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We’re talking about thousands of dollars here!

On June 5, the Toshima Ward regional office held a charity concert in support of the victims of the Kumamoto earthquakes. Sporting the theme, “We are with Kumamoto”, the concert was able to raise almost 2,000,000 yen (US$18,710). With a line-up ranging from enka singers to erhu musicians (a two-stringed Chinese instrument played with a bow), people came from all over to see the various Sino-Japanese artists perform. While the concert itself raised a ton of money, a big chunk of it came from the charity auction of a single character bento.

Maybe you’re thinking that there are special ingredients used in this scrumptious looking lunch, but it’s all just normal everyday food. The bento pairs the famous yurukyara Kumamon with a lovable panda as the two bears have been depicted together numerous times after the earthquakes. The opening bid for the lunch was just 500 yen ($4.67) but quickly ballooned to 100,000 yen ($935) and then ended at a whopping 600,000 yen ($5,610). The winners of the auction was a Chinese charity organization that works in Japan and their winning bid drew great applause.

▼ In case you missed the adorable images of Kumamon and a panda,
here are some of our favorites!

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The charity concert was put together thanks to the Toyama-Ward and the local Chinatown. Many prominent members from the area made an appearance including the Toyama mayor and officials from the Chinese Embassy in Japan. It’s great to see two countries give each other support, but we have just one question: How did the bento taste?!

Source: Niconico News
Top image: withnews
Inset images: Sina Weibo