Make your next journey delicious and Instgrammable.
Packing for a trip can be a stressful experience, but now it’s something you’ll look forward to, thanks to a new series of travel pouches from Japanese company Pine Create.
Cutely called “Tabi Suru Obento” which translates as “Travelling Boxed Lunch“, the new pouches instantly transform the contents of your luggage into a Japanese lunch box, and there are two types of obento to choose from.
▼ The first variety is “Hinomaru Bento“.
This variety contains the same core elements as its namesake, with its defining feature being plain rice topped with an umeboshi (pickled plum). Its appearance bears a striking resemblance to the “hinomaru” (literally “circle of the sun”), the Japanese flag, from which it takes its name.
▼ A real Hinomaru Bento
▼ Black sesame seeds are often added for extra flavour and visual contrast.
The travel pouch version does a great job of replicating the real thing, but with a zip so you can pack your clothes into it.
While Hinomaru were eaten on their own during frugal times, these days they’re commonly paired with side dishes, and this pouch reflects that, as it comes in a set with another pouch: Tamagoyaki and Fried Chicken.
▼ The set retails for 3,740 yen (US$23.44).
Whereas the Hinomaru Bento travel pouch is the larger of the two, at 40 x 28 x 12 centimetres (15.75 × 11.02 × 4.72 inches), the Tamagoyaki (rolled omelette) and Fried Chicken pouch is classed as a medium, measuring 30 x 20 x 12 centimetres.
▼ An ideal size for smaller items of clothing.
Those wanting to pack more into their luggage can complete the set with three smaller pouches, sold separately.
▼ These three retail for 2,970 yen.
The addition of the “food divider” pouch and drawstring bags was a detail the designer, a lover of bento boxes, insisted on. The bags feature grilled salmon and “tako-san weiner” (octopus sausage), both classic bento items.
▼ Octopus sausages are made by cutting one end of a red sausage into four or eight “tentacles” that curl when grilled.
▼ Drawstring bags are convenient for storing underwear, socks, and skincare products…
▼ …and it just wouldn’t feel like a bento box without a green grass-like divider.
▼ All the pouches are designed to fit snugly together to resemble a delicious bento.
▼ The second collection in the Travelling Boxed Lunch range is the Omurice Bento.
The largest pouch here resembles omurice (omelette rice), complete with tomato sauce topping. While the real thing contains a centre of rice, open this one up and you’ll find your clothes inside instead.
Though Omurice is commonly served on its own, here it’s paired with a side of “Napolitan to Hamburg” (Tomato Sauce Spaghetti and Japanese-style Hamburger Steak), for added colour and storage.
The three smaller pouches add some other common bento elements to the boxed lunch set.
▼ Shrimp tempura
▼ Cherry tomatoes
▼ Lettuce
▼ Another delicious set that’ll make you want to open your case at customs.
Priced identically to the two sets that make up the Hinomaru Bento, the Omurice Bento packs are equally sized, with the larger pouches having enough room to store around four T-shirts and three pairs of jeans together.
The cleverly designed Travelling Bento really comes to life when packed into your suitcase, where it looks so much like a boxed meal you’ll be tempted to buy all the pouches to fill both sides. The sets can be purchased at the Pino Poche online store (Hinomaru here and Omurice here) and at online retail sites like Rakuten.
Source: Press release
Featured image: Pine Poche
Insert images: Pine Poche (1, 2), press release
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