Top 23 Best Japanese Rice Storage Containers in 2021 - Tried and True!

Here are the results of each of our tests and a ranking of the best 23 Japanese rice storage containers to buy online!

And why they didn't quite make it.

Country Heart Man's Antique Glass Jar (13) has great seal strength and large volume. However, it requires a lot of strength to open and close making it a bit difficult to use. 

Since it's made of glass, it's too heavy to be carried around. Also, you'll have to be careful not to break it. We didn't find anything about it too great besides the fact that its design is good for interior (decoration) purposes. 

Sunco Plastic's Rice Container (14) is useful because of it's one-touch open and close mechanism. Being able to open it with one hand to retrieve your rice does wonders for its usability. 

The seal between the body and the lid is good for warding off insects but not so much for keeping out humidity. The measuring cup is easy enough to handle but the markings are white and difficult to see. 

Ibuki's Rice Keeper (15) is a slim, fashionable, wooden rice container perfect for Western-style kitchens. It didn't score very high in our sealing strength examination but we found that the lid closes without leaving any gaps, keeping out insects. 

Cainz's Rice Container (16) comes with four wheels attached to the bottom making it easy to get out even if stored deep in some closet. The lid can be opened single-handedly and it comes with a measuring cup making it an easy-to-use rice container with great cost performance. 

Closing the lid took some work so you'd think the seal would be rather impressive but it actually wasn't at all. If you do happen to purchase one, avoid using it during the humid months. 

Seria's Rice Container (17) is a very simple rice container with a pretty decent seal. We liked how the lid snapped into place allowing us to refill the rice without difficulty. Although these points were good, we didn't see anything else too great with it, which is why it ranked so low in our examination. 

Earnest's Star Rice Pot Container (18) measures out around one cup of rice in its front compartment when you tilt the container forward. You're then able to open the lid and take out that already-measured cup. 

With a volume of 4.4lbs, continuously lifting and tilting it forward could prove strenuous. Also, you're going to have to turn it almost completely upside-down to get the desired measurement of rice. The sealing strength was decent but not good enough to warrant purchasing it. 

Yamazaki's One Cup Rice Container Refrigerator Tower (19) has a lid made of a soft material giving it an above-average sealing strength. 

At first glance, you'd think that it would be rather convenient but when refilling the container, the rice bounces off of the dividers and gets all over the place. Refilling each compartment individually also takes up time making it seem like it would be better just to use a good, old-fashioned measuring cup. 

Bon Furniture's Wooden Rice Container Type-B (20) protects against humidity way more than we expected it to. It scored low in usability because of how difficult it is to open the shutter-type lid as well as how difficult it is to maintain. 

MUJI's Refrigerator Rice Container (21) is a great size for storing in the refrigerator. It scored surprising well considering there's no seal. Storing it in the refrigerator is good enough to protect the rice from going bad. 

Since no part of the container can be removed except for the cup/lid attached to the top, there's no other choice than to refill it using that opening. Washing the container itself will also prove a challenge. 

IRISOHYAMA's Rice Container (22) has a wide lid making retrieving and refilling the container easy, but its sealing strength is nothing impressive at all. 

Not only does it not come with a seal, but there are no added parts fixing the lid to the body at all. And because of that, the entire lid pops off just by opening it, undoubtedly causing stress to the user. 

Skater's Front-Lid Rice Container (23) is designed for you to retrieve the rice you pour in first ahead of what you pour in after allowing you to continuously use up old rice first. 

However, after having used it, we found that the new rice eventually mixes in with the old, making it not as useful as we had hoped. 

Also, sealing strength is low. Enough so that you can actually see gaps, allowing for air and whatnot to enter easily. It comes with a coating of insect repellant but if you store it somewhere like under the sink, we're afraid the smell might eventually become a problem. 

We purchased the top 23 best-selling Japanese rice storage containers from Japanese websites like Amazon and Rakuten and put them to the test!

We tested each product for the following 2 criteria.

①： Sealing Strength

②： Usability

First, we examined each container for its sealing strength. 

We put paper that changes color based on the humidity of its surroundings inside each container and shut them all tightly. We then put the containers inside a bathroom set to 80% humidity and waited for 30 minutes. 

We originally thought that the simple fact of having a proper seal in the container would be the deciding factor on how well they keep out humidity, but it turned out to be the shape of the lid itself that caused the difference in scoring. 

There were a lot of lids that opened with a pop that had a seal on the lid but not on the body of the container itself. We can safely say that it may be that gap that is letting in the humidity. 

The lids that come completely off and cover the top of the container have fewer gaps and tended to have high sealing strength even if not equipped with a seal. So, if you're planning on purchasing a rice container based on the seal, it would be best to get one with a more simple design and fewer gaps. 

Next, we examined each container for how easy it is to use. 

We simulated a scenario in which we pretended to retrieve rice from the container in hopes of preparing it. We checked for how easy it is to refill, how easy it is to get out, the lid's ability to open and close smoothly, how easy it is to carry or move around, and any other unique characteristics it might have. 

What affected the score the most was how easy it was to take out and put in the rice. The ones designed for taking out one cup of rice at a time or dispensing older rice before the new were actually surprisingly difficult to use. We found that the simpler ones were the easiest. 

Also, we checked to see how much space is available when refilling the container, how easy it is to get the rice out, and whether or not the container comes equipped with a measuring cup. The cups with either red or black writing are the easiest to see even when full of rice, making the process quite stress-free. 

Before deciding on which rice storage container is right for you, we would like you to consider the following 4 points. 

If you'd like to preserve your rice for longer and have it taste more delicious, choose a container with a high sealing strength. We recommend either ones equipped with a proper seal or those that snap shut upon closing. 

And if freshness is a priority, choose one that can fit in your refrigerator. Refrigerators are a great place to store your rice since it both protects against insect infiltration and maintains a steady level of humidity. If you can get one that stores around 4.4 pounds of rice, it should be able to fit right in the pocket of the door. 

Rice containers come in plastic, wood, glass, or metal, but we recommend a plastic one since it allows you to see what's inside and is easy to clean. A lot of them have measurements written on the side, making it perfect for those of you focused on usability. 

That being said, wooden rice containers protect well against insects and mold, and glass containers are stylish and have great sealing strength. Yet, since they are both heavy and difficult to move, it would be best to have a specific place in mind you'd like to keep it.  

If you must store your rice container in a place visible to others, you might want to go with a nice metal one able to block out direct sunlight. And if you can find one with wheels, you can easily move it around and store it - even the larger ones.

Rice containers range anywhere from 4.4 to 66 pounds, so make sure to choose one that suits the amount you intend to eat during a certain time frame. 

Rice usually doesn't have an expiration date written on their packages, but we recommend finishing your rice within a month during humid months and within two months during normal months. 

Don't purchase more rice than you can consume within that time frame, and make sure to purchase a rice container that suits you and your family's needs. Daily rice consumption varies individually, but consider about 4.4 to 11 pounds per person. 

Some rice containers come with levers that you can push to dole out a cup's worth of rice. We recommend a container with this kind of function for those of you with large families or who eat a ton of rice and simply don't have the time to waste measuring day in and day out.  

Also, a few of them come with refrigerating functions, which is perfect for those of you who'd like to preserve your rice for longer but can't or prefer not to put it in the refrigerator. 

There are two merits to using a rice container to store your rice. 

First, it helps with keeping your rice fresh. Since air and sunlight can worsen the taste of rice, the sealing strength of your rice container can be the determining factor in how delicious your rice becomes. Storing your rice in a bag only should be avoided at all costs since it can easily be penetrated by air. 

Second, it protects your rice from insects and mould. Storing it in the bag only could leave your rice susceptible to humidity and could invite both insects and mold alike. But if you use a rice container capable of keeping out the humid air, you can keep your rice both insect- and mold-free. 

Check out these other food preserving products to get the best out of the food you buy!

This time we ranked the top 23 best Japanese rice storage containers!

A lot of these containers may look alike at first, but there are big differences between them when it comes to how well they can seal out humidity and insects and how easy they are to use. So choose the one that satisfies all your needs, has a design that sparks your interest, and get ready to enjoy some delicious rice!

Author: Kano Ichiyama/Translation: Andrew J. Tinkler/Photos: Koichi Miura, Yuuki Inagaki

Date of Ranking：2019/09/26

• Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for more mybest recommendations!