Obento is a Japanese tradition concerning preparation, serving and eating of food. The base for obento is an original "packed meal" placed in a special box, which the Japanese take everywhere: to work, business travel, and school and on weekend excursion.

Obento most often includes boiled rice and small portions of fish or poultry, cooked or fresh vegetables and fruits. The list of products depends on taste and substantiality. The country's district plays a great role as well. Sometimes obento is a business card of one or another district, local delicacies, customs and crafts. By the way some travelers addict to trying obento to the extent that it gets their main goal of their visit to Japan.

Until the XVI-XVIII centuries obento was generally used by travelers. When Kabuki theatre appeared "makunouchi bento", which was to be eaten between acts, spread. Since that time obento not only came into fashion but got some kind of ceremony, symbol of love and care. Every morning many Japanese women cook obento for their children and husbands. On opening obento a child or adult feels presence of his or her loved one, who gathering food in this box wanted to bring joy.

There are many kinds of boxes for obento. The first obento boxes were made of bamboo sprouts and food was wrapped in bamboo leafs. As the years went by leafs gave place to twigged or wooden boxes and after that plastic. Distinguished boxes such as makunouti bento are usually coated and have five or six segments for dishes and small segments for sauce. More simple boxes for lunch or school breakfast have two parts that are placed one on the other. The lower one is meant for rice and the upper one - for fish, meat and vegetables.

The modern development of obento is characterized by socio-economical progress, which Japanese society has gained within many years. One of consumers' grades is all-round availability of obento. Nowadays it is possible to taste obento not only at your granny, but at any cross street or any village you'll be offered hot obento. Different boxes obento can be found in large supermarkets, small shops, in restaurants and cafes, in airports and even at railway stations. By the way, with the development of railway systems and stations, obent has begun being prepared at each station in its own way. Railway station's obento is called ekiben, and it is considered that the first ekiben was prepared at Utsunomiya station in prefecture Togoti in 1885. In modern Japan the railway station's obento has over 1000 kinds. The top sales of raiway's obento were in 1970. When in Japan it was sold about 250 thousand pieces daily.

One more stage in obento's development is characterized by tendencies, connected with the healthy way of living, which had such terms as low content of salt and sugar in food. The main stress in the diversity of dishes that are included into obento, is made on the healthy content of its ingredients, that can save health and strengthen nature.

Daruma lunches (Daruma bento)
This ekiben consists of rice, boiled in tea, and snacks made of products, delivered from Gumma prefecture's mountain distrcts (Kanto region). Dishes for these lunches are made in the form of Daruma dolls. Owning to the rice boiled in tea the lunch has a special taste. Daruma obento consists of burdock wrapped in chicken meat, which is boiled in dashi seasoned by sweet sake and soy sauce.

Sushi with humpback (masu-no sushi)
This ekiben started to be sold in the Meiji period (1868-1912). The base for this lunch is a local dish of Toyama district (Tyubu region), which according to legends was presented to the 8th shogun Tokugawa Yoshimune. Pieces of greasy humpback are put on local boiled rice seasoned by vinegar. Humpback is chosen very strictly so that fatness and freshness corresponded to the requirements specified. Fatness is not felt thanks to vinegar in rice. Bamboo leafs in which sushi are wrapped give special odor to the dish.
   









Lunch with eel and salty horse reddish wasabi (unagi wasabi meshi)
Fat and fleshy eel fried on skewer, boiled rice seasoned by soy sauce and salty stems of wasabi horse reddish create a unique taste. Middle fatness and soft meat are the distinctive features of the Japanese eel. Spiciness of salty horse reddish strengthens appetite. Dishes are adjusted to steaming and lunch is served hot.




Ekiben from Hiroshima station: lunch with oysters from Seto (seto-no kaki mesi)
This lunch includes oysters, which Hiroshima (Tyugoku region) is famous for. Oysters are bred in clean inner Seto sea and cooked according to an ancient recipe. Apart from oysters the snack includes: hashed fish, boiled with seasonings, egg, squid, matsutake odorous mushrooms. As a result you get a rich lunch made of Hiroshima products.

Ekiben from Miyajima (Hiroshima prefecture): lunch with conger eel (Anago meshi)
These lunches started to be sold more than 100 years ago. Two conger eels cut into pieces were put into boxes. Eels are pickled in spicy and sweet sauce and fried. Rice is boiled together with bones of eels. Boxes made of Japanese linden are sopped with the smell of eel.

Ekiben from Wadayama station (Hyogo prefecture, Kansai region) lunch with Tajiyama beef (Tajiyama-no gyumeshi)
The lunch gives a chance to fully feel the taste of the Tajiyama beef. Meat is stewed in dashi broth, seasoned by soy sauce. Also it includes rice, mountain herbals and pickled red ginger, that goes well with meat. As a dish for the lunch ceramic bowl produced by Tamba plant is used.

Ekiben from Takamatsu station (Kagawa prefecture, Shikoku region): sushi from Sanuki district (Sanuki gomoku zushi)
This sort of sushi with different seafood and mountain herbals is seasoned by vinegar, the recipe of which is handed down from generation to generation. In Sanuki district all the brides have to be able to cook this sushi.

Sushi with mackerel from Totori prefecture (kombumaki sabazushi)
This is a rich lunch with mackerel of certain fatness and rice seasoned by vinegar and wrapped in kombu from Hokkaido region. It is a simple and distinguished dish. Mackerel sopped with the smell of sea kale and rice seasoned with vinegar creates a unique balance of taste.

Lunch with black pig meat (Okinawa region): Ago-no kurobutizu
Black pig meat from Okinawa is highly appreciated. This meat is more tasty and healthier than ordinary pork and it does not have the unpleasant pork smell. Besides the number of pigs being bred is not large at all. Apart from meat the lunch includes boiled rice, vegetables, scrambled eggs and pickled ginger.

Hamaguri shell: yakihama don (Tiba prefecture, Kanto region)
Ceramic box in the form of shell in which this dish is served is not less beautiful than its contents. The base for the dish is rice with three types of shells. Other ingredients are boiled shiitake mushrooms, fuki (coltsfoot), carrot, sea kale, boiled with soy sauce.

Maezawa gyumeshi: lunch with Maezawa beef (Iwate prefecture, Tohoku region)
Beef for this obento is checked and selected by licensed specialists. Meat is stewed with vegetables (gobo, carrot and shiratake mushrooms) and served on rice.

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