I’ve just arrived in Japan for a two week trip. I am looking forward to many wonderful Japanese meals while I’m here. But after being up for 24 hours and finally getting to my hotel jetlagged and stuffed full of awful airline food, I was not in the mood for a fancy restaurant meal. Fortunately the Japanese have convenience stores on just about every corner. I grabbed a quick snack before I passed out from jetlag. A Sapporo and a couple of onigiri hit the spot. Onigiri is a rice ball, usually stuffed with something, wrapped in a crispy sheet of seaweed. The packaging is ingenious as it has layers of plastic to separate the nori from the rice so that it does not get wet and soggy. You peel the package open from top to bottom then pull the two corners and the plastic pops off. You end up with a perfectly wrapped onigiri. I had one with shrimp and one with tuna inside. Wash that down with some good Japanese beer and you can’t ask for much more.
My god, that looks so delicious. Compare that to our standard convenience store fare in America (two day old hot dogs, burritos, slushies) and you’ve got yourself five-star cuisine practically! Keep the Nippon posts coming!