By Rafe Calder
Nobody knows exactly who sold the first station lunch in Japan. That much is plain from the sources. Several places claim the honour, and the claims are made by people with different definitions of the word.
What the word means
Wikipedia says “ekiben” joins “eki”, station, with “ben”, short for bento. An online Japan-culture site describes ekiben as bentos for railway passengers sold at stations and on trains. They were devised, it says, as portable meals for eating on trains, when travel took far longer than it does now.
The first sale, three ways
The usual answer is Utsunomiya, in what is now Tochigi Prefecture, in 1885. Wikipedia says the first sale is “generally believed” to have been there, when the line linked the station to Ueno in Tokyo, and that the meal was onigiri wrapped in young bamboo leaves. The culture site says July 1885 and names a ryokan, Shirokiya, as the seller of rice balls with pickled plum and pickled radish. A food-and-travel blog gives a date, 16 July 1885, calls it the opening day of the Tohoku main line, and says the meal was two rice balls in a bamboo wrapper, with pickles.
The same blog notes earlier claims: meals sold in Osaka and Kobe in 1877 and at Ueno Station in 1883. It adds that train travel began in Japan in 1872. We have no document for any of this, only three accounts.
Rice and side dishes
Wikipedia says Himeji Station sold the first standard ekiben, rice with a few side dishes, in 1888. The culture site says the boxed lunch of rice and side dishes was first sold near Himeji Station in 1889 and was called the makunouchi bento, listing 13 side dishes, among them salt-grilled sea bream and rolled omelette. One year apart and one place. The blog also dates it 1888. Wikipedia adds that the makunouchi is the standard nationwide ekiben, typically rice, grilled fish, fish cakes and pickles.
Local food arrives
Wikipedia says that at the start of the twentieth century stations began offering meals built on local specialities. The blog says some sources point to sushi ekiben sold at two Iwate stations from 1890. Again, an earlier date from a single blog.
Wikipedia gives two regional examples: ikameshi, squid stuffed with rice, from Mori Station in Hokkaido, and masuzushi, trout pressed sushi wrapped in bamboo leaves, from Toyama Prefecture. The blog says the ikameshi was invented by a Hokkaido vendor who used small squid that were otherwise going unused.
The vendors and the windows
The blog says vendors once sold through train windows from trays hung round their necks, and that this faded as trains became climate-controlled with windows that did not open. It also says April 10 is celebrated as Ekiben no Hi.
Cold food, made to travel
The culture site says ekiben are packed right after cooling, to stop bacteria growing, and are seasoned to be eaten cold. It says most have a short shelf life, often only until the night of purchase. That is why a few makers solved the cold-food problem in other ways. The same site says one beef ekiben has a string on the container, and pulling it heats the contents in about five to eight minutes, calling it Japan’s first heated ekiben. Wikipedia mentions a sukiyaki bento at Yonezawa Station that comes with a visible heating pack.
Boxes as souvenirs
Containers may be plastic, wood or ceramic, Wikipedia says, and some are made to be kept. The blog mentions a shinkansen-shaped box and an octopus-shaped jar, and says wrappers often carry art, the food itself, commemorative designs or famous sites. The culture site estimates more than 2,000 types of ekiben nationwide, in three broad groups: makunouchi, meat, and seafood.
Boom and thin years
Wikipedia’s account of the peak is split. Its introduction says popularity peaked in the 1980s; its body says that in the mid-1980s about twelve million boxes were eaten daily. Both Wikipedia and the blog say the number of makers fell by 50 per cent between 1987 and 2008. Wikipedia ties the fall to affordable air travel, faster trains and the disappearance of dining cars, and says ekiben remained popular on the Shinkansen. It also says ekiben fairs began in 1966, the largest at two department stores, in Shinjuku and Osaka. The blog, too, says the first department-store festival was in 1966 and that vendors turned to such events to promote local specialities.
Two more small points from Wikipedia: railfans who are especially keen on ekiben are called ekiben-tetsu, and a 1970s drama, Ekiben Hitoritabi, boosted sales.
Dates in order
- 1872: train travel begins in Japan, according to the blog.
- 1877 and 1883: earlier claimed sales, according to the blog.
- July 1885: Utsunomiya, according to all three sources.
- 1888 or 1889: Himeji, according to Wikipedia and the blog, and the culture site respectively.
- 1890: Iwate sushi ekiben, according to the blog.
- 1966: first department-store fairs, according to Wikipedia and the blog.
- Mid-1980s: peak, according to Wikipedia.
- 1987 to 2008: makers fall by half, according to Wikipedia and the blog.
What kind of sources these are
Wikipedia; a Japan-culture site; and a food-and-travel blog, which is informal and promotional in places. We read no railway company page and no museum.
What we left out
Prices, shop and maker names, station kiosk locations, and rationing details.
Quick answers
When was the first ekiben sold in Japan? Wikipedia says it is generally believed to be at Utsunomiya Station in 1885, rice balls in bamboo leaves. Other sources name earlier dates; none is documented.
What is a makunouchi bento? According to Wikipedia, it is the standard ekiben: rice with side dishes, typically grilled fish, fish cakes and pickles.
Are ekiben eaten cold? A Japan-culture site says they are seasoned to be eaten cold, though some have heating strings or packs.
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Roam first. Shop later.