Mt. Fuji Onigiri (rice ball)

Brand: Onigiri Shop

Cost: 222 yen

Found at: Lawsons

The older I get, the more I learn to love the cheesy, the tacky, and the camp things in life. Gone are the days of “oh my god, gold pants” to be replaced with the era of “OH MY GOD GOLD PANTS!”- and I am very much the better for it.

So, when confronted with an onigiri Mt. Fuji the size of a Guinea pig, you can imagine my delight. There is something so wonderfully, perfectly cheesy about this rice ball. Not only is it wrapped in the most fantastic plastic wrapping, which utilizes the triangular shape of the rice ball to recreate Japan’s most iconic mountain, but inside the seaweed wrapping (nori) is cut short, to leave a little peak of white rice at the top of the edible landmark. Once you bite in, you realize why this onigiri is twice the size of your typical onigiri: because it is, in fact, three separate onigiri amalgamated into one mega-onigiri that towers over its neighbors on the “take and go” shelf. Each corner of the mountain has a different filling: the top is tuna mayonnaise (a personal favorite), the bottom right corner is the classic salmon, and the bottom left corner is yet another onigiri staple: seasoned konbu seaweed. All three of these fillings are delicious in their own right but all together, this onigiri is nothing short of a delight. I don’t understand why this is not a more common practice – why have I had to buy my rice balls separately when this whole time I could have them squished together? This rice ball is truly adorable innovation at work.