LETTER FROM TOKYO Rice sprinkled with furikake. MUYO / CC BY-SA 3.0 Economic difficulties, changing tastes, but also the explosion of tourism have brought back into the spotlight a condiment with an ambiguous image in Japan: furikake, a sort of preparation to sprinkle (furikakeru in Japanese) on white rice, which comes in multiple flavors, from salted or purple shiso leaves, yukari, to dried versions of dishes such as eel grilled. One of the most popular is noritama, a mixture of dried seaweed and egg. Offered in individual bags, furikake occupies entire supermarket shelves. Sales from leading furikake producers Marumiya Shokuhin Kogyo, Mishima Shokuhin and Nagatanien – maker of the very popular Tarako Ochazuke, made with soy sauce infused with the flavor of scallops and bonito and mixed with savory cupcakes and algae – have been exploding since the end of 2022. According to the Furikake Market Sales Trends study by the Fuji Keizai Institute, the market is expected to reach 57.5 billion yen in 2024 (364.2 million euros), compared to 53.8 billion yen two years earlier. You have 78.24% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.
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