Popular bento boxes sold on Japanese trains

The earliest Japanese railway bento boxes (ekiben) can be traced back to Utsunomiya Station in 1885, when they consisted of rice balls and pickled radishes wrapped in bamboo leaves.

Today, there are thousands of varieties, each incorporating local delicacies, such as "squid rice" from Hokkaido, "beef rice bowl" from Yamagata, and "octopus rice" from Hyogo. The dishes are presented with care, and many bento boxes are served in unique ceramic or shaped plastic containers (such as octopus-shaped pots and shamisen), making them souvenirs or piggy banks after the meal.

Railway bento boxes can be purchased at specialty shops, platform kiosks, and convenience stores (such as NewDays) in major JR stations.

Popular best-selling bento boxes

Beef Bento（牛肉どまん中）：This is a super popular dish from Yamagata Prefecture, made with local specialty rice, a sweet and rich special sauce, and beef. Side dishes include: stewed carrots and taro, herring wrapped in kelp, fish cake, tamagoyaki (Japanese rolled omelet), and sakura pickles.

Chicken Bento（かしわめし）：Originating in Kyushu and Yamaguchi Prefecture, this chicken dish is a local specialty. It consists of shredded chicken with a sweet and savory flavor served over rice in a special broth.

▲The rice is seasoned "even more delicious than the chicken itself," and its secret recipe has been passed down through generations, resulting in a flavorful broth. Because it's based on a local dish, many companies sell similar station bento boxes, and they're also available in convenience stores.

Daruma Bento（だるま弁当）：This is a long-selling item from Takasaki Station in Gunma Prefecture, with an outer box shaped like a cute roly-poly toy.

The rice is cooked with soy sauce, giving it a rich aroma. The meal includes rice with tea, stewed wild vegetables and mushrooms, stewed bamboo shoots, stewed shiitake mushrooms, cold chicken salad, chicken rolls, stewed kidney beans, black konjac, red konjac, chestnuts, jellyfish, pickled baby eggplant, and burdock root.

Heated Bento：Some bento boxes come with a pull cord heating device, allowing passengers to enjoy hot sukiyaki or steak bento boxes on the train.

Sukiyaki bento is a traditional Japanese bento box containing beef stewed in a sweet and savory sauce, grilled tofu, vegetables, and other toppings, served on top of rice. Beef: Thinly sliced ​​beef (e.g., Wagyu or imported beef). Vegetables: Napa cabbage, chives, onions, etc. Other ingredients: Grilled tofu, konjac noodles, shiitake mushrooms, etc. Side dishes: Usually served with a boiled egg, soft-boiled egg, and pickled ginger.

Famous specialty stores: like「Ningyocho Imahan」and「Asakusa Imahan」Established shops like these sell high-quality bento boxes made with Japanese Kuroge beef.

【Gunma & Nagano】Torino Kamameshi（峠の釜めし）

It was served in a Mashiko ware earthenware jar, which has excellent heat retention.

▲Rice cooked with tea (Koshihikari rice), chicken, burdock root, shiitake mushrooms, bamboo shoots, quail eggs, chestnuts, apricots, green peas, and pickled ginger.

Hokkaido - Ishikari Salmon Rice Bowl

A popular train station bento box since 1923. Enjoy authentic Sapporo Station flavor with rice cooked in kelp broth and topped with salmon roe.

Grilled Beef Tongue Bento

▲Must-try local specialty at Sendai Station: Kobayashi Beef Tongue Bento. It comes with a pull-cord heating device, allowing passengers to enjoy hot, tender, thick-cut beef tongue and barley rice anytime on the train.

Niigata - Shrimp Senryo Sushi（えび千両ちらし）

▲The top layer is thickly pan-fried tamagoyaki and shrimp floss, while the bottom is covered with a variety of seafood such as eel, shad, and dried squid.

Squid Rice in Hokkaido（いかめし）

It is one of the most representative local dishes in southern Hokkaido. "Squid Rice" originated from "Abe Shoten" in Mori-cho, Chibe-gun, Hokkaido.（いかめし阿部商店）

This classic dish involves stuffing glutinous rice into the belly of a cleaned squid and then simmering it in a special soy sauce broth. Not only is the texture chewy and springy, but the rice also absorbs the essence of the seafood and the sweet and savory sauce, making it a visually appealing and satisfying everyday dish.

Hyogo's "Takoyaki" (octopus rice bowl)（たこ飯）

The octopus from the Akashi Strait is the most famous. Local octopus is prized for its firm, chewy flesh due to the strong currents and rich nutrients. The most classic way to eat it is to cook the octopus, rice, and broth together, allowing the seafood flavor to fully infuse the rice.

Awaji-ya is one of Japan's most iconic railway bento boxes. To commemorate the opening of the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge, the long-established Kobe bento shop "Awaji-ya" launched this unique bento. The bento is served in a ceramic pot resembling an octopus catcher (takotsubo), and the pot can be taken home as a decoration, flowerpot, or pen holder after the meal. It contains a whole specially braised octopus, conger eel, seasonal vegetables, and Japanese-style cooked rice, with a sweet and tender texture.

If you can't travel to other parts of Japan, we recommend visiting "Ekibenya Matsuri" inside Tokyo Station. This is the largest railway bento specialty store in Japan, offering over 150 different bento boxes from all over the country daily.

Since the shop is located inside the station, it's easy to stop by before boarding the Shinkansen. With such a wide selection, you're sure to find a station bento to suit your taste.

To get to the "Station Benzai Festival" at Tokyo Station, please go to the stairs next to platforms 7 and 8 in the central passage!