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When was the first time you came across a Japanese rice ball, or onigiri, at a convenience store? And more specifically, how well did your first attempt at unwrapping one go?
Did you make a monumental mess? You're not alone.
This writer can attest to the confusing nature of the packaging, with a total of three steps to take in order to enjoy the fluffy ball (or really, triangle) of goodness inside. The apparent difficulty of opening one was recently highlighted by Canadian journalist Anastasia Bucsis, in Tokyo covering the Games, when she posted a video of her failed attempt on Twitter:
助けてください #Tokyo2020 ??? pic.twitter.com/mo8wpQYDfG — Anastasia Bucsis (@anastasure) July 27, 2021
With the Tokyo Olympics currently underway, it's inevitable for foreign athletes and journalists to come across this Japanese delicacy.
Stepping in to quell the confusion is 7-Eleven Japan with a simple instructional video.
＼#セブンの豆知识／
海外からのお客様のために、本日はきれいに取り出せるおにぎり?の开け方をご绍介します??
Today, we would like to introduce how to open a package film of rice ball for the customers who are visiting Japan from overseas.? pic.twitter.com/LXnuE8Qx6U — セブン‐イレブン?ジャパン (@711SEJ) July 29, 2021
In a tweet captioned in both Japanese and English, 7-Eleven Japan attempts to show onigiri newbies how it's done.
"Today, we would like to introduce how to open a package film of rice ball for the customers who are visiting Japan from overseas," the caption reads. The barely-30-second-long video itself has no dialogue, with just a woman showing viewers how to carefully unwrap a rice ball.
But it seems that these simple visual directions have worked, seeing that Bucsis finally managed to properly unwrap an onigiri afterwards:
Update: I am doing much better ? ?
日本の素晴らしい人々に感谢します。あなたは私を助けてくれました。#Tokyo2020 ?????? pic.twitter.com/IfjvSPTBB2 — Anastasia Bucsis (@anastasure) July 29, 2021
"Update: I am doing much better," Bucsis says in a tweet. And much better, she did.
But in case you need specific instructions, here you go:
Step 1. Pull down the tab (labeled '1') all the way to the bottom, and up the other side of the rice ball. Make sure to tear it off completely!
Step 2. Pull the tab (labeled '2') outward, gently, so as not to destroy the crispy seaweed. Make sure it's off completely as well.
Step 3. Repeat Step 2, but on the tab that's labeled '3'.
And hopefully, you'll have a nice, intact rice ball in your hand.
But if you want to live life to the fullest, one Japanese Twitter user who replied to 7-Eleven's instructional video came up with this neat method to keep your hands from touching the seaweed:
パリパリ海苔おにぎりを素手で触らず食べる方法
①を里侧まで全部剥がしきる
②(辞谤③)を引き抜く
引き抜いたシートをスッポリとまたおにぎりにかぶせる
反対侧を引き抜く
あとは残ったシートの部分を持って食べるだけです pic.twitter.com/N0NdH6JuIJ — ????ほり???? (@HYLSotaota) July 29, 2021
Similar to the steps seen in 7-Eleven's video, Twitter user @HYLSotaota takes things a step further by reusing the number '2' tab as a protective barrier between your hand and the seaweed wrapping.
As long as you follow the visual instructions by 7-Eleven Japan, or the written ones listed above, you should be fine.
And like the Japanese say before they enjoy a meal:
"いただきます / Itadakimasu / I humbly receive."
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Cover image sourced from The Mimi Odyssey.
