Finish the dash to the train and get a warm tea from the vending machine. Quickly, try to eat breakfast before the train arrives. Train arrives on time. Save leftovers until you arrive at your destination. Breakfast and lunch, including tea, costs about ¥600.
Traveling in Japan required reining in expenses, and one place we economized was meals. Our schedule was demanding as well, so we relied on konbini (convenience stores) for a supply of quick, tasty and cheap eats. Americans will recognize the familiar facade of the 7-11, but there are also Lawson Stores, Family Mart and others ready to provide an array of pre-packaged food, snacks, beverages, groceries, cosmetics, newspapers and magazines. Some have fax and copier services. Some have ATMs. But unlike American convenience stores, you won't find aspirin here. Pharmaceuticals are sold at drug stores.
Onigiri hit the trifecta of convenience store foods: They taste good in addition to being fast and cheap. The key to their tastiness is ingenious packaging which keeps the nori separated from the rice ball until the moment of consumption, but it can confound the neophyte. Our first encounter with konbini-bought onigiri was horrifying. Our host offered them to us for lunch. We removed the packaging, but not in the fashion the elegantly-designed wrapper indictates. We mangled it. Nori and rice went everywhere. Our host giggled with embarrasment, then demonstrated the elegance with which an onigiri aficionado dines:
Grasp the tab at the top of the triangle and pull downward to separate two halves of the wrapper.
Gently tease away the wrapper from the rice and nori, then press the nori back onto rice.
For best nori crunch, eat immediately.
