Our two-day struggle to buy the cutest onigiri rice balls in Tokyo

Norionigiri lands in Shibuya, but its beauty proves to be only skin-deep.

On 18 January, a very special onigiri rice ball shop popped up in Shibuya Miyashita Park for a limited time, but there was one big drawback…the huge crowds it attracted made it a nightmare to get into.

The reason for the crowds were threefold. Firstly, the rice balls are the cutest you’ve ever seen, as they’re modeled to look like Norionigiri (literally “seaweed rice ball”), an anthropomorphized rice ball character from a popular series called Nandemo Ikimono (generally meaning “everything’s alive”).

▼ Even the store itself is anthropomorphised, as it’s called Norionigiriya-san, with “ya” meaning shop and “san” being a polite suffix for a name.

Then there’s the fact that Nandemo Ikimono, which was created by illustrator Yuri Yokomizo, who gave us the Sumikko Gurashi San-X cast of characters, has a very large fanbase, and this would be a rare opportunity for fans to literally get a taste of the rice ball character. And finally, the store would be giving away a free original postcard to the first 100 people who make a purchase on 18 and 19 January.

Combining these factors, a perfect storm was cast on opening day, when our reporter Asami Oshima turned up at the 11 a.m. opening time to find this.

▼ And this…

▼ …and this.

Asami had originally stood outside the store to check out the cute window display and only saw about ten people in line outside, which made her think it wouldn’t take long to get in. But as she slowly realised the queue snaked all the way up the stairs outside, her spirits dropped, and they dropped even further when, after waiting in line for around an hour later, she received her numbered ticket…

▼ …174.

Adding to the pain were the words from the staff member supervising the line, who could be heard saying, “We are only distributing numbered tickets! We cannot guarantee that you will be able to purchase the product, so please line up only if you understand this!”

That was a big gamble to take on a rice ball, and with plans to meet friends later that day, Asami waited until 2 p.m. and then calculated that the line wasn’t moving fast enough for her to make it into the store and keep her dinner date.

▼ So she left the line and returned the next day.

After waiting in the bitter cold for three hours on the first day with nothing to show for it, Asami was determined for a better result on her second visit. Arriving at 10 a.m., an hour before opening, the line appeared to be shorter this time, and when she received her numbered ticket…

▼ …67!

Asami felt like punching the air with joy, as not only did this mean she wouldn’t have to wait as long, she would be able to receive one of the original postcards that were so highly sought after. She still had to wait three hours, though, but using the QR code allowed her to step away for a bit and return when she received the notification on her phone.

▼ Finally stepping inside the store, this was the moment she’d been waiting for!

To be exact, this was a moment she’d waited six whole hours for, so she was definitely going to take her time perusing the wares. According to the menu, customers could choose one item each from the A and B sections for 990 yen (US$6.34), with the A section consisting of plain, bonito flake, plum, tuna with mayo, and soft-boiled egg, and the B section containing salmon, grilled cod roe, tempura shrimp, pork with egg, and salmon roe.

▼ There are two caveats to the price, as those ordering the plain can deduct 50 yen from the cost while those choosing the salmon roe will add 50 yen.

Filling out the order form, Asami selected two sets — one containing the plain and the pork with egg, and another containing soft-boiled egg and tempura shrimp.

In addition to rice balls, the store was selling other goods, and although Asami wasn’t planning on purchasing any of these, she found herself adding a tin badge to her order for 550 yen, as a reward for her efforts.

After ordering and paying the bill, she waited a few minutes to receive her purchases, during which time she was able to enjoy the cute displays in the showcase.

When it came time to meet her very own onigiri friends, staff set them up on a special photo stand for her so she could photograph them before they were packed up in a box.

Though the photo display stand was very sweet, Asami suspected this might’ve been the reason why the line was so slow to move, as customers were likely to spend some time here capturing the perfect photo of their purchases.

▼ Plus, each rice ball is handmade to order, adding more time to the process.

Still, the happy looking rice balls were so cute they made Asami’s head spin with delight, and she couldn’t wait to get them home to savour all the little details.

▼ Even the boxes the orders are packed in are adorable.

As soon as she arrived home, she carefully arranged her onigiri friends on a plate to admire their beauty.

▼ Grouping them all together made this party of four look all the more cute.

With first impressions being a clear ten-out-of-ten, it was time to find out if they actually tasted as good as they looked.

▼ First up to the tasting plate is the store’s signature item, the plain Nori Onigiri.

Biting into the head of the cute character left Asami a little lost for words. Her eyes were looking at one of the cutest things she’d ever seen, yet her taste buds were telling her it was an average-tasting rice ball. The rice was cold and slightly hard, but it had been a few hours since she’d purchased them so it might’ve tasted better if she’d eaten it earlier.

▼ Either that or she should’ve given it a quick heating in the microwave to soften up the rice.

▼ Slightly disappointed with this first morsel, Asami pulled up the Pork with Egg.

She wasn’t expecting much here, but to her surprise, this rice ball turned out to be the best out of the lot. The thickly sliced ​​pork was juicy and the balance with the egg was just right. The rice still left a lot to be desired, but again, that could’ve been due to the time that had elapsed between purchase and eating.

▼ Next up, we have the soft-boiled egg.

This one made Asami squeal in delight at its cuteness, but when she tried to dissect it in half, it immediately lost half its charm.

It looked like a luxurious rice ball, but upon eating it, there weren’t any noteworthy points to write home about — it was tasty, but not as special as anticipated.

▼ Finally, we have the tempura shrimp.

There was a generous amount of tempura inside this one, but it delivered no particular surprises or excitement, simply giving us the familiar flavour of fried shrimp.

After tasting them all, Asami concluded that they were high on visual appeal, but sadly lacking in flavour. The cuteness, however, is outstanding, both in terms of rice balls and merchandise, as Asami was very pleased with the look of her original postcard and tin badge.

▼ Her tin badge featured a cute salmon roe onigiri.

▼ The tin badge was quite large, almost the same size as her Tamagotchi.

So if you’re looking to feast on cuteness, Norionigiriya-san is ready to serve you…as long as you’re prepared to wait in line. Hopefully the lines will peter out in time, but the store won’t be around for long so you’ll want to stop by soon, as it’s only open until 16 February.

Location information
Nandemo Ikimono Norionigiriya-san / なんでもいきもの「のりおにぎり屋さん」
Address: Tokyo-to, Shibuya-ku, Jingumae 6-20-10, Miyashita Park 2nd floor
東京都 渋谷区 神宮前 6-20-10　MIYASHITA PARK　２F
Open 11 a.m.-9 p.m.
Website

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