Jun 11 (Paolo fromTOKYO) - Japanese Onigiri Rice Balls made at this Tokyo hidden gem shop in Jujo Ginza. Today I’m taking you behind the counter for a Tokyo food tour at my favorite speciality onigiri, Japanese Rice ball shops in Tokyo, Kamataya.
Hidden behind the Jujo Ginza Shotengai on a side street, about a 5 minutes walk from Jujo Ginza station, this onigiri lover’s paradise has been warming the heart’s of customers while also filling their stomachs with a unique variety of their culinary delights for over half a century. And of course, I’m going into their kitchen to show how it’s all made. To maintain the shop’s high quality standards, the shop carefully selects the best rice made in Japan each year to use in their onigiri, but with more than 800 rice cultivators in the country, it could be quite a task. I guess that what it takes make some the best onigiri in Japan. When Soeno san started, the shop wasn’t doing well, so he decided to add Shrimp Tempura Onigiri to their menu and it was a hit. Motivated by the success and his natural passion to create, he soon found himself in the onigiri business with an expansive menu of over 50 different types of onigiri even crafting seasonal items drawing inspiration from the season’s vegetables and proteins available on the market. All of this, motivated by his secret Joy in seeing his customer’s satisfied reactions.