世論 What Japan Thinks

A recently reported-on survey by DIMSDRIVE Research looked at a food that has been all too common in the disaster-struck areas, the humble onigiri, or rice ball, a food that is just what it says, with the usual configuration being a ball (or more usually a triangle) of rice with some ingredient in the centre and wrapped in nori, a sheet of dried seaweed.

Demographics

Between the 4th and 18th of November 2010 12,195 members of the DIMSDRIVE Research online monitor group completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 54.9% of the sample were male, 0.7% in their teens, 8.0% in their twenties, 26.0% in their thirties, 32.9% in their forties, 19.9% in their fifties, and 12.5% aged sixty or older. Furthermore, 65.0% were married, 14.5% lived by themselves, 25.9% with one other, 25.2% with two others, 22.4% with three others, and 12.0% with four or more others.

I’m no fan, as the idea of cold rice does not appeal to me in the slightest, and I cannot handle the texture of nori.

Here’s a random picture from nadja.robot on flickr of rice balls:

And Lady Gaga looks like a rice ball.

Research results

Q1: Do you like onigiri? (Sample size=12,195)

Love them	35.6%
Like them	56.3%
Not bothered either way	7.7%
Dislike them	0.3%
Hate them	0.1%

Q2: What fillings do you like in your onigiri? (Sample size=12,195, up to three answers)

Salmon	53.5%
Spicy pollock roe	31.3%
Tuna mayonnaise	29.0%
Sour plum	27.9%
Combu seaweed	21.4%
Cod roe	20.6%
Finely-chopped bonita flakes	17.3%
Lightly-grilled rice	9.9%
Mustard	9.5%
Red bean rice	8.5%
Crisp-roasted rice balls	7.5%
Ikura – salmon roe	6.9%
Tenmusu – deep-fried prawn	6.8%
Sujiko – salmon roe	6.0%
Tori soboro – minced chicken	4.5%
Grilled beef	4.0%
Yukari – dried perilla leaf	3.4%
Rice only, just salt	2.7%
Wakame seaweed	2.5%
Chinese-style fried rice	2.2%
Pork chunks	2.1%
Sushi-like	1.6%
Edible spicy ra-yu oil	1.2%
Egg	1.1%
Rice omelette	1.0%
Other	1.7%
Don’t like any	0.6%

The top flavour for every age group was salmon, except for teenage boys and women in their twenties, both who preferred tuna mayonnaise. Sour plum was second favourite for the over-fifties of both sexes, but fourth for the under fifties.

Q3: Where do you usually buy your onigiri? (Sample size=12,195, multiple answer)

Convenience store (to SQs)	82.1%
Supermarket	37.9%
Rice ball shop	11.3%
Lunch box, snack shop	7.7%
Department store	6.0%
Restaurant, bar	1.0%
Other	0.5%
Don’t buy them	10.4%

Q3SQ1: How often do you buy onigiri from convenience stores? (Sample size=10,006)

	All	Live alone N=1,476	Live with others N=8,530
Almost every day	1.1%	2.4%	0.9%
Four or five times a week	2.2%	4.0%	1.9%
Two or three times a wek	10.2%	15.5%	9.3%
Once a week	14.8%	17.8%	14.3%
Two or three times a month	22.3%	22.0%	22.4%
Once a month	13.0%	9.4%	13.6%
Less than once a month	36.4%	28.9%	37.6%

Men in either domestic situation bought rice balls more often than women.

Q3SQ2: Which convenience store chains do you buy onigiri from, and which is your most favourite? (Sample size=10,006, multiple answer and single answer)

	Often use	Most favourite
Seven-Eleven	70.4%	43.4%
Lawson	52.5%	17.9%
Family Mart	41.1%	8.6%
Circle K	12.5%	2.1%
Mini Stop	6.6%	0.7%
am/pm	4.2%	0.6%
Daily Yamazaki	2.2%	0.2%
Seiko Mart	2.1%	0.6%
Three F	1.9%	0.2%
Yamazaki Daily Store	1.8%	0.2%
SHOP99	1.6%	0.2%
NEWDAYS	1.6%	0.2%
Save On	1.5%	0.3%
Popular	1.0%	0.1%
Hot Spar	0.2%	0.0%
Community Store	0.1%	0.0%
Other	1.0%	0.2%
None in particular	-	23.6%

Q3SQ3: What is important when choosing onigiri from convenience stores? (Sample size=10,006, multiple answer)

Filling	75.1%
Price	66.4%
Taste	53.4%
Type of wrapping nori seaweed	16.2%
Size, weight	15.9%
Sell-by, best before date	15.2%
Whether it has additives	5.1%
Rice brand	5.1%
Originality, rarety	5.1%
Calories	4.3%
Whether there is a promotional campaign	3.8%
Shape (round, triangular, etc)	3.5%
Seasonal flavour	3.4%
Type of rice (brown, multigrain, etc)	2.9%
How much people are talking about it	2.6%
Whether it’s the same onigiri as in every other place	2.6%
Package design	2.4%
Nutritional balance	2.1%
Product description on packaging	1.4%
Looks as if it won’t go off	1.1%
In-store promotional signage	0.5%
Other	0.5%
Nothing in particular	4.1%

Q3SQ4: What other food and drink do you often buy with onigiri from convenience stores? (Sample size=10,006, multiple answer)

Green tea	69.2%
Bread, sandwich	10.6%
Coffee	10.1%
Other prepared foods	7.8%
Salad	7.3%
Cup noodles	7.3%
Miso soup	6.6%
Hot snack (chicken nuggets, hot dog, etc)	5.4%
Dessert	5.3%
Black tea	5.2%
Soup	5.0%
Fruit juice	4.7%
Sweets, chocolate	4.1%
Yoghurt	3.6%
Oden	3.5%
Chinese steamed bun	3.1%
Box lunch	2.5%
Milk	1.4%
Ice cream	1.4%
Nutritionally-balanced food	0.3%
Other	1.2%
Nothing in particular	15.7%

Q3SQ5: For which meals do you often buy onigiri from convenience stores? (Sample size=10,006, multiple answer)

Morning	21.4%
Lunch	79.0%
Evening	9.4%
Between meals	15.3%
Late night	6.9%
Other	0.8%

Q3SQ6: When going to buy food from a convenience store, in what situations do you choose onigiri? (Sample size=10,006, multiple answer)

When I want something easy to eat	54.0%
When I want something cheap	26.8%
When I only have a short time to eat	26.4%
When there’s an onigiri sale	20.4%
When I just want to eat a little	18.3%
When they have onigiri with an interesting filling	15.6%
When I won’t be eating soon, want something to carry with me for later	12.7%
When lunch boxes are sold out, almost sold out	11.3%
When I want to eat something simple	9.0%
To go with a lunch box, light meat, etc	8.8%
When I don’t need much, just want to buy rice	7.1%
When it’s too much bother to choose something	6.3%
When I don’t have time to choose something	6.3%
When I don’t want to generate much rubbish	4.2%
When white rice alone won’t do	2.9%
When I have no time to heat something up	2.8%
When I want to eat something that won’t spill	2.5%
When the shop is crowded	1.7%
Other	2.8%
No particular time	8.6%

Q3SQ7: How much on average do you pay for onigiri from convenience stores? (Sample size=10,006)

Up to 99 yen	2.7%
100 to 109 yen	37.9%
110 to 119 yen	15.8%
120 to 129 yen	28.1%
130 to 139 yen	9.7%
140 to 149 yen	0.6%
150 to 159 yen	2.8%
160 to 169 yen	0.5%
170 to 179 yen	0.4%
180 to 189 yen	0.6%
190 to 199 yen	0.4%
200 yen or more	0.5%

Q4: How do you prefer your seaweed on your onigiri? (Sample size=12,195)

Moist	21.5%
Crispy	77.0%
Prefer no seaweed	1.5%

Q5: What do you most often call rice balls? (Sample size=12,195)

Onigiri	93.3%
Omusubi	6.3%
Other	0.4%

Other names included nigirimeshi, onigishi, musubi, oni, onioni, onigiro, kororin, nigiri, nigiriko, niginmeshi, ninniko, and manma.