bento
Wiki, Facts

 bento facts

• A traditional bento holds rice, fish or meat, with pickled or cooked vegetables, usually in a box-shaped container
• Containers range from disposable mass produced to hand crafted lacquerware
• Bentos are readily available in many places throughout Japan, including convenience stores, bento shops (弁当屋, bentō-ya), railway stations, and department stores
• However, Japanese homemakers often spend time and energy on a carefully prepared lunch box for their spouse, child, or themselves
• Bentos can be elaborately arranged in a style called "kyaraben" ("character bento")
• Kyaraben are typically decorated to look like popular characters from Japanese animation (anime), comic books (manga), or video games
• Another popular bento style is "oekakiben" or "picture bento"
• This is decorated to look like people, animals, buildings and monuments, or items such as flowers and plants
• Contests are often held where bento arrangers compete for the most aesthetically pleasing arrangements
• There are similar forms of boxed lunches in Asian countries including the Philippines (Baon), Korea (Dosirak), Taiwan (Biandang), and India (Tiffin)