The art of bento

If you are short on time for having lunch in Japan or are just about to catch a train, there's a solution for you: Bento. These are basically lunch boxes, divided into different sections and containing a few mouthfulls of various ingredients.

A typical bento contains noodles or rice, some grilled meat or fish, mini sausages, Japanese pickles, Japanese sour plum, soy sauce, maybe some salad or an omelett, nori and if you're unlucky some natto (rotten soy beans). But there is a vast selection of different bento boxes on offer, in different sizes and for different shapes. Some are containing mostly fish (sushi, salmon roe, sashimi), some are vegetarian (though rarely, this is NOT a vegetarian country), some have a well-balanced, healthy mix of small dishes in it, others are contain the not so balanced tonkatsu (fried breaded pork cutlet with a thick brown sauce).

Bento boxes can be bought everywhere, in department stores, konbini, at the station. Many people also make their own bento at home the evening before. The picture shows a fish bento from Hokkaido in a lovely patterned box (form is as important as content here).