lunch
If you’ve ever wished that there was just a little bit more of a certain side dish in your lunch, you’ll absolutely love these bento bargains.
Traditional bento shop collaborates with pair of comedians to make environmentally sustainable mini-lunches.
The new version of the popular cooking bento box boasts of cooking other things…but does it really work?
It’s what we’ve all been waiting for — a way to watch our phone screen without clogging it up with noodle grease!
There are more than 80 mouthwatering dishes to choose from, including ramen, fries, chicken, and, of course, plates and plates of sushi.
Craving some carbs? Indulge in this limited-time weekday lunch special for only 800 yen (US$7) per person.
Our man Mr Sato was recently granted access to the offices of Twitter Japan—and it turns out they put on a great spread every Monday!
If you’re at all familiar with bento, you’ll probably know that a lot of people will go all out to create adorable (or just plain amazing) meals for their children— or inner otaku, for that matter. I’ve heard that there is fierce competition to make the cutest lunches (especially for special events like Sports Day) so it’s no wonder that techniques and trends are continually changing, and it seems that the latest fad in lunches is the humble dinner roll.
According to a 2012 survey of 2,000 Shinsei Bank employees, the average worker now spends 510 yen (US $5.79) on lunch every day. That’s down from 710 yen (US $8.06) in 2001 and 600 yen (US $6.81) in 2007. That’s a 30% decrease in twelve years.
Nikkan Spa, a popular magazine in Japan, conducted its own survey and found an even bleaker outcome. In a survey of 100 salarymen (office workers) and public servants in their 30s and 40s, a surprising 64 percent of workers admitted that they spend 500 yen (US $5.67) or less on lunch. An even more astonishing 24 percent of workers get by on just 250 yen (US $2.84) a day.
A measly 250 yen (US $2.84) won’t even buy a beef bowl at Sukiya, famed to be the cheapest lunch around. If these salarymen can’t even afford the cheapest meals available for purchase, what exactly are they eating? Let’s take a peek inside the slimmed-down lunchboxes of Japan’s typical worker.
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