Bento: Lunch in a Box

Bento (or Obento) is the Japanese word for a meal served in a box. It is an art form for packing lunches in the Japanese culture. A traditional bento consists of rice, fish or meat, and one or more pickled or cooked vegetables, usually in a box-shaped container.

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

The Japanese have taken the act of packing a lunch or meal to a whole different level of sophistication and fun!