It’s Ekiben Day, a day to enjoy Japanese train lunchboxes. Let’s consider why April 10th is unique and why every otaku should learn as much as possible about train bento.
Magic, Hospitality, and Food!
Go to Japan for the anime. Go for the figure collecting. Or the tourist sites like Mount Fuji. Whatever takes you to Japan, the people make the hugest impression on you. They’ll earn a place in your heart and impact your outlook on life. Japanese hospitality is the magic of the Japanese people — an earnest tradition of caring for guests will revive anyone jaded by humanity.
The best example of Japanese hospitality is also the tastiest. Food! We saw an excellent example in Joe’s Bartender Glass of God post, where the main character’s attentiveness to his guest helped him pick her out of her funk. Sushi chefs are trained to adopt the same mentality, which we see clearly when a sushi chef prepares dishes for a guest seat across the counter. Friendship, through food.
Ekiben, Trains, and Anime Fandom
Food, glorious food! And here’s the tasty twist: you can enjoy the hospitality of food on a train or station platform with ekiben!
Bento boxes are lunch boxes. Eki means station, so ekiben are train lunch boxes you buy at the station (or on the train). My favorite is katsu sando (pork cutlet sandwiches). A great, cheap option is your standard-issue rice ball. These are readily available from convenience stores, fit in a pocket, and can be flung over a wall or through a window to equip a late loved one. Readers with a more sophisticated palate will find a variety of ekiben to try. Really, ekiben are a slice of the Japanese culinary pie.
Add Japanese marketing to the mix and prepare your wallet for Naruto ekiben, daruma-shaped ekiben, Hello Kitty ekiben, or… choose your franchise. An otaku can survive on this information alone.
Now that all our mouths are watering, I’m off for a mug of black coffee and soggy cornflakes. My stomach will be dreaming of Japan all day.
Let’s Chat
Also, be sure to follow J-List on these platforms!
- Twitter/X, where Peter posts anime booba for you
- Bluesky, where we post several times a day
- Facebook, where we share memes and discuss anime
- Instagram, where you can look at sterilized anime memes because it’s Instagram
- Discord, if you want to chat with other J-List customers of culture
Anime and food go together like, well, raw fish on rice. If you’re interested in Japanese cooking and anime, check out the Ghibli Dining Table ~ My Neighbor Totoro cookbook. I also recommend the Oishinbo manga. You’ll never starve for food-related manga and anime, but it may leave you hungry for more.
Image sources:
Train-shaped bento credited to Melanie Ko, CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Panda bento credited to Indiana jo, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
