Akuma no Onigiri (devil's onigiri) is a type of onigiri exclusive to Lawson with the slogan "a delicious taste that is devilishly addictive." As of September 2019, there have been over 56 million of this popular product sold in Japan. They released a new flavor of Akuma no Onigiri the other day, so we just had to give it a try!
The First Sweet Akuma no Onigiri
Until now there have been various flavors in the Akuma no Onigiri line, including tantanmen (spicy noodles), okonomiyaki (savory pancake), mentaiko (spicy cod roe) butter soy sauce, and more. We have also seen Akuma no Onigiri flavored Karaage-kun (Lawson's original fried chicken), Akuma no Coffee, Akuma no Potato Chips, and other non-onigiri items.
On October 15th, 2019, the Akuma no Onigiri series added a version with extra tenkasu (small pieces of fried tempura batter) (110 JPY (incl. tax)) as well as an extra large version of "Okina Akuma no Onigiri" (180 JPY (incl. tax)) to celebrate the series' 1-year anniversary. However, what we want to focus on in this article is another new addition to the line, the Akuma no Ohagiri (140 JPY (incl. tax)).
This item is the first sweet onigiri in the Akuma no Onigiri series, and is based on a Japanese sweet called ohagi (glutinous rice wrapped in sweet red bean paste). The Akuma no Ohagiri consists of white rice mixed with glutinous rice and black sesame seeds, and is filled with chunky sweet red bean paste inside. It is also dusted with kinako (sweet soybean powder) on the outside.
Strange but Addictively Delicious!
Before digging in, we opened it up to see if there was really sweet red bean paste inside. It's a little hard to see, but there is indeed some bean paste in there!
The first bite wasn't that sweet and simply tasted like biting into some rice with beans, but the sweetness of the red bean paste increased with each bite. The grains of rice are left intact, so the texture is the same as a regular onigiri, but the taste is just like a regular ohagi, creating an interesting tasting experience. It's definitely delicious, but we're not sure if it should be eaten as a meal or as a snack...
By the way, he had to search 3 different locations to find one, and there are many people online who have turned up empty-handed in their search. So, if you happen to find one, make sure to buy it and try it out while you can!*The contents of this article are accurate as of October 22nd, 2019
*Please note that the information in this article is from the time of writing or publication and may differ from the latest information.
