Obento: The Japanese Lunch Box

Bento is a single-portion takeout or home-packed meal common in Japanese cuisine. A traditional bento holds rice, fish or meat, with pickled or cooked vegetables, usually in a box-shaped container. Bentos are readily available in many places throughout Japan, including convenience stores, bento shops, railway stations and department stores. However, Japanese homemakers often spend time and energy on a carefully prepared lunch box for their spouse, child, or themselves.

Bentos can be elaborately arranged in a style called “kyaraben” (character bento). Kyaraben are typically decorated to look like popular characters from Japanese cartoons (anime), comic books (manga) or video games. Another popular bento style is “oekakiben” or picture bento. This is decorated to look like people, animals, buildings and monuments, or items such as flowers and plants.s

In Japanese, there is a special term for lunch, “obento.” It is a special kind of Japanese lunch that is not only tasty, but also very healthy and eye-catching. Japanese people tend to carry around their obentos in lunch boxes called “obento-bako.”

There are a few rules in order to make a good and successful Japanese obento. First, in an obento, rice is almost always present (it can occasionally be substituted with bread or pasta). It is also important that the rice is separated from the other dishes so that the rice will not pick up any additional flavors. Along with this rice are the main dish and the two side dishes. It is important that the obento not only consist of meat, but also of green and nutritious vegetables. In other words, the overall balance of the obento should look something like three parts (rice): 1 (main dish of meat/fish): 2 (vegetable side dishes).

One pointer in making a good traditional obento is to constantly remember the color combination of red, green, and yellow.

Obentos differ depending on the individual that it is being made for. In the case of a child, the obento should be half the size of a typical one.

Obentos also play a significant part in the everyday Japanese culture. When a family goes on a picnic, the mother will usually pack a large obento for the entire family. When a girl goes on a date with her boyfriend, it is a big deal for her to make him an obento. When a class goes on a field trip somewhere, all of the students tend to bring their own obentos.

In school, there are ways to make children be more interested in making obento. To start with, the school ask them what they normally have for lunch and if they can bring the stuff they like to eat. Noting that a lunch must have a good balance and be healthy.