OTSU, Shiga Prefecture—On a recent summer day, dozens of children with coins in their hands lined up at an eatery in this city in central Japan for a special sale.

What drew the children to Yasu no Ossan Onigiri Shokudo in the city’s Nagara district on a late Tuesday afternoon were onigiri rice balls priced at just 10 yen (6 cents).

The event offered a rare opportunity to enjoy onigiri, and upscale creations at that, at a pittance. 

This rare opportunity came at a time when many struggling families have been forced to cut back on rice--a staple food in Japan--due to its prohibitive cost since last year.

Yasu no Ossan Onigiri Shokudo specializes in a wide range of elaborate rice ball concoctions.

On July 15, customers could choose from eight varieties of onigiri, including fried chicken dressed with mayonnaise; fried rice with salmon flakes and mayonnaise; ketchup-flavored fried rice with chicken and vegetables; grilled cod roe with shaved bonito; and pilaf with cod roe and cheese.

“It is hard to decide which one to buy,” said one of the children. “All look good,” said another.

For the special sale, the shop prepares 150 to 180 rice balls from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. on either Tuesday or Wednesday each week, when the shop is closed.

Only children under 18 are permitted to buy up to two onigiri each.

But the shop does not strictly enforce the rule as long as an adult is present with a young child.

Yu Masuda, a mother of four ranging from a 9-month-old baby to a second-grader, was among the purchasers that day. It was her third visit to the shop.

“My children have hearty appetites, so this is a tremendous help for our family,” she said. “The rice balls taste excellent.”

Masuda, an Otsu resident, and her three children who came with her bought eight onigiri in all, including two for her oldest son who stayed home to focus on his schoolwork.

A steep spike in rice prices, which almost doubled from a year ago at the retail level, heavily burdened families with growing children, on top of a price hike in numerous other food items in recent years.

Masuda said her family has turned to pasta and noodles more often to make up for the reduced consumption of rice.

She learned of the restaurant’s program when she searched for information on "kodomo shokudo," a volunteer-run cafeteria providing free or inexpensive meals to children and others in need.

RISING RICE PRICES CREATED CONCERN

To make onigiri, the shop uses a local brand called Kafuka, a rice grown in Koga, a city in the prefecture.

Kafuka, whose grain is larger than normal, tastes slightly sweeter than regular rice.

Ko Yokota, president of a company who runs the restaurant, said the largest group of customers during the special sale are elementary school students.

“Nothing pleases me more than when children praise our rice balls as being delicious,” said Yokota, 56.

He launched the 10-yen rice ball project on April 23 to allow children to eat locally grown rice as much as they desired after learning that some could not because of the soaring rice prices.

“I became concerned that this could accelerate a longstanding trend of declining rice consumption among children,” Yokota said.

The project, he said, is the extension of the effort by his staff to help children by opening up the restaurant’s second floor every Thursday evening for them to do their homework or do research through computers set on a table there.

As of July 15, the restaurant had sold more than 2,000 rice balls for children.

Yokota’s target is 10,000.

But he noted that it is not going to be easy to sustain the program as the cost of rice procured from a local farmer rose to 1.4 times that of in April last year.

It actually costs more than 200 yen, he added, to make an onigiri sold at 10 yen.

Some children voiced concern that the generous program might put the restaurant into financial difficulties.

“I am worried that the shop might end up going out of business,” one of the children told him.

Yokota’s calculation is that each time they sell 10 onigiri on the menu during the restaurant’s regular operating hours, they can offer a single 10-yen rice ball without losing money.

Yokota believes that although the onigiri project is meant to help children, they should pay even if it is only a paltry amount.

“I am afraid that their self-esteem might be hurt if they feel that they are getting free rice balls given as charity,” he said. “I would rather see them pay so that they can eat without a sense of shame.”

He is hoping that other businesses will join the endeavor.

“We, not just parents but also all grown-ups in society, are responsible for our children’s futures,” Yokota said. “I would like children to trust adults and build a community where they can live with a smile.”