Finally! Japan’s big three convenience store chains announce rice ball price reductions

After years of going up, onigiri prices are starting to come down .

Onigiri (rice balls) used to be a Japanese convenience store item with no real downside.

Tasty, filling, and healthier than just about any other snack on the shelves, they were also very reasonably priced, with most varieties costing about 120-140 yen (roughly US$0.75 to US$0.90), so really the only reason not to buy one was if you were already completely full.

This paradise, though, was not to last.

As rice prices started rising, convenience stores continually increased the price of their onigiri, and they now often cost roughly double compared to what they did just a few years ago .

But now, finally, onigiri prices are starting to come down, as Japan’s three largest convenience store chains, 7-Eleven, Family Mart, and Lawson, have all recently announced rice ball price reductions .

There aren’t limited-time sales, either, but revisions to the onigiri’s base prices to make them more affordable.

From September 29, Lawson will be knocking 10 yen off the after-tax price of all of its Temaki Onigiri .

That means the Sea Chicken Mayonnaise goes from 181 yen back down to 171, the ume (plum), kombu, and okaka (bonito flake) onigiri each from 194 to 184, the grilled salmon onigiri from 221 to 211, and the mentaiko (spicy cod roe) from 235 to 225.

Special region-specific Temaki Onigiri will also become 10 yen cheaper, with the reduced prices applying to a total of 20 different rice ball varieties.

7-Eleven Japan’s onigiri repricing isn’t as extensive, but it will be lowering the prices of its salmon and mentaiko onigiri , which currently have after-tax prices of 214 yen, by 19 yen.

Family Mart , meanwhile, has already lowered the price of its Kombu and Tuna Mayonnaise Big Musubi rice ball from 320 yen to 298, as of August 24.

The price of rice itself finally coming down is no doubt a big factor in the lowered onigiri prices .

According to a study by the Japanese government’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, the average price for a five-kilogram (11-pound) bag of rice actually sold at supermarkets dropped 27.7 percent between the start of this year and mid-August.