Japanese Cuisine - Bento Boxes

In Japan, everything is on the go. Hosting the largest city in the world (Tokyo) things are bound to be a little different. Everyone from small children, to high-schoolers, to business men and women have long, packed days that often include miles of travel. In response to this, food is a little different. You can find many pop in, pop out ramen shops and restaurants, vending machines on every corner, and bento boxes.

Bento boxes are great for the Japanese lifestyle for many reasons. Firstly, they are extremely customizable. There are typically three types, a general bento box like you can get from a gas or train station, a "cute" bento which has anime characters, dogs, cats, etc., and realistically themed bento which have food made to look like flowers, buildings, pictures that are not animals. Each bento has perfectly portioned food so overeating is never a problem (unless you bring more than one ha!) and the items included in bento boxes are typically fresh, healthy, and fun.

Here are a few examples,

Bento's have been around for a long time, many dating to the early 1600's - so they certainly know how to make a fantastic lunch!

Do you make something similar to bento boxes? We would love to hear in our comments!

#bentoboxes #lunch #health #food #healthyfood #work #school #cuisine