I recently wrote an article for The Flying Fugu about the History of Sushi (did you know that Sushi didn’t actually originate in Japan? Click and read to find out more! Please and Thank you). Anyway, as I was combing through Flickr for pretty pictures of sushi, I found Sakurako Kitsu’s photostream of clever bento boxes (the Japanese version of a lunch box) and thought I’d share a few of them with you.
In Japan, the whole “Don’t play with your food” thing doesn’t really apply. When I taught preschool, lunch time was always interesting because the kids would show up with lunch boxes full of food that more closely resembled works of art than anything edible. It was clear from some of the intricate designs that their moms had spent at least an hour splicing and molding and prodding their four-year-old’s tomatoes, hot dogs and seaweed into little Mickey Mouses or bunny rabbits. It was cute but it made me wonder: Who was it for? It wasn’t for the kids, that was for sure. Most of them didn’t seem to even notice.
But I appreciated it. I mean, wouldn’t it be cool to sit down at snack time, pry off your tupperware lid and see this:
Or this?
But I digress. As promised, here are the ‘travel-themed’ bentos (okay, I know I’m stretching it a bit with the Star Wars bentos, but come on! They’re pretty cool, right?). Enjoy!
Paris
Australia
Japan
Outer-space
Which ones are your favorite? And could you imagine American moms ever doing this?
