Hello everyone!
In Japan, the long holiday season known as "Golden Week (GW)" has just come to an end. It's one of the biggest springtime events that everyone living in Japan looks forward to.
What is Golden Week?
Golden Week (commonly referred to as GW) is a uniquely Japanese long holiday period. From late April to early May, several national holidays cluster together, and many people take time off to go traveling or enjoy leisure activities.
During this time, tourist spots across Japan are bustling, and trains and airplanes are fully booked. It truly feels like "a great migration across Japan!"
What goes hand in hand with outings? Bento!
For Japanese people, a day spent outdoors often goes hand-in-hand with a bento (boxed meal). Whether you're picnicking in a park, going on a family drive, or riding a train during a trip, bringing a bento is the Japanese way.
But "bento" comes in many styles. Let's explore some of Japan's everyday bento culture.
What is Ekiben?
When it comes to travel in Japan, you can’t miss “EKI-BEN” (station bento)!
Sample decoration of ekiben at a bento shop in Shinjuku station, Tokyo
Ekiben are boxed meals sold at train stations or nearby. Travelers typically buy them to eat on the train, and they feature local specialties and menus rooted in regional history.
Ekiben are said to have started in the Meiji era when railroads were first built in Japan. Some have over 100 years of history!
The Ekiben sellers in the 1950s / nlab ITmedia
Popular Ekiben
🍱 Gyuniku Domannaka (Yamagata Prefecture)
Shinkineya
Beef cooked in a secret sweet-savory sauce is lavishly laid over rice from Yamagata Prefecture. It’s delicious even when cold, making it one of the most popular ekiben today.
🍱 Toge no Kama-meshi (Gunma Prefecture, Yokokawa Station)
Oginoya
A Japanese-style rice bento packed in an unglazed clay pot, filled with chicken, bamboo shoots, chestnuts, shiitake mushrooms, quail eggs, and more—like a mini set of Japanese side dishes. The pot can be taken home as a souvenir!
🍱 Ika-meshi (Hokkaido, Mori Station)
Ikameshi Abe Shoten
A traditional ekiben from Hokkaido featuring squid stuffed with glutinous rice and simmered in a sweet-savory sauce. It’s visually striking and comfortingly tasty.
🍱 Shinkansen Bento (Various Areas of Japan, also available at Tokyo Station)
Byutabi
A bento in the shape of a Shinkansen (bullet train) car—visually exciting and different in design and contents depending on the region. Especially popular with children, and fun to play with after eating!
Buying these during your journey and tasting the local flavor… ekiben are truly a “journey you can eat.”
Japanese Bento Culture Is More Than Just Ekiben
Ekiben are a beloved travel companion, but Japan’s bento culture goes far beyond that. From convenience store lunches to homemade meals, each type has its own unique charm.🍱🥪🍙
🏪Amazing Quality! Convenience Store Bento
At Japanese convenience stores like 7-Eleven, Lawson, and FamilyMart, the variety of bentos is simply astonishing—and they’re affordable and delicious!
From rice balls and sandwiches to pasta, curry, and low-calorie meals, they’re used daily by busy office workers and students alike.
The best part is their perfect readiness—chopsticks, sauces, and heating services are all available, so you can eat them right away.
🐻 Bento as Art! Character Bento (Charaben)
"Charaben" are artistic bentos designed to look like characters or animals.
Faces are made with seaweed and cheese, sausages are cut into octopus shapes—it’s full of cuteness! Originally made for kids, "Instagrammable" charaben for adults are now gaining popularity too.
Japan’s kawaii (cute) culture is alive and well inside lunchboxes. That’s part of the charm of bento culture.
🧺 Daily Kindness and Love, Homemade Bento
Bento made by a mom who wakes up early, a lunch secretly prepared by a lover, or a budget-friendly bento you make for yourself…
In Japan, bentos are more than just meals—they symbolize love and thoughtfulness.
With favorite lunchboxes, chopsticks, and traditional wrapping cloths (furoshiki), Japanese lunch culture is delicate and unique. Using these items can make everyday lunchtime a little more enjoyable.
Enjoy the Ekiben Mood at Home!
For Japanese people, bento is a familiar food culture and a small, portable happiness.
During spring Golden Week, many people go out with a bento in hand. The joy of travel, time with family, and tasty moments—all are packed into a bento box.
Even if it's hard to visit Japan right now, you can still enjoy bento culture at home.
Just fill your favorite bento box with your preferred ingredients, and you might feel like you're on a little trip to Japan!
Why not give Japanese lunch culture a try?
