this is behind the camera at a local
Japanese handmade onigiri shop
[Music]
good morning everyone I am back here at
JoJo Ginza in Tokyo and it is super
early it is 3 50 in the morning right
now and we are having an early early day
I'm taking you behind the counter at a
local Japanese onigiri shop where they
make everything by hand I've actually
featured this lid before in one of my
street food videos but this time we're
gonna get to go inside of the kitchen
this shop actually opens at 6 30 in the
morning so I had to come here super
early because they start the prep at 4
30. all we have to do now is wait for
them to arrive
today I'm taking you behind the counter
at one of my favorite specialty onigiri
Japanese rice ball shops in Tokyo
kamataya hidden behind the JoJo Ginza
shooting guy on a side street about a
five minute walk from JoJo Ginza station
this onigiri Lover's Paradise has been
warming the hearts 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 you how it's all made
[Music]
who's continued on the family business
after his father this morning he's
actually the second one to come in as
his mother is already here so how old is
the shop
oh wow and how did the shop get its name
[Music]
I see
all right first things first the rice
the heart and soul ingredient of any
onigiri apparently 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's what it takes to make
some of the best onikiri in Japan so
what kind of rice are you using
something
how much rice do you go through in a day
[Music]
foreign
[Music]
's mom is already making onigiri
what time did you wake up damn that's so
early
definitely no question about her
dedication as she's been working here
since the shop first opened so what's
the most important thing when making
origami
good answer
wow he's already steaming the second
round of rice apparently this is
non-stop for the rest of the day
[Music]
hi how long have you been working here
do you ever think you'd be working in an
Oni Kitty shop let's see if you have any
kids
oh how old are they
she says that one works in logistics
another system engineer and the third
one works in travel
wow really must have been tough during
covid
foreign
[Music]
oh that I'll notice you read in the fry
batter smells phenomenal
I guess I do
so the shop set itself apart from many
other spots is it handcrafts more than
50 kinds of onigiri with some of them
making use of fried ingredients
so how long have you been doing this
sweet bees have you wanted to do this
since you were a kid yeah
then what did you want to be
oh really he says that before this he
had a regular job but ultimately decided
to continue on the family business
apparently since the shop wasn't doing
well he decided to add shrimp and put it
onigiri to their menu and it was a hit
motivated by the success in 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
seasonal vegetables and proteins
available on the market
so in Japan onigiri rice balls can be
found in every part of everyday life
from breakfast to a quick snack lunch
bentos and even dinner but it didn't
become an everyday food until Japan's
Edo period onigiri was only available to
noble families in the heian period or
the samurai is part of the high-ranking
social class who started to eat it as a
portable food during Wars by using
humeiboshi pickled Plum salt and miso to
preserve the cooked rice which are still
eaten as fillings today hey what's that
picture
[Music]
so what do you do when you're off
oh you're a teacher what age do you
teach
cool so what's important to know when
making onigiri
I guess love is a powerful ingredient
[Music]
around 5 a.m one more worker arrives to
help the team
so how long have you been working here
how did you find this job
[Music]
is the shop still hiring
okay so for you what's the most
challenging part of making onigiri
um
they all look pretty good to me though
these days the price of roasted seaweed
in Japan has drastically increased not
only due to recent inflation but also to
the poor harvest in the top three
seaweed production prefectures Saga
fugoka and Kumamoto who all experienced
red tide cutting the usual production in
half resulting in higher prices and a
lower quality product for consumers and
small onigiri shops like this one
oh she's making Inari Sushi a seasoned
rice stuffed in a sweet and sour bean
curd skin one of my Japanese wife's
favorites hey don't you get lonely here
all by yourself
well your focus is sure making me hungry
so what are you gonna do with the ripped
bean curd
Japanese Cuisine typically puts a great
deal of emphasis on presentation so it's
often required to remove any
imperfections however skill chefs always
find a way to utilize the discarded
parts to ensure that no food goes to
waste
[Music]
thank you
the shop has about 30 minutes until it
opens so they work quickly to get the
onigiri ready look at them work so
efficiently with three to four people
the shop can produce around a thousand
onigiri in one day
that's a miso used and their most
popular onigiri NASA miso fried eggplant
in a sweet miso this sweet miso blend is
a Shop's original signature blend made
with miso sugar medium and other secret
ingredients the recipe was passed down
from suenosan's father
thank you
so convenience store onigiri has been
very popular in Japan for many decades
but I've never seen this combination
before which is probably why it's a
favorite among the locals
oh so when the sun has finished with the
frying and has moved on to the Mochi
rice for the ohagi
he's not even finished cooking it yet
but I already want to get a piece
so before we continue on I want to tell
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thank you
[Music]
it's right before the store opens and he
starts making Yaki onigiri grilled rice
balls generally it tastes best when it's
freshly made so it usually grills it
around this time
nice this one is seasoned with their
signature sweet miso
the seasoned rice on a crackling pan
creates such a mouth-watering aroma so
what food do you like oh me too so what
happens when you get sick
oh when's the last time you got sick
have you ever been admitted to the
hospital oh snap what happened
for sure have you ever thought of hiring
an apprentice cover for you
thank you
[Music]
yeah the store is finally open
even before their 6 30 a.m open
customers are already waiting on the
street to get the freshest onigiri
possible customers waiting this early in
the morning is definitely a sign that
the shop is doing something right in
fact it's part of many of their
customers routine to stop by the shop to
pick up their breakfast or even their
lunch on their way to work
everyone seems so busy so let's go see
if we can talk to someone
hi can I ask you a question hi if you
come here often so there's a horrible
mind oh wow what's your favorite
how long have you been going here
sweet are you on your way to work thank
you
come on
oh the rice delivery is here to ensure
that the shop never runs out they come
twice a week
so are you almost done
ohagi is a super popular Japanese
confection made with a blend of
glutinous rice and regular rice wrapped
in red bean paste they received an order
from one of the regular customers who
plan to give it as a gift to their
friends so innocent says Confections
were a challenge for him when he first
started but eventually learned how but
over time he discovered his true passion
was in creating onigiri some of which
are difficult to find anywhere else
[Music]
by the way is there any giddy that you
created that didn't do well
oh rice sounds delicious to me why
didn't itself
oh yeah that might hurt
excuse me can I bother you I what did
you buy oh you're the one that made the
special order
you didn't buy onigiri here
[Music]
nice thank you
foreign
indicator
oh that's cool
so now after already making hundreds of
onigiri he can finally take a break but
since the mornings are a peak customer
time he can't go for too long as he
needs to get back and continue to make
his highly sought after onigiri so did
you raise your kids in this house you
must miss them moving out
thank you
do you take any vacations
what about Golden week
damn it still amazes me today how
dedicated Japanese are to their craft
and how much they take pride in their
work it's no surprise that 33.6 of
Japanese workers today don't even know
how much annual leave they have oh wow
nice camera
so what do you take
he says photography has been his hobby
for a long time and he voluntarily does
camera work so he can use the photos on
his website Tokyo Frontline
[Music]
I'm sure so do you have a hobby
oh you like a lot of things
[Music]
now he's back in the shop tirelessly
making onigiri with the other workers
until they run out of ingredients for
the day interestingly their business
hours are until 3 P.M but the shop
closes much earlier than this as their
only giddy usually sells out every day
[Music]
and that's another one in the books if
you're interested in checking out this
shop I'll be sure to leave a link in the
description so that's behind the counter
at a local Japanese onigiri shop if you
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you guys in the next one