Seattle's Onigiri Brand "Onigiri Sen" Makes Bay Area Debut. Now Available at T&T Supermarket San Jose Starting June 18.

On Thursday, June 18, 2026, Seattle-based onigiri brand Onigiri Sen makes its Bay Area debut at T&T Supermarket San Jose (Westgate Center), marking the brand's first California location. The launch coincides with the U.S. expansion of T&T, Canada's largest Asian supermarket chain.

About the brand

Onigiri Sen was founded in Seattle in 2024 by Rina Oike (age 27, originally from Kagawa, Japan), who moved to the U.S. for university and was struck by a simple reality: the onigiri she had grown up eating every day in Japan simply didn't exist in America.

The reason authentic onigiri has never taken hold in U.S. retail comes down to food science: strict refrigeration requirements cause starch retrogradation, turning cooked rice hard and crumbly within hours. Onigiri Sen solved this through a combination of careful ingredient selection and technology sourced directly from Japan.

For forming, Onigiri Sen uses FUJISEIKI technology — the world's #1 market share in hand-wrap onigiri machines, used across Japan's convenience store industry. The millimeter-level precision replicates the gentle, multi-directional pressure of hand-forming, keeping every rice ball light and fluffy even under refrigeration. Premium Ariake nori is kept completely separate from the rice by a signature three-step film wrapper until the exact moment of consumption, ensuring the signature crisp "Snap" on every opening.

In Seattle, the brand has built successful wholesale partnerships with T&T Supermarket, PCC Community Markets, and T-Mobile Park (Home of the Seattle Mariners), and has been featured on Seattle's leading NBC affiliate KING 5.

Launch flavors at T&T San Jose

Launch details