chara-ben

Japanese mom’s beautiful Legend of Zelda character bento brings tears (of the Kingdom) to our eyes

She’s never played a single game in the series, but she’s made one of the coolest works of Zelda fan art ever.

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Do you have, literally, a minute? Then you can learn to make this super-easy Pikachu omelet!【Vid】

This recipe isn’t just super effective, it’s super cute too!

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Japanese mom wows us with her ‘eggstraordinary’ food art

Simply put, it’s an eggstravaganza!… sorry.

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Australian mother reflects on “lunchbox shame” she felt from her son’s Tokyo preschool teacher

Preschool teacher says the Australian-style lunch she made was “not appropriate.”

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Awesome lunch boxes full of Disney’s Tsum Tsum characters are almost too cute to eat!【Photos】

As we expect you already know, character lunch boxes or “chara-ben,” short for “character bento,” are all the rage in Japan. And their creators are rarely shy about sharing their awesome work, so you can find hundreds of examples of how to make lunch time more adorable on social media networks like Instagram and Twitter.

One of the biggest themes for chara-ben right now is Disney’s Tsum Tsum, a line of stuffed toys that has been adapted into a smartphone game by Line. There were so many great photos, we had to compile our favorite Tsum Tsum chara-ben shots from Instagram for you to check out. But don’t forget to grab a snack, because you’re definitely going to get hungry!

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Considering how much Japan loves food and cute things, it’s no surprise that the country is in the middle of a chara-ben boom. Chara-ben, bento boxed lunches with their contents arranged like popular characters such as Hello Kitty and Doraemon, are a hit with adults and children alike, as parents seem to be having as much fun making them as their kids are eating them.

But not everyone loves this trend of culinary creativity, though, as some preschools and day care centers have started banning chara-ben.

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