On Saturday, August 13th, my travel companion for my journey home on the Shinkansen was the onigiri shop "Kikuta-ya Komekoku-ten Daimaru Umeda Store" located on the first basement floor of the Daimaru Umeda store in front of JR Osaka Station. They offer a variety of onigiri, including seasonal limited editions. I bought some souvenirs at Daimaru Umeda store, had some udon at Shin-Osaka Station, and now I am finally heading back to Hiroshima for the first time since the New Year's holidays. This time, I will be taking the Sakura Shinkansen on the Sanyo and Kyushu lines. The seats were fully booked early this year, but luckily I managed to get a reserved seat. For lunch, I chose the simplest option, the "Mezashi Bento" for 500 yen, which includes two sesame salt onigiri, two pieces of raw fish, and two slices of pickled daikon. The simple onigiri bento was perfect for me, as long as the rice is delicious, I don't need fancy side dishes! It was so delicious and satisfying! The shop is located at B1F of Daimaru Umeda Store, 3-1-1 Umeda, Kita-ku, Osaka City. Contact them at 06-6342-0898. They are open from 10:00 to 20:00 on Sundays, Mondays, and Tuesdays, and from 10:00 to 21:00 on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. They follow the Daimaru Umeda store's closing days. No smoking is allowed, and there is no parking available. Take the train and enjoy your visit!

I had a sudden craving for onigiri for lunch. I tried the most popular options, salmon and beef shigure, both priced at 280 yen each. The salmon and beef shigure were placed on top of the onigiri as well as inside, making them plump and flavorful. However, I didn't find the rice particularly appealing, and the onigiri was small in size. It seems like onigiri from department store basements are indeed pricey!

Kikuta-ya Komekokuten is a rice shop known as the "onigiri shop". They carefully select their rice and pay attention to how they make their onigiri. They adjust the cooking method based on the rice cooker's performance, the type of rice, and the temperature of the day. The way they shape the onigiri is soft and fluffy on the inside like cotton candy, but firm on the outside. You can find their shop at the Daimaru Umeda store B1, where they display a variety of onigiri with different fillings. Their salt onigiri (140 yen) stands out for its simplicity, allowing the deliciousness of the rice to shine. The perfect cooking texture, gentle shaping, salt, and fragrant white sesame create an irresistible combination. The kombu onigiri (180 yen) is packed with plenty of kombu and pairs perfectly with the rice.

This is a shop located on the basement floor of Daimaru Umeda Store (directly connected to JR Osaka Station). I purchased Chirimen Sansho (dried baby sardines with Japanese pepper) for 240 yen (tax included) and Gyūniku Shigure (shredded beef) for 250 yen (tax included) while feeling a bit lost. I tried them at home right away. Some may find the prices a bit high, but the ingredients were more than expected, with a nice fluffy texture and delicious taste. Thank you for the meal.

There is a new product available...I thought and purchased the Charcoal-grilled Chicken Bento with 2 rice balls. The grilled chicken had a savory aroma and was tender and delicious. I wish it was inside the rice balls, but I hope they come out with new products again.

I went to the takeout at Kikutaya Grain Store, located in the Hankyu Umeda Department Store. This is my third time buying from this shop. As a rice shop specializing in onigiri, I really like the taste of their rice and their "dashimaki bento" is truly delicious. The variety of onigiri here is simple. I quickly decided on the types of onigiri to order: Tuna Mayo (213 yen), Spicy Cod Roe (222 yen), and Salmon (232 yen). The onigiri here are small but packed with ingredients and delicious. The taste of each grain of rice is unique and suits my palate the best. I'm actually from Niigata, so I consider myself picky about rice! (laughs) Despite claiming to be picky about rice, I choose onigiri with plenty of fillings to order, but please overlook that (laughs). However, that's the truth. The "Salmon Bento" and "Dashimaki Bento" onigiri have a slight sesame and salt flavor, but you can really taste the deliciousness of the rice directly. The pickled plum was also very delicious. Thank you for the meal.

The shop's sign reads "Rice shop's Onigiri shop". Inside the showcase, various onigiri are displayed such as Take no Ko Sansho (bamboo shoot with Japanese pepper), Gyuu Shigure (beef sukiyaki), Tuna Mayo, Kombu, Kayakumeshi, and Salt Onigiri. I chose the Ume (plum) onigiri this time, which had a slightly cute size with a nice aroma of plum and seaweed. The rice was fluffy and delicious. Next time, I plan to try the Salmon Sesame and Chirimen Sansho onigiri.

This place is located on the basement floor 1 of Daimaru department store adjacent to JR Osaka Station. Although I didn't confirm it, according to the store's website, there are two stores in Daimaru Umeda store, one on basement floor 1 and the other on basement floor 2. From the exterior photo, it seems that I used the one on basement floor 1. It was located on the ticket gate floor of JR Osaka Station. However, on the Tabelog store information, it is listed as basement floor 2, so it's a bit confusing. There might be people who get lost or confused. The phone number is registered under the rice shop (rice sales store) on basement floor 2, so they probably registered the rice shop and onigiri shop under the same name. Although they have the same store name, the onigiri shop is on basement floor 1, and the rice shop is on basement floor 2, so please make sure not to get confused. Anyway, when you enter Daimaru department store from the ticket gate floor of JR Osaka Station and go a little further, it is on the left side. There are also many booth-style stores. I entered looking for an onigiri shop, but I didn't expect to find it so quickly. So, what I bought this time was "Salmon Onigiri 250 yen + Shredded Pepper 230 yen". There were not many types of onigiri, but according to the website, there are about 19 types. The salmon onigiri is wrapped in seaweed, with grilled salmon on top visible. Inside, there was also shredded grilled salmon. It is about 7cm on one side, so it is smaller than convenience store size, so two of them would not be enough for a meal. The grilled salmon has a strong salty taste that goes well with the sweet rice. The shredded pepper is a mixed rice type without seaweed. It has a light soy sauce color. The shredded dried fish with a hint of pepper is good. The rice has a refreshing sweetness and tastes good. Since it is a store in the department store basement, it is not recommended in terms of cost performance, but the quality is excellent. However, if you eat it as a meal, the portion is small, so it is more like a snack or an additional item.

At Daimaru Umeda, on the way back, I decided to buy onigiri here. I got a dashimaki bento with 2 onigiri (dashimaki, edamame, umeboshi) and a salmon bento with 3 onigiri (salmon, pickles). It's quite filling and the taste of the onigiri is good! I really like onigiri!

Onigiri with various ingredients can be seen frequently at recently popular onigiri specialty shops, but it's rare to find onigiri wrapped in bamboo skin-like packaging. While watching a rerun of the historical drama "Mito Komon" recently, I was captivated by the onigiri that seemed like it could appear in a period drama and looked delicious. In the manga "Oishinbo," there is a scene where a person bites into such onigiri, pairs it with a whole cucumber pickle taken out of a rice bran bed, and drinks delicious water, making one think, "How fortunate to be born Japanese?" It was an onigiri that evoked such feelings. ( ◠‿◠ )

Hmm... I found a rice ball that was squashed. In terms of taste, balance of rice and filling, I think Hankyu's rice ball shop is better. 2016.10.26 TakeOut

I stopped by at Daimaru Umeda store to look for a light meal. Today, I decided to try the onigiri here. They mainly offer onigiri and rice-based light bento boxes. I chose the salmon and cod roe onigiri. Let's dig in! First, the salmon onigiri was quite salty with a nice salted salmon flavor. It's not wrapped in crispy seaweed like convenience store onigiri, but it's still quite delicious. The cod roe onigiri was also tasty. Overall, it was a good meal at a reasonable price for a department store basement. Sometimes, onigiri is a nice choice too.

I bought onigiri and two types of bento boxes, one with salmon and the other with sashimi. I ate the onigiri with salmon and it was delicious! My wife had the onigiri with pickled plum, which she enjoyed. The sashimi bento had two onigiri, sashimi, and pickled daikon. The onigiri was tasty!

For dinner tonight, I decided to get a bento box at the Daimaru Umeda store. There were so many delicious options, but I wanted something simple. I ended up choosing onigiri, which came in a set with salmon, pickled plum, and seaweed for ¥600. Each onigiri was not too big, but was nicely shaped and the rice grains were not broken. The saltiness was mild, allowing the rice flavor to come through. The salmon was gently seasoned, the pickled plum was a classic choice, and the seaweed was delicious as well. These homemade onigiri were a bit different from convenience store ones, but I still enjoy both. Thank you for the meal! 🍙

I went to the food department at Daimaru Umeda to satisfy my hunger. They were having an "onigiri championship" event featuring exclusive onigiri products. I bought a collaboration onigiri set with Kanso, a famous salted kelp shop also available at Daimaru Umeda. The set included finely sliced kelp and scallop, as well as bonito and rice cake onigiri, priced at 500 yen. The onigiri were wrapped in leaf-shaped paper and had a small, chewy texture. The kelp and scallop onigiri had a good balance of saltiness and a nice combination with the scallop. The bonito and rice cake onigiri had a strong bonito flavor and went well with the rice. Both onigiri were lightly seasoned and suitable for those who prefer a mild taste. I enjoyed them on the bus during my trip back home. On my second visit, I tried the popular salmon (230 yen), kelp (160 yen), and salt onigiri (230 yen). The size was slightly smaller than convenience store onigiri, but the salmon had a generous amount of filling and a mild saltiness. The kelp was slightly thickly sliced and a bit crumbly, but the rice was delicious. The salt onigiri was simple and as expected. On my third visit, I tried the plum onigiri (180 yen), which was refreshing and tasty. I will try the set menu next time if I have the chance.

Osaka Series...Continued...At the Depachika (department store basement) of Daimaru Umeda store...I bought a "Saga beef kalbi teriyaki bento" and a "seafood chirashi" and decided to stop buying more food, but I found some delicious-looking onigiri. Lately, I see this type of shop in department stores, but there was a different shop here. In the display case, there were carefully wrapped onigiri, looking as if they were handmade, lined up one by one. They were slightly larger than convenience store onigiri, and you could see the ingredients from the top. This makes it easy to know what you're buying. I asked the staff for popular items, and of course, "salmon" and "umeboshi" were selling well. So, I bought those two and also "kombu". I took them home. At home, as usual, I took photos and tried them. Each onigiri was filled with plenty of ingredients from the top to the middle. Also, there was nori tightly wrapped around them. "Salmon" was the usual salted salmon, but not as salty as expected, with a mild taste. The onigiri itself was lightly packed, allowing you to feel the individual grains of rice. "Umeboshi" had a moderate level of sourness, with soft plum and a hint of plum flavor. "Kombu" was not salted kombu but simmered kombu, with a rich flavor. Overall, the prices were higher than convenience store onigiri, but the taste and quality were satisfying. It was delicious. I recommend it. Thank you for the meal. 2016.04 Rating on Tabelog: 3.20 points

Now, I came to Daimaru in Umeda to search for onigiri. I chose a simple salt onigiri for 130 yen including tax. It is said to be the 3rd best seller this week. The top seller was salmon for 230 yen, and the 2nd was kombu. The salt onigiri with sesame sprinkled on top is made with decent rice. Although it's a bit cold, when you slowly savor it, the sweetness of the rice comes through. There is also a slight smell of bran. While onigiri with big pieces of salmon is good, the simplicity of this one is also nice.

Kikuta-ya Mikokuten at Daimaru Umeda: I missed lunch and ended up taking a stroll at Daimaru department store. I found a rice ball shop at the rice shop with delicious-looking rice balls. I bought three of my favorites: kombu, salmon, and shredded shiso. They looked cute and I started with the kombu. It had a sweet and rich taste with plenty of kombu inside. Next, I tried the shredded shiso, which had a nice texture and a hint of spiciness from the shiso. It was easy to eat and I finished it quickly. The salmon was soft and easy to eat, with a good balance of saltiness. I might become a regular customer here. I want to try other varieties as well.

I found a bento box called "Dashi Maki Bento" in the basement of Daimaru! It is from a rice ball specialty store called "Kikutaya Komekokuten" at Daimaru Umeda store. I was impressed by the name and decided to buy it. It is a very simple bento with Dashi Maki and rice balls with edamame and pickled plum. I was busy with training and couldn't go out for lunch, so I found this bento. I was really moved by its simplicity and ended up buying it as a snack on my way back from Osaka several times. The Dashi Maki is the main attraction and it is simple, but surprisingly delicious with the pickled plum and rice.