
Japan’s special take on a packed lunch - MiriamWeiner
http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20181009-japans-special-take-on-a-packed-lunch
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jamesjyu
Ekiben are amazing. They are delicious, efficient, and compact. One big
difference between these bento boxes and the typical grab n' go foods we see
here in the US is that they provide such a diverse set of foods—meat, rice,
veggies, fish, etc. Certainly, some contain an unhealthy amount of fried
foods, but on average, you're getting a pretty balanced meal at a reasonable
price. Compare this to a prototypical hot dog that you grab at an American
train station.

~~~
bpye
I miss Japan for it's food. Always made sure to grab an Ekiben when my
Shinkansen journey went over lunch. Never disappointed.

~~~
schrodinger
*its

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Animats
It's a train culture. You get to use both hands to eat and there are no sharp
turns.

Food on trains was a big thing in the US when passenger trains were a big
thing. The Fred Harvey diners were famous in their day, enough so that the
restaurants called "diners" today were attempts to emulate the mobile
versions.

Also, at the other extreme, Japan offers Calorie Mate "balanced food
blocks"[1] These contain all the nutrients required by humans in a convenient
package. Popular with Japanese salarymen who eat lunch at their desks. It's
the humanoid form of dry dog food. They have a liquid version, which is like
Soylent without the hype.

[1]
[https://www.otsuka.co.jp/en/nutraceutical/products/caloriema...](https://www.otsuka.co.jp/en/nutraceutical/products/caloriemate/)

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aaronblohowiak
You ever see someone eat on the train in Japan (not Shinkansen) ?

I one time saw an older lady sneak a sip of water...

~~~
rangibaby
A few times on local trains, eating on express trains (most people seated) is
normal. It's common to see salarymen drinking booze too

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sverige
I wonder what it would take to get similar offerings to compete with American
fast food? Now I'm hungry and there's no Japanese food anywhere near me.

~~~
jorblumesea
Have people demand fresh and quality food. Our standards for food quality are
low compared to Japan or Europe. What people find as acceptable here would not
fly in other places.

The US government also subsidizes corn, soybeans and wheat over fruits and
vegetables, making it far cheaper to produce meats, carbs and sugars, and thus
easily undercuts any other food types. It can be more expensive to buy a head
of lettuce than it is to buy a hot dog.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agricultural_subsidy#/media/Fi...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agricultural_subsidy#/media/File:United_States_farm_subsidies_\(source_Congressional_Budget_Office\).svg)

~~~
m_mueller
I think it depends a lot on culture - US seems to have inherited a rather
pragmatic, utility focused approach to food from Germans and Brits. Going from
East Germany westwards towards France makes you realize such differences.
Japanese are at the far end of that spectrum.

I guess the best you can do is steal the best ideas from everyone - Japanese
at least have zero issues with doing just that, going right back to first
western contact with the Portuguese that brought them Tenpura and a bunch of
cakes.

~~~
newen
I think it's because immigrants who came to the US could not find equivalent
ingredients to their traditional recipes as easily. Also distribution of fresh
food is hard as you go west. So people had to settle with low quality recipes
and food. This resulted in there not being as much of a food culture in the
general population. So now nobody (as in the average person doesn't) cares
about how food tastes like in the US.

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crooked-v
As an office worker, I really wish I could get stuff like this here. There's
very little that fits the intersections of "fast enough to get on a lunch
break", "reasonably healthy"†, "more or less fresh", and "has a mix of flavors
and textures".

† Especially this one - there's lots of food carts but those are a long way
away from 'healthy'.

~~~
komali2
My observation: In Japan, there is no bad food being served. I am sure it's
possible to find, but despite years living and traveling there, it simply
hasn't happened to me.

My hypothesis: Massive population density, combined with almost nobody home-
cooking and then bringing in a boxed lunch, leads to a HUGE market for
lunchtime food options (restaurants, bento). However, due to population
density, rent is high, and so bad restaurants get pushed out _quick_ , because
if a place is bad, there are ten other options _in the same building_ that are
delicious.

So, I often wonder if US cities achieved the same population density, if we'd
get the same level of amazing restaurants crammed into 10 story tall
buildings, block after block after block.

As for why Japanese food is healthier, I'm just guessing culture.

It is truly remarkable though that I have literally never had a bad food
(taste) experience, ever, in Japan, despite having eaten thousands of meals
and snacks there.

~~~
innocenat
I am not sure where did you live during your years in Japan, but let me assure
you it is very easy to find bad tasting food in Japan. I consistently find
food at tourist trap destination overpriced and tasted pretty bad.

And most married persons do bring boxed lunch. Along with a lot of female,
married or not.

And Japanese food is no where near healthy with all the deep-fried menu as a
staple. But I guess if you compared it to US fast food..

~~~
tlear
Honestly compared to bad food in US or Europe for that matter Japanese bad
food is not bad. You have to go to really shitty all you can drink bars to get
really shit food.

~~~
innocenat
Probably. Never been to Europe so I don't know. But compared to normal
Japanese food (or Asian food in general), bad food is not that hard to find.

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kyleblarson
Getting an ekiben and a beer for a shinkansen ride is one of my favorite
experiences in Japan.

~~~
buttersbrian
Second this.

Beyond the ekiben, even the grab-n-go food of the convenience stores (7-11,
family mart etc) is even a step above most in the States.

~~~
Gigablah
I’d be perfectly happy surviving on nothing but Lawson’s karaage for an entire
trip.

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rdiddly
What happens to the box when you're done? Even if it doesn't have music
circuitry or a heater in it, the bamboo, wood, ceramic or plastic would be
pretty lavish materials for something you're just going to toss. Do they get
reused or recycled? The "Daruma" box is described as having a slot so it can
be turned into a coin bank (nice try), but there's no other mention of the
box's lifecycle after the meal.

~~~
azernik
Recycled. Japan has a very strong culture of "carry your trash around with you
until you find the right bin", and a lot of self-sorting. See e.g.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recycling_in_Japan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recycling_in_Japan)

The companies making these products have to pay the recycling authority for
waste management in proportion to the amount of trash they generate.

~~~
ecnahc515
Jeez I wish we had this in the US. The sheer amount of waste produced by this
kinda stuff here is mind boggling.

~~~
freetime2
Japan is far from perfect when it comes to excessive packaging and recycling.
According to this article it actually recycles less than the US:

> In the bigger picture, however, Japan is a recycling laggard. According to
> 2014 data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development,
> the municipal recycling rate for Japan was only 21 percent, below top-ranked
> Germany at 48 percent, Sweden at 33 percent and the United States at 26
> percent.

[https://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2017/06/10/environment/pla...](https://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2017/06/10/environment/plastic-
fantastic-tokyo-recycle-waste/)

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Cpoll
I've wondered whether ekiben would fare well as a food truck in a major North
American city (prepared in a commercial kitchen and just distributed by truck
/ hot-dog stand / whatnot).

~~~
tokyodude
not quite the same thing but there was a startup trying to serve bento boxes.
IIRC after they started the realized there were spending more per box than
they were making

[https://www.gimletmedia.com/startup/kitchen-confidential-
sea...](https://www.gimletmedia.com/startup/kitchen-confidential-
season-3-episode-6)

~~~
adrianN
Classic startup strategy.

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saikit
Working in Manhattan, I am lucky to have access to a Sunrise Mart that sell
bentos and other Japanese comfort foods. It's my go to lunch spot when I'm in
a rush and want something cheap and healthy.

There's also a growing UK/Japanese chain called Wasabi Sushi & Bento that has
locations in both Penn Station and WTC Oculus.

~~~
stronglikedan
Coincidentally, there's a New York Mart in Sunrise (FL), and they're Asian
too! [0]

[0] [https://www.yelp.com/biz/new-york-mart-
sunrise-3](https://www.yelp.com/biz/new-york-mart-sunrise-3)

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Tsubasachan
An American friend of mine once explained that a lunchbox is considered a sign
of poverty in the US. Well there is nothing wrong with cheap and healthy.

~~~
acct1771
Not if it's a Vera Bradley lunch box.

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bitwize
And yet... when I went to Japan, McDonald's had _block busting lines_.

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rayiner
It's a novelty there. But I think the point is that in Japan, healthy and
local but fast food is something you can get at a train station, while that's
rare in the U.S. I'm in and out of Union Station (DC) and Penn Station (NYC)
all the time. What can you get to go in those places? Besides McDonalds,
Pizza, Chipotle, etc., you've got deli sandwiches. Which are just awful in
comparison to the options you have in Japan. (And even the deli sandwiches are
better in Japan--the random place at the airport is comparable to what you can
get at the specialty Italian market near my house.)

~~~
jpatokal
McDonalds has been in Japan since 1971, and occupies precisely the same
culinary niche as it does in the US: cheap, fast and crappy. (Although, this
being Japan, they're not _quite_ as crappy as in most countries.) In my uni
days students used to go there and buy bags full of their 59 yen burgers,
because the calories-for-buck ratio was better than instant ramen.

~~~
rangibaby
McDonald's sales shrank (for the first time ever?) a few years back so they
have been trying hard to not suck.

