I often see long lines at the onigiri shop "Tawara Daimyo". Recently, due to work, I am often in the east side during the day, and I frequently use the Seibu department store basement which closes at 21:00, compared to Tobu which closes at 20:00. I was curious because I often see this shop creating long lines. However, when there is a line, it's hard to see the items in the showcase, so I end up deciding what to get while waiting in line. I also feel bad taking too long to decide, so I ended up choosing something common out of haste. "Salmon" seemed to be the popular No. 1 choice with a tag indicating that. It tasted good, but the amount of filling was a bit lacking. "Cod roe" was maybe No. 2. In contrast, this one had too much filling. I like it, but it's too salty to have as a side dish with white rice (laughs). "Tuna flakes" was the most expensive at 275 yen, but it was worth it in terms of quantity. "Salted mackerel with perilla" was quite good. The mackerel was cooked just right, soft and with a nice pairing with perilla. The rice was also delicious, with a slightly firm texture. Each grain seemed to be carefully cooked. The nori had a good flavor and was pleasantly moist. Yes, it was delicious. Thank you for the meal.

After finishing all my errands at the department store, I stopped by a rice ball shop in the underground grocery area to buy a late-night snack. I purchased the cod roe rice ball for 254 yen and the salmon soy sauce rice ball for 227 yen. I love these rice balls just as much as the ones at the rice ball shop in the basement of Otsuka Bongo Ginza Matsuya. The rice is excellent, and I think the way they cook it and shape the rice balls with just the right amount of air is wonderful. The only downside is that there is not enough cod roe, so I wouldn't mind paying an extra 50-100 yen for a rice ball with a better balance of rice and cod roe.

On May 30, 2019, a sunny Thursday around 12:30, my husband and I bought onigiri from a shop in the Seibu Ikebukuro department store basement and headed to the rooftop to enjoy them. The onigiri looked as good as they tasted, perfect for a picnic. We decided to take a day off work and visit Chiba, but first, we stopped by the Seibu Ikebukuro main store to buy a gift for my wife's relatives. We found a set of soup and curry from Hotel Okura in the department store basement. Afterwards, we planned to have lunch at the Sanuki udon shop Karukaya on the rooftop, but we got tempted by the delicious options in the basement. We ended up choosing onigiri from Yonotani Tawara Daimyo, with me selecting chicken soboro and my wife choosing simmered egg. Surprisingly, we both chose simmered egg. The onigiri looked so appetizing that we couldn't resist. We enjoyed our onigiri on the rooftop, paired with cold udon due to the hot weather. The chicken soboro was sweet and tasty, and the simmered egg was perfectly mixed with the rice. We were confident in our choice. The department store basement always offers delicious options, and the staff at Yonotani Tawara Daimyo were friendly and provided excellent service. The rooftop at Seibu Ikebukuro is a pleasant and nice place to relax. I would love to buy various deli items from the department store and have a picnic on the rooftop. I might invite someone to join me. Perhaps I'll go on a weekday to avoid the crowds. Although the onigiri from Yonotani Tawara Daimyo is a bit pricey compared to convenience store options, it is definitely worth it for the taste. I highly recommend this department store basement shop. I will visit again. Thank you for the meal. The end.

I purchased this onigiri for breakfast. It has about 10-20 different fillings including salmon. This time, I bought my favorite "tuna mayo" flavor. I warmed it up a bit in the microwave before eating. The rice is soft and easy to eat, allowing me to savor each grain. The tuna mayo blends nicely with the rice and is very delicious. I wish there were a bit more filling, but overall, it was a tasty onigiri.

I bought a salmon and salmon roe onigiri at Seibu for lunch because I was returning home from GW. The rice was fluffy with a strong saltiness, complemented well by the saltiness of the salmon roe and the refreshing taste of the large shiso leaf. Despite being soft and crumbly, I managed to eat it all without any trouble. It was a bit pricey, but the abundant fillings and convenience make it a great snack to have on the go. Thank you for the meal!

I purchased the onigiri with minced meat filling that the fair was selling. The combination of minced meat and rice was excellent! Thank you for the delicious meal!

The matsutake mushroom rice ball and soy sauce plum rice ball are delicious.

This is an onigiri from the Depachika (department store basement) at Tobu Yuenomachi Tawara Daimyo in Ikebukuro Seibu. It's delicious so I often buy it. Sometimes near closing time (after 8pm), you can get 3 for 400 yen. On May 28, 2017, I bought 3 for 400 yen - they had mentaiko, ikura soy sauce, and kombu flavors.

I visited on March 29th and bought some onigiri for a late-night snack. Luckily, it was discount time and I got 3 for 400 yen. You can choose any 3 onigiri from the showcase. I picked Sakura, grilled cod roe, and butterbur miso flavors. Sakura and butterbur miso flavors really make you feel the season. The onigiri here are really delicious.

Purchased on the night of February 20th. Located on the basement floor of Seibu Ikebukuro. Bought salmon ikura and miso rice balls for a late-night snack. The rice balls here are a bit small, but they use good rice and they are delicious. Sometimes they offer discounts near closing time.

I saw on TV that there is a popular onigiri shop called "Bongo" where people line up. So, I decided to investigate onigiri. I usually buy onigiri from convenience stores for around 200 yen each, so I went to Seibu Ikebukuro. It seems that the most popular item at this shop is the salmon onigiri, so I decided to compare based on salmon. I set the evaluation for convenience store onigiri at 3.2. I bought a salmon belly onigiri from Lawson for 175 yen (tax included). The rice is delicious, and the salmon belly is tasty, but since it's not shredded, the amount of salmon feels a bit lacking. I also bought a salmon onigiri from Origin. It's slightly larger than the convenience store one, but the salmon seems to be canned salmon. The rice is not as good as the convenience store one. This seems to be a matter of choosing quantity over quality. The evaluation is a bit tricky, either 3.1 or 3.2. This time, I will skip reviewing Origin since it's a supporting role. I bought a salmon onigiri for 160 yen (tax included) from Tawara Daimyo, a shop where I often see people lining up. It's probably because each person buys 2-3 onigiri at once, making the line longer compared to other shops. Also, unlike bento boxes, it's easier to buy since it doesn't reach 1,000 or 2,000 yen. I bought salmon, grilled cod roe, and kelp onigiri and ate them at home. The kelp onigiri, as expected, has the most ingredients due to its low cost. Next, the grilled cod roe onigiri - when eaten from the bottom, the rice is a bit disappointing, but as you continue eating, the cod roe appears again. I couldn't help but take a photo of it, so this gets high points. Finally, the salmon onigiri - the shredded salmon is better than Origin, but it can't beat the salmon belly. The quality of the ingredients is high, but maybe because I'm used to convenience store onigiri, the rice here doesn't taste as good. Even though there are cheap and expensive onigiri at convenience stores, the cheaper ones definitely have less tasty rice. Supermarkets offer cheaper options, but they are slightly smaller, with less tasty rice and fewer ingredients. I might buy from there (as a snack to enjoy on the way home with other side dishes), but the evaluation is 3.0. Overall, the satisfaction of the ingredients is high, so I'll give it a 3.3 rating. However, the evaluation of convenience store onigiri (3.2) might be too low. There is not much price difference in onigiri (around 50 yen), so convenience stores, which are good at mass production, seem to make quite good products. Next, I'll go to Tobu after Seibu. That's all.

[2016.06.18 Visit] Location: This shop is located in the basement floor of Seibu, directly connected from Ikebukuro Station. I visited around 5:30 PM on a Saturday. It was quite crowded, typical for a Saturday in the department store basement. I visited this shop to buy onigiri for a late-night snack. There were about 3 groups of customers before me and 2 groups after me. Since it was that time, there were quite a variety of onigiri available. I purchased a spicy cod roe onigiri for 222 yen. I had it later that night and it was filled with plenty of ingredients, making it a satisfying onigiri. Personally, I found the rice delicious and it paired well with the spicy cod roe, so I was happy with my purchase and had no regrets. Thank you for the meal.

I was on my way to buy a salad and be healthy for the day when I suddenly caught a whiff of delicious rice aroma...! I sniffed around trying to figure out which store it was coming from, and there it was right in front of me (；´Д｀) It was Hyouta Daimyo-san, a famous onigiri (rice ball) shop that many onigiri lovers are familiar with. They have branches in the Seibu group and various other locations. I also love onigiri, so Hyouta Daimyo-san is one of my favorite shops. I just found out that they have a branch in Ikebukuro!♪( ´▽｀) My go-to onigiri choices are usually grilled salmon, ikura (salmon roe), tarako (cod roe), or mentaiko (spicy cod roe). Sometimes I go for the limited edition ones or try something with kombu (kelp) depending on my mood. Today, I was planning to be healthy with a salad, but unexpectedly encountered the onigiri shop... (；；) However, I resisted the temptation... until I found myself holding a bag of onigiri (；´Д｀) Well, I guess it was meant to be, so I decided to enjoy it♪( ´▽｀) This time, I bought a mentaiko onigiri. The mentaiko from Hyouta Daimyo-san seems to have slightly smaller grains, or maybe it's just my imagination? The mentaiko itself is quite spicy, even for someone like me who enjoys spicy food. And this mentaiko seems to be a bit gooey!! The moist seaweed, the irresistible aroma of the rice, and the delicious white rice onigiri go really well together. The portion is not particularly large, but the flavor comes through more than a regular mentaiko onigiri, making it feel like a larger portion. It was a day when I learned that mentaiko can have different characteristics depending on the shop. Thank you for the delicious onigiri♪( ´▽｀)

I bought some side dishes at the department store basement, and since I was already there, I decided to get some onigiri from a nice-looking onigiri shop as well! I don't usually buy onigiri from a shop like this, but when I see them displayed in the showcase, they look so delicious! The size is bigger than convenience store onigiri, and there are surprisingly many different flavors to choose from, so I had a hard time deciding which one to get. In the end, I was drawn to the most popular one, the "salmon" onigiri. By the way, the second most popular was cod roe, and the third was grilled salted salmon. It was daytime when I went, so they weren't having any special time sales, but apparently they have them depending on the time. The rice was firm and the onigiri was well-packed. It wasn't too hard, just the right texture. I don't eat onigiri much these days, but rice is really delicious! They use rice from Uonuma, Niigata Prefecture. I think the way it's cooked also plays a role, but it's true that the taste changes depending on the rice. The fillings were also generous. The price is a bit high, but it's more filling and tastier than convenience store onigiri.

I wandered around the basement of Seibu Ikebukuro looking for lunch while watching tennis. After looking around, I saw a set of tempura that looked delicious. I love fried food (laughs). I think it was in the 500 yen range. The squid, shrimp, and kisu were all tasty with a slightly strong flavor. It went well with the tea highball and was satisfying to eat. I might buy it again for lunch when I go out. It's always exciting to visit the department store basement.

In the basement of Seibu Ikebukuro, there is an onigiri shop that uses Koshihikari rice from Uonuma. The onigiri are neatly shaped, so I wondered if they were made by a machine. I'm not sure about that. The balance of rice and filling is good, and the onigiri are very delicious. I think three onigiri would be just the right amount for lunch. The prices felt a bit high, with many onigiri priced around 250 yen.

This is an onigiri shop located in the depachika of Seibu Ikebukuro. When I went 30 minutes before closing, there was already a line forming. The onigiri cost around 200 yen each, but they had a special offer of 3 for 400 yen! I bought three flavors: simmered anago, plum soy sauce, and salmon soy sauce. The rice was fluffy with a slight sweetness, and the nori added a hint of saltiness. The fillings were soft and luxurious. Next to the onigiri display, there were also daifuku available. It's nice to have some Japanese sweets for dessert after enjoying onigiri.

This is an onigiri shop located in the Seibu department store basement. They offer various flavors such as tuna mayo, nori wasabi, spicy cod roe, and salmon with salmon roe. I purchased a few different kinds like salmon, clam, and kombu. It's perfect to buy a couple to eat in the car when feeling a little hungry after shopping. They use Koshihikari rice from Uonuma, Niigata. There are many food options available, but onigiri is always delicious, right?

Onigiri shops are something I always end up buying, even if they are not as tasty as convenience store onigiri and are priced higher. I always hope that maybe I'll come across a delicious one. This shop was just as I expected. The salt onigiri didn't taste salty at all, which was disappointing. Maybe the rice from Uonuma wasn't cooked properly or the water quality was bad? Uonuma rice comes in various grades, so maybe that's the reason? But still, the salt onigiri from Seven Eleven is much tastier. Maybe there's something chewy added to Seven Eleven's onigiri that makes it delicious. Delicious is justice! This shop had onigiri priced around 300 yen, but it seems like many onigiri shops are like this.