Bento-Japanese lunch box

Bento-Japanese lunch box

Bento is a home packed meal in Japan. It is very popular among kids and also adults. We take it to school, work and so on. It holds rice or rice ball, fish or meat, pickled vegetable and some kind of side dishes. Bento culture spread and became more refined in the Edo period. The most common side dish is Tamagoyaki which means omelet strips. Now, Bento is available in many places such as Bento shop, supermarket and convenience store. Besides that it sold at train station (Ekiben) and airport (Soraben). The visual of bento is very important. People who make bento should choose an attractively colored food. Currently new arranged bento style called Kyaraben is popular among mothers who have kids. Mothers and fathers prepare from the night before. Sometime it is quite hard to make good appearance of character but kids like such a cute and delicious bento.