How a Bento Manga Changed the Rules for Women
When “Nonchan Noriben” was published in 1995, the idea of a divorcée trying to pick up her life as a single mother was still taboo in Japan.
The Secret to a Hot Bento
Imagine opening the lid of your bento box and getting your chopsticks out to eat what should be steaming hot rice—but it’s cold and somehow tasteless. Want to avoid this disappoint...
A Japanese Bento Box In New York
A variety of New York-based businesses—from small-scale entrepreneurs to multinational brand names—are gradually succeeding in introducing Japanese bento culture to the world.
Top 5 Chains for Cheap Bento
Super Cheap Japan walks us through their top picks for a cheap bite!
The Bento Album
The first female hip-hop artists to enter the Oricon top ten, Halcali celebrate their greatest hits with a bento.
Make a Green Pepper Dinosaur!
Even though dinosaurs no longer roam the Earth, that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy eating them!
Ekiben Spotlight Local Cuisine
A Matsumoto bento maker teams up with students and the local agricultural co-op to create a castle town feast.
All About Ekiben
Much more than dull meals to fill up hungry travelers, the best ekiben provide a small window into the regional cuisine and culture of the place where they're produced.
Our Top 5 Bento Sites
Check out any of these inspiring sites to learn more about the brilliance of bento!
Order a Funassyi Sofa for ¥180,000
Made to order in Saitama Prefecture, it features easy-wipe synthetic leather upholstery in Funassyi colors.
Sharp & 7-Eleven Offer Evangelion Smartphone
30,000 phones planned for production—at ¥84,240 a pop!
Epic Music Makes for Awesome Bento
Little Miss Bento reaches for Oscar gold with epic editing and musical selection!
Little Miss Bento's Snoopy & Woodstock Bento
Little Miss Bento shows us how to do a proper Peanuts lunch box.
10 Rules for Good Bento
JustBento's Makiko Itoh shares the philosophy that guides her daily bento life.
Outerwear Made from Synthetic Spider Silk
For the past 11 years, a Japanese company has been attempting to harness the strength of spider silk to create a new type of material with unprecedented versatility. They’ve now un...
This Kyaraben Tutorial is Totally Kawaii!
Too cute to eat? In this breezy clip, J-food vlogger and cookbook author Namiko Chen of Just One Cookbook shows you how to crank the kawaii factor of your bento box to dangerously...
The Technology of Artificial Spider Silk
With more than 30,000 species of spider in the world—and a single spider using more than seven different kinds of silk—it became nearly impossible for Spiber researchers to define...
The Little Prince Museum in Hakone
Travelin' Boots' Ada Wilkinson hit the Little Prince Museum in Hakone. Sadly, she didn't come back with one of the museum's plush toys of a boa constrictor digesting an elephant, b...
