TO GO WITH Japan-food-lifestyle,FEATURE by Mathias Cena and Cecilia Sanchez
This photo taken on December 7, 2023 shows Yumiko Ukon (top R), who runs the restaurant Onigiri Bongo, a shop specialising in rice balls known as "onigiri", bowing to customers who are queueing across the street over an hour before her shop opens, in the Otsuka area of Tokyo. Wrapped in seaweed and stuffed with delicious fillings, "onigiri" rice balls are shaking off their reputation as a cheap and uninspiring snack in Japan, and enticing hungry converts abroad. (Photo by Richard A. Brooks / AFP) / TO GO WITH Japan-food-lifestyle,FEATURE by Mathias Cena and Cecilia Sanchez