The ongiri lunch I had yesterday was so good that I went back today. The onigiri is made with rice that is used for making saké, also called sakamai. The onigiri rice changed, today it was Asahimai. I selected mentaiko and tuna mayo, like a tuna salad. The other option was okaka, katsuobushi with soy sauce.

The staff was very helpful with my many questions about Asahimai. He said that it was traditionally used for making sushi in Okayama prefecture. But that if the rice is milled down to 50% then it gets rid of the impurities and can be used for making saké. It was delicious.

Excellent lunch spot in the heart of Tokyo Station at Hasegawa Saketen. Hasegawa Saketen is a cool saké shop where I pick up saké for the shinkansen ride. There is an eat-in counter that serves TKG, tamago kake gohan, raw egg over rice, for breakfast.

The lunch special is two onigiri, miso soup, and a few small bites for a bargain 550 yen ($4). The rice for onigiri is made with sakamai, rice that is traditionally used for brewing sake. Today’s options were:

Yamada Nishiki with salt

Sasanishiki with chicken and vegetables 

Kamenoō with kombu

The shop ran out of onigiri and stopped the lunch promotion around 12:45 p.m., so go early.

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