TOKYO - As many people prepare to travel by Shinkansen and other trains during the upcoming holidays, this article takes a look at a beloved companion of train journeys in Japan: the ekiben, or train station lunch box, which is also gaining popularity among foreign tourists.
Reservations for Shinkansen and other trains during the Golden Week holiday, from April 25th to May 6th, have reached about 2.85 million seats, roughly the same level as last year. One of the great pleasures of riding these trains is enjoying an ekiben.
Incidentally, April 10th is considered "Ekiben Day" in Japan because the numbers 4 and 10 can be read as "bento." Tokyo Station, where as many as 10,000 ekiben are sold in a single day, held a bustling ekiben festival once again.
One customer said, "I thought it was the season for bamboo shoots, so I chose a bamboo shoot rice bento. It was about 1,500 yen—slightly expensive, but a nice treat once in a while. This is one of my go-to choices."
Among the most popular ekiben is the one produced by Kiyoken. To celebrate Ekiben Day this year, the company released a special rice ball bento. Reservations opened on April 1st, but the entire stock sold out in just three days. The announcement sparked a flood of posts on social media.
Ekiben, regarded as part of Japan's rich culinary culture, are now being embraced by foreign visitors too. With so many options, many tourists find it difficult to choose.
"This one looks good—it has fish, meat, and lots of sushi options," said one tourist. Another added, "I wish there were stores like this in Europe. My partner likes beef, so he chose a beef bento, and I went for the one with cherry blossom themes. In the U.S., we usually just snack on candy during train rides, so having a proper meal like this is new to me."
Some travelers wondered, "Is it okay to eat this on the Shinkansen?" and "Does it come with chopsticks?"
At Daimaru Tokyo, a department store adjacent to Tokyo Station, the annual bento sales rankings were released. In third place was a bento featuring a hamburger steak topped with beef on garlic rice. "It feels a bit fancy," said one customer. "Whenever I go to Osaka, I usually buy something in this area. I like meat-based dishes."
Second place went to a seafood chirashi bento by Hirashima, which features ten kinds of seafood. First place, for the fourth consecutive year, was the Mille-Feuille Sushi, known for its vibrant colors. "It's the best-tasting ekiben at Tokyo Station," said one fan. "I came here just for this, and now I'm boarding the Shinkansen."
Ekiben have a rich history. Their origins are believed to date back to 1885 at Utsunomiya Station, where a local inn started selling simple rice balls with pickled vegetables for five sen—a high price at the time when soba cost just one sen. The first makunouchi (boxed meal with various side dishes) was sold in 1888 at Himeji, priced at 12 sen. By 1987, self-heating bento became available, and today, there are said to be over 2,000 types nationwide.
Among the standard offerings in traditional ekiben are what are called the "three sacred side dishes": kamaboko (fish cake), tamagoyaki (rolled omelet), and salmon. These are common ingredients that have long been familiar to Japanese people and are found in many long-selling bento.
Because ekiben are typically eaten cold, great care is taken to ensure they still taste good at room temperature. The rice, for example, is steamed at a high temperature to enhance stickiness and flavor. Seasoning is also carefully considered—scallops are sometimes added to pork to prevent unpleasant odors and deepen the taste. Even the packaging plays a role: Kiyoken avoids using plastic and instead uses traditional wooden boxes that improve ventilation, absorb moisture, and have antibacterial properties.
Interestingly, there are subtle differences in packaging based on where the ekiben is produced. At Kiyoken, the bento made in the Yokohama factory are tied with string, thanks to specialized workers there. In contrast, those made at the Tokyo factory are not. Another visual difference lies in the illustration on the box: the Tokyo version includes the Tokyo Skytree in the background, while the Yokohama version does not. This kind of attention to detail adds a layer of playfulness that many customers find enjoyable.
As the ekiben continues to evolve, it remains a symbol of Japanese hospitality and culinary ingenuity, offering both travelers and tourists a memorable taste of the journey.
Source: TBS
