Japanese Language Culture Food - japanese-food-ekiben.

Ekiben (駅弁, Ekiben) (Railway boxed meal) - A specific type of bento boxed meals, sold on trains and at train stations in Japan. First sold in 1885 at Utsunomiya Station (north of Tokyo), they were then, a simple meal of rice balls, with umeboshi filling, wrapped in a bamboo leaf. Today, many types of ekiben can be purchased; at stands in the station, on the platform, or on the train itself. They come with disposable chopsticks (when necessary), and tea, hot or cold, is frequently available with the meal. Ekiben containers can be very attractive: made from plastic, wood, or ceramic. Many train stations have since become famous for their especially tasty ekiben, made from local food specialties.

Ekiben is also used by young Japanese people to describe the sexual position of a man holding a woman up during intercourse against a wall; it is so called because they are "eating" while standing up, just like people eat "ekiben" in the train station.

Information source: “Ekiben.” wikipedia.org. Article date: 4 Feb. 2008. Retrieved: Wikipedia. 8 Feb. 2008 <Ekiben>.

Video - The following is Sayuri Yoshinaga, a famous actress in Japan, eating ekiben on a train.


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