He plays at lock for the Japan national rugby union team.

Ono started playing rugby after converting from baseball at Nihon University where he was studying to become a firefighter.

However, he changed careers and joined Toshiba Brave Lupus in 2001, with whom he has gone on to win the Top League four times.

[3] He became a regular member of the national team from there onwards and represented his country at both the 2007 and 2011 Rugby World Cup.

[4] After the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami and Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011, Ono's family dairy farm suffered greatly, and alongside prop Kensuke Hatakeyama who lost his home, he was named honorary captain for the Asian 5 Nations match with the UAE by coach John Kirwan to mark the team's solidarity for the cause.