Obento Japanese Lunch Box

Bento means lunch box in Japanese. Bento hold rice, fish, vegetables..and they are sold everywhere in Japan. It is so common in Japan that you will find bento sold everywhere. You find them at train stations, convenience stores and other stores. It is especially convenient when you are traveling long-distance on bullet train. Bento is basically a packed lunch and it is said that Bento date back to around the fifth century.

It is said that the word “bento” is associated with a sixteenth-century military commander, Oda Nobunaga. The large numbers of people at his castle were provided “bento”

The makunouchi bento is one of the most popular kinds of bento, that has small rice balls (onigiri) sprinkled with seesame seeds and beautiful side dishes. Bento began to become much more common when the railway system was introduced in the Meiji period. Train stations sell different types of bento that are unique in each prefecture or city

Japanese mother often makes lunchboxes (bento) for her children and husband, and take price in preparing packed lunch which is not only delicious but looks great at the same time. Children bring obento during the field trip and they often compare each other’s bento.

There are cute small bento box containers sold everywhere in Japan, and children love to pick up his or her own bento with favorite characters. So it is common for Japanese husband to buy bento at the station and can still enjoy the food even if his wife could not prepare the food for him.