New vendors are here! This season, we’re welcoming four incredible vendors, each bringing a unique taste of Japan to Vancouver. From the delicate sweets of CakeYa, the refined craftsmanship of Leilani Fine Tea, and the innovative rice creations from Samurice & Zenya, these vendors are ready to showcase the rich diversity of Japanese cuisine.
Get ready to explore new flavours and enjoy a delicious experience at this year’s spring market! Please read on to discover their stories and what makes each vendor special.
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Traditional Japanese Sweets by CakeYa
CakeYa offers a variety of traditional Japanese sweets and light, fluffy cakes with a subtle sweetness.
CakeYaは日本の独特な和菓子から甘さ控えめでフワフワ食感のケーキ等を販売しております
What makes your sweets special?
In Japan, people enjoy different seasonal sweets throughout the year, but such options are often hard to find here. This inspired us to create our own. Our goal is to offer warm, comforting sweets that can be enjoyed not just on special occasions but as part of everyday life.
日本では季節毎に様々なスイーツが楽しめますが、なかなかここではそれらに出会う事がなくならば自分で作ってしまえと新商品開発の発想に活かしています。また特別な日のみでなく日常的に楽しんで頂けるほんわかした温かみのあるスイーツを心掛けています。
We take pride in our unique textures, such as mochi-mochi (chewy) and fuwa-fuwa (fluffy), along with a delicate balance of sweetness that sets our sweets apart.
モチモチ、フワフワや甘さ控えめ等、ユニークな味わいのスウィーツでお客様に喜んで頂いています。
If your food had a personality, what would it be?
Warm, heartful, humble, gentle. 💗
温かく、心のこもった、控えめで優しい。💗
How do you hope your food will connect with the Japan Market crowd?
Through CakeYa’s products, we hope to bring nostalgia to those who have visited Japan and introduce new customers to the unique flavors of authentic Japanese sweets.
CakeYaの商品を通して日本に来た事のある方々にはその思い出に浸って頂き、日本に来た事のない方々にはそのユニークな味を楽しんで頂きたいです。
Premium Loose Leaf Tea by Leilani Fine Tea
We are a boutique online/pop-up premium handcrafted loose leaf tea company. Our teas are hand blended, refined, scented or micro-milled locally in Metro Vancouver by our award-winning Master Tea Blender.
Leilani Fine Teaは、高品質の手作り茶葉を専門とするブティック型のオンラインショップ兼ポップアップストアです。私たちの茶葉は、受賞歴のあるマスターティーブレンダーによって、メトロバンクーバーでブレンド、精製、香り付け、マイクロミル加工されています。
What inspired you to start your business?
Leilani Fine Tea was born out of the darkness of the COVID lock down. I wanted to create a tea company that embodies everything I’ve learned over twenty years on the tea trail that celebrates authenticity, creativity, craftsmanship and terroir. Japanese culture is the embodiment of fine aesthetic details, and it is this principle of minimalist beauty that personifies our brand’s DNA.
Leilani Fine Teaは、COVIDロックダウンの暗闇の中で生まれました。私は20年以上にわたるお茶の探求を通じて、本物の味、創造性、職人技、そしてテロワールを大切にするブランドを作りたいと思いました。日本文化は細部にまで美意識が行き届いており、このミニマリズムの美しさが、私たちのブランドのDNAに深く組み込まれています。
If your food had a personality, how would you describe it?
Our brand personality has always been of a maverick. Leilani Fine Tea is the ultimate expression of a maverick … an outlier. Refined and immaculate, rare and exclusive. This level of refinement was once only reserved at the highest esteemed luxury hotels. Now you could enjoy it at fine pop-ups and farmers markets. We are reinventing the modern approach to the humble tea leaf.
Leilani Fine Teaのブランドは、型破りで洗練された存在です。私たちの茶葉は、希少で高級なものばかり。かつては一流の高級ホテルでしか味わえなかった品質を、今ではポップアップショップやファーマーズマーケットで楽しめるようになりました。私たちは、お茶の概念を再定義しています。
What's a unique product you're excited for people to try at Japan Market?
Vancouver has entered the golden age of matcha. Matcha is now an integral part of Canadian pop-culture. However, not all matcha is created equal. And not every Japanese Matcha stands at the pinnacle of greatness. As one of the pioneers of Japanese Matcha in North America, I wanted to create a matcha that celebrates the finest that Japanese craftsmanship has to offer. Bright green hue, soft vegetal notes of spring bamboo, an accent of raw sugar and silky smooth umami mouthfeel that caresses long after you finish. Uniting serenity and tranquility with an unhurried elegance. This is Inori Matcha.
バンクーバーは今や抹茶の黄金時代を迎え、抹茶はカナダのポップカルチャーの一部となりました。しかし、すべての抹茶が同じ品質ではなく、極上の抹茶はごくわずかしか存在しません。北米における日本抹茶のパイオニアとして、最高峰の職人技を体現する抹茶を作りたいと考えました。Inori Matchaは、鮮やかな緑色、春竹を思わせる繊細な香り、ほんのりとした甘み、そして滑らかで奥深い旨味が特徴です。一口飲めば、静寂と安らぎ、そして優雅さが感じられる逸品です。
How do you hope your food will connect with the diverse crowd at Japan Market?
For me, tea is all about the connections. The connection with the land. The connection with the artisans. And the connection with each other and ourselves. Tea and the tea drinker are like two souls coming together in an endless, timeless encounter. It is an intangible bond that transcends time and place.
私にとって、お茶はつながりを意味します。大地とのつながり、職人たちとのつながり、そして人と人とのつながり。お茶とその飲み手は、まるで時を超えて出会う二つの魂のようなもの。形のない絆が時間や場所を超えて続いていく。その感覚をジャパンマーケットで共有できることを楽しみにしています。
Onigiri Made by Zenya with Healthy Rice by Samurice
As Samurice, we sell “the world’s first health-inspired Japanese-made, rinse-free gourmet rice” called Kinmemai. As Zenya, we sell Japanese onigiri using Kinmemai.
Samuriceは、「世界初の健康を意識した日本製の無洗米高級米」である金芽米を専門に販売しています。Zenyaは、この金芽米を使った日本のおにぎりを提供しています。
What inspired you to start your food business?
We aim to introduce high-quality Japanese rice with advanced milling techniques to Canada, allowing more people to enjoy it through Japanese cuisine such as onigiri.
日本の高品質で高い精米技術の金芽米をカナダに広げるため、日本食やおにぎりで食べてもらいたいです。
What is the story behind your signature product?
Our Low-Cut Brown Rice Onigiri, made with a special milling method, is softer, easier to digest, and more nutritious than traditional brown rice. We hope people will experience its unique texture and health benefits.
金芽米ロウカット玄米は、特別精米方法で他の玄米と違い柔らかくて食べやすく消化にいいので今回のおにぎりで是非実感して頂きたいです。
What sets your rice apart from others?
We are offering Low-Cut Brown Rice Onigiri this spring. Kinmemai rice is processed using a specialized milling technique that enhances both its nutritional value and umami flavor, making it a one-of-a-kind Japanese rice.
今回の春のマーケットではロウカット玄米おねぎりを提供します。金芽米ロウカット玄米おにぎり特殊精米による、栄養価と旨みを最大限に引き出す唯一無二の日本米。
What are you most looking forward to about the Spring Japan Market?
We look forward to introducing Kinmemai rice to people who have never tried it before, allowing them to experience its distinctive flavor and health benefits.
金芽米をまだ試したことのない人に試して頂きたいです。
Unit 2013, 88 West Pender Street, Vancouver
Come visit these amazing vendors at the 2025 Spring Market March 1-2.
From the delicate sweets of CakeYa, the refined craftsmanship of Leilani Fine Tea, and the innovative rice creations from Samurice & Zenya, these vendors are ready to showcase the rich diversity of Japanese cuisine.