Today, November 25, 2025, baseball superstar Shohei Ohtani announced his participation in the upcoming World Baseball Classic (WBC), sending waves of joy across Japan. At the same time as this excitement, the “onigiri (rice ball)” from Japanese convenience store FamilyMart, for which he serves as an ambassador, has achieved an astonishing record of 140% year-over-year sales growth, becoming a major topic of conversation.
Behind the success of this campaign, themed “Taste, to a New Dimension,” is FamilyMart’s newly introduced “Fuwa-Uma Method.” This is a revolutionary technique inspired by the fluffy, air-filled shaping method of “Bongo,” a wildly popular onigiri specialty shop in Tokyo. Thanks to this method, the “Gochimusubi” and “Jikimaki Onigiri” series have evolved to offer a delicate, falling-apart texture, just like those from a specialty store.
In particular, the “Bongo-Supervised Gochimusubi: Ikura & Autumn Salmon” and “Jikimaki: Takana & Mentaiko,” released on the campaign’s start date of November 18, surpassed a total of 1.3 million units sold in just one week. As if in step with Ohtani’s performance on the field, onigiri from Japanese convenience stores have also proven that they have reached a new dimension.
And today, two new products are being released to further accelerate this craze.
Released November 25! A Look at the Exciting New Lineup
Bongo-Supervised Gochimusubi: Beef Soboro & Egg Yolk Sauce
Price: 255 yen (275 yen with tax)
Release Date: Tuesday, November 25, 2025
Sales Region: Across Japan
The new release is the ultimate creation, inspired by the No. 2 most popular combination at the onigiri specialty shop “Bongo”: “egg yolk + meat soboro (crumbled meat).”
Its greatest feature is undoubtedly its luxurious ingredients. The meat soboro incredibly uses both sliced and minced premium “Kuroge Wagyu” beef. This allows you to fully enjoy the rich texture and umami of the meat. A creamy egg yolk sauce further enhances the meat’s flavor, creating a perfect harmony in your mouth.
Amazingly, this product boasts the highest ingredient-to-rice ratio in the history of “Bongo”-supervised onigiri. From the very first bite, the flavor of the lavish ingredients fills your mouth, making it an onigiri truly worthy of the name “gochiso” (feast). The rice used is Koshihikari from Uonuma, one of Japan’s most famous rice-producing regions (*excluding Hokkaido and Okinawa Prefecture), and is prepared to be light and fluffy using the “Fuwa-Uma Method.”
Yumiko Ukon, the proprietress of “Onigiri Bongo” who supervised the product, also expressed her absolute confidence in the flavor, saying, “The limited-time ‘Kuroge Wagyu Soboro’ we previously offered at our shop was truly delicious. This time, we really want to bring that taste to as many people as possible.”
Jikimaki: Salmon Mayonnaise
Price: 184 yen (198 yen with tax)
Release Date: Tuesday, November 25, 2025
Sales Region: Across Japan
The combination of salmon and mayonnaise is a classic in Japanese convenience store onigiri, but this product is a cut above the rest.
For the filling, two types of salmon with different textures are used. Hearty, diced-cut salmon and a smooth, paste-like salmon toro create a new texture in your mouth. Furthermore, by intentionally topping with mayonnaise afterward instead of mixing it in, the design allows you to clearly taste each ingredient’s flavor and enjoy it to the last bite without getting tired of it.
This onigiri is also made with the “Fuwa-Uma Method,” allowing you to fully appreciate the texture of the individual rice grains and the harmony with the filling.
Previously Released Products That Are Already Big Hits
Before the arrival of these new items, the two products released on November 18 that kicked off the campaign continue to be extremely popular.
Bongo-Supervised Gochimusubi: Ikura & Autumn Salmon
Price: 297 yen (320 yen with tax)
Sales Region: Across Japan
A true classic, inspired by “Bongo’s” No. 1 most popular combination: “sujiko (salmon roe in the sac) + sake (salmon).” It’s filled with soy-sauce-marinated ikura, with its irresistible popping texture, and plenty of flaky autumn salmon. The fact that the ikura is sourced from Alaska, known for its sustainable fisheries, also meets modern demands.
Jikimaki: Takana & Mentaiko
Price: 175 yen (189 yen with tax)
Sales Region: Across Japan
This onigiri combines savory stir-fried takana (mustard greens) with an appetizing sesame oil aroma, and spicy mentaiko (spicy cod roe) with its distinct popping texture—a familiar and beloved flavor at the Japanese dinner table. This one, too, is made with the “Fuwa-Uma Method,” allowing you to enjoy a rich aroma and the harmony of ingredients from the very first bite.
Chance to Get a New Product for Free! X Campaign Underway
To celebrate the launch of the new “Jikimaki: Salmon Mayonnaise,” FamilyMart is running a giveaway campaign on its official X (formerly Twitter) account (@famima_now).
A total of 30,000 people will be selected by lottery to win a free voucher for this “Jikimaki: Salmon Mayonnaise”.
Campaign Period: From 10:00 AM on Tuesday, November 25, 2025, to 11:59 PM on Thursday, December 4, 2025
How to Enter: Follow the official FamilyMart X account, repost the target post, and then enter the lottery via the special campaign website.
https://sns.petit.gift/campaigns/DyVc7LbXFCtu/
Japan is buzzing with the big news of Shohei Ohtani’s WBC participation. Like him, FamilyMart’s “onigiri” continues to take on the world and evolve. If you ever have the chance to visit Japan, why not experience this “new dimension of deliciousness” for yourself? It’s sure to be a wonderful opportunity to realize just how convenient, and surprisingly delicious, Japanese convenience stores can be.
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