Who is Onigiro?
A hero of travels and… happiness
Onigiro is an enthusiastic ball of rice that pretends to be a hero: he loves to explore every corner of Japan hunting for delicious foods, festivals and fireworks.
Due to his size, he doesn’t like to be trampled by large crowds and prefers small cities to big ones, rolling off the beaten paths of Japan.
If you want to support this small hero on his adventures, give a look to his support page!
Onigiro Mission
Everyone dreams of seeing Japan once in a lifetime, but internet is full of general travel bloggers which makes it difficult to find accurate information about Japan. Our guides focus exclusively on the Land of the Rising Sun and are simple, tidy and designed to fit in your pocket.
Inside the travel guides section, for each prefecture there is detailed information on festivals, events, things to do, local food to try, access to cities and 1~2 day itineraries to visit the area.
Also, itineraries of different durations are collected in the tour page, section that will soon be an exclusive for those who support Onigiro on Patreon.
Onigiro's team
Here are the people who are committed to bringing Onigiro around Japan
Gabriele Curzi
CEO of the Japanese olive company "Rōma Orību-en G.K." based in Okayama Prefecture.
Founder of Onigiro.com
Editor of the guide-novel "Four Seasons in Japan" and the "Japan lens" project (2025~)
Computer engineer who can't make peace with his brain, does one thing and thinks two more (different from what he's doing obviously).
Lover of basketball, cooking and Japan. He always loves to discover new places to see in order to include them in the itineraries.
He aspires to open a Roman tavern in Okayama and travel around Japan to discover the most beautiful festivals in the country.
He's the editor of "Four Seasons of Japan" book series and manages the Japanese glossary.
Valentina Sgambato
Author of the guide-novel "Four Seasons in Japan"
Writer for Sperling & Kupfer
Founder of Onigiro.com
Writer since birth, her novel themes were the terror of teachers.
Enthusiastic about the world and curious at heart, she graduated in ecosystem biology driven by her strong love for nature and botany. Obsessed with gardening, when the philosophy of Japanese gardens meets her passion for anime and manga, she explodes the desire to visit the country.
After the first trip to the metropolis of Tōkyō, the impact with such a different world with which she feels she shares values and sensitivity is so strong for her that it pushes her to return every year.
Between a full-time job and his thousand hobbies, he accumulates handfuls of free time in which to study the Japanese language at the Japanese Cultural Institute and found Onigiro.com. Surprisingly (also for him) he creates "A year of Japan", an editorial project in which he recounts his travels, his personal rebirth and his love for Japan during the four seasons of the year.
Irene Burricco
Content creator di Onigiro.com
Italian by birth, Japanese at heart.
She studied Japanese language and literature in the East of Naples and since then she has grown increasingly passionate about this culture. In 2016 she visited Japan for the first time and it was the best experience of her life.
Love Japanese literature, savor tea, discover new places and take photos.
For more information about Onigiro, visit our welcome page. Also, if you are a lover of Japanese seasons like Onigiro, check out the wonderful photos from our Japanese community Onigiro Camera Club!
Finally, Onigiro offers travel information for every season, from blooming spring gardens to extreme ski resorts, from the summer dance festivals to the illuminations of the autumn foliage.
