Sakura cheese

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Sakura cheese is a soft cheese created in Hokkaido, Japan. It is the first widely-acclaimed Japanese cheese, as cheeses in general were a European/Mediterranean phenomenon until spread to the rest of the world during the days of European imperialism.

This cheese is a creamy white, and is flavored with mountain cherry leaves. Sakura means "cherry" in Japanese.

It has the rare distinction of winning a "gold medal" at the Mountain Cheese Olympics in Appenzell, Switzerland, which normally favors Swiss, Italian, or French cheeses almost exclusively for awards. The medal was in the "soft cheese" category.