bento box

One of my Japanese students just gave these to me. Aren’t they awesome!? He and his mom got them for me during their recent trip back to Japan. I would like to say it was totally his idea to get me such a great gift, because I’m the greatest teacher ever (obviously). But, I admit, I asked him to get me a cute bento box for my daughter. It was extra sweet of him to think of the bean and get a boy set, too. I just adore all the cute things that Japanese people do with their lunches. So clever. I lived in Japan, but that was about 6 or 7 years ago. Pre-marriage and pre-children. It didn’t occur to me to pick up some of the cute things to save for when I had kids. I love looking at this site called, lunch in a box.net.
It’s a cute site where people who make bento boxes for their kids (or themselves) talk about what they put in them and post pictures and tons of other bento related information. It’s fun! They have links where you can buy some fun bento boxes and accessories. Those clever Japanese. They even have silicone molds that shape rice balls, hard boiled eggs, vegetables and hot dogs into adorable shapes. I love it!! Luckily, I have some time before I have to think about packing lunches for the kids. But, I will definitely be referring back to that site when I do. I did buy a Hello Kitty one, a heart shaped one and a stack-able one (with matching chopsticks, placemat and bag) while I lived there. Now, with the new ones from my student – I am set. Although I do want to get some of those fun molds at some point. I already like cutting the bird’s toast or sandwiches into shapes with a cookie cutter.