With two bags in hand and a pack on your back, you dash to the platform to get on the shinkansen bullet train… finally you made it!
After managing to find a space to stash your luggage, you sit next to an old Japanese man in a beige bucket hat. He starts rustling around and finally pulls out a can of Asahi beer and a bento (lunch box) out of his plastic bag. It looks delicious.
But where’s yours?
One of the excitements of riding the shinkansen is buying the lavish and delicious bento lunches at the station. These bento boxes are called ekiben, since “eki” means “railway station” and “ben” is abbreviated from the word “bento”, which means lunch box.
You can also find ekiben with soba noodles, sandwiches, sushi and at some stations you may even find vegan ekiben where they don’t use any animal products.
Sushi Bento
SUSHI BENTO – How cute are these sushi? These are cut up into perfect bite sized pieces so you don’t have to worry about any rice falling out of your mouth awkwardly and making a big mess. This sushi is the oshizushi type which is popular in Kansai.
Makunochi bento
MAKUNOCHI BENTO – A very popular style of bento is the makunochi bento, which is usually prepared in a rectangular box and consists of rice, fish, meat and veggies. It is believed that the makunochi bento was first served in the Edo Period when they were available during the intermission of long theatre performances such as no and kabuki.
Layered Ekiben
LAYERED EKIBEN – These two layered ekiben usually have rice on the bottom and the main dishes on top. The rice was topped with egg and chicken mince, while the main dish included a meat patty, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, and other tasty small dishes. Ohh yum!
Healthy lunchbox
THE HEALTHY LUNCH BOX – This might not be a traditional ekiben but it’s definitely a healthy lunch box you can enjoy on the train. It included sushi made from brown rice, salad, a Vietnamese style spring roll, and more.
The Kyoto Maiko Bento
THE KYOTO “MAIKO” BENTO – Maybe you didn’t get the chance to see a maiko in Gion, but don’t worry! You can still enjoy this maiko style bento. No, a maiko didn’t make this, but the delicate and beautiful bento depicts the image of a maiko. As the ingredients in the bento are light and healthy, we can imagine a maiko would enjoy this bento as well.
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