.
▼ Honey Hunter Ichikawa Takusaburo Official X (formerly Twitter)
https://x.com/honeyhunter83
