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.

Onigiri are selling well at convenience stores, too. Japan’s biggest convenience store chain, 7-Eleven, sells 2.1 billion rice balls annually. “Specialty onigiri outlets began to grow in ...

The rice balls are stuffed with a variety ... around it right before you eat. Her gu gets adventurous. Cream cheese is mixed with a pungent Japanese pickle called “iburigakko,” for instance ...