Onigiri go global: a Tokyo shop sells 1,500 rice balls a day

In Tokyo, people line up before 10 a.m. to buy onigiri, simple Japanese rice balls. One shop, Onigiri Bongo, sells as many as 1,500 rice balls a day. In Sydney, the cafe Parami made 50 onigiri each day in 2022. Now it makes as many as 500. In Paris, more than 50 shops sell them. A food that was once for picnics and train trips is becoming a normal lunch far from Japan.

For a long time, Japanese people made onigiri at home or bought them quickly at convenience stores. But people in Japan now eat less rice, only about 50.9 kilograms per person a year. That is why rice sellers and restaurant owners are looking for new customers abroad.

Onigiri are easy to change because the base is simple: rice, salt, seaweed and a filling. They are good for people who want healthy food, for vegetarians, and for people with religious food rules. Luka Mkheidze, a French judo athlete, says, "Onigiri are like fuel for the body."

Japanese rice exports show the same growth. They rose from 4,516 tonnes in 2014 to 28,928 tonnes in 2022, six times more. Omusubi Gonbei has 51 shops in Japan and plans to open 1,000 shops overseas. But sending Japanese rice abroad still costs a lot. To keep growing, Japanese rice must compete with local rice on both quality and price.