You know, In Japanese, lunch boxes are called "bento". And recently this word "bento" might be popular in western people.
In Japan, many people take bento to office, or school. Actually in Japanese school provides school meal, and businessman goes to restaurant to have lunch. However, many people take a lunch box bento.
By the way, nowadays it is possible to buy bento wherever you go. Then, there are some advantages buying the bento outside. So, I will introduce about them, in this article.
1． Where to buy bento
It is so useful that you can buy the bento outside. Because if you would take bento somewhere, you should get up so early. However, if you can get bento in your destination. So you don't have to get up.
Now, in Japan you can buy bento some place. Then where can we buy bento? I will explain them.
1-1．Bento place
In Japanese city, there are bento places. They usually open until midnight. So people can bento as dinner.
And the bento is basically economic price. Actually there are some high-classed expensive bento. But usually you can buy them about 500 yen.
Usually, bento place makes bento after ordering. So you can eat it while the warm.
1-2．Supermarket
You can buy bento insupermarkets. The supermarket's bentos are various and good.
By the way, usually bento place don't have raw fish as sashimi. However, Japanese supermarkets are sell sashimi and sushi in usual. Then in supermarket, sushi is sold as bento, in usual.
So if you want to eat sushi, supermarket's sushi bento should be useful.
1-3．Convenience store
Japanese convenience store has many products. Then bento is also sold in convenience store. Convenience store's bento is so various. Convenience store has soba noodles, udon noodles, onigiri and so on. Then the store has also side dishes.
And convenience store opens midnight. Then if you could not eat dinner, you can buy a bento in convenience store.
By the way, usually bento is cool. But in convenience store, the stuff warm the bento you had bought.
1-4．Mobile catering
In Tokyo, especially business streets, it is so hard to go the bento place, or convenience store.Then busy businessman would be trouble.
But by mobile catering, they can get a bento. And they can eat a lunch.
Actually mobile catering bento might not be various. But businessman can buy a bento near the office building.
1-5．Station
Japanese railway is so convenience. You know bullet train can go another areas so fast. So you can enjoy the trip comfortably.
By the way, Japanese station has original bento. Actually you can not buy in small station. But on big station, there are many local bento.
And in Japan, each local city has original specialty products. For example, seafood, meat, rice, etc, there are. So local bento contains such a local products.
If you can not enough time to eat the local products, when you would go to local city. But by bento, you could enjoy eating them.
2．Advantages of bento place
By the want, using bento place has same advantages. And I will introduce them.
2-1． Buy only side dishes
Usually, bento place sell bento, but only side dish is OK. Because bento place make bento rice and side dish separately. So they can sell only side dish.
Meanwhile. in convenience store, bento is made by one package. So if your need is only side dish, you should go to
bento place.
2-2．Buy when you like
Bento place opens from morning to midnight. So you can buy the bento whenever. Then if you could not plan your daily schedule, by going to bento place, you can have ameal.
2-3．Buy your favorite
Recently, in some bento place, you can choose the side dish in buffet. So it is possible to make favorite side dish.
And usually, buffet bento place sell various menu. Japanese dish, Chinese dish, and Western dish. So you can make the mixed menu.
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Anyway, Japanese bento culture should be interesting. And Western people would be enjoy the bento.
There are many style of bento. Enjoy!
