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Whether you're on a local line that stops at every station or a Shinkansen train that lets the scenery fly by, a delicious ekiben is an essential part of any train journey
Various ekiben are introduced in travel reports and blogs, and there are often events that bring together ekiben from all over the country, so they also make a popular souvenir
When you travel to Iwate Prefecture, you can enjoy seafood from the Sanriku Coast, inland mountain produce, and delicious rice grown in the prefecture, and many of the ekiben also make use of the flavors of these ingredients
What is Ekiben?
From Saito Shogetsudo's official Facebook page
There is no specific definition, but if you think about it simply, it is a boxed lunch sold at stations that you eat while riding a train
Ekiben tastes so good even when it's cold, especially when enjoyed while enjoying the scenery outside the train window
Recently, various types of bento boxes are sold not only inside train stations but also around them, but here we will be introducing "ekiben" as bento boxes that can be purchased at bento shops and kiosks inside train stations
Please note that the prices of the listed bento boxes include tax as of December 2022
Top 5 recommended ekiben in Iwate Prefecture!
There are no ekiben manufacturers in Morioka City, the prefectural capital of Iwate Prefecture, so the ekiben sold at Morioka Station are mainly bento boxes from Saito Shogetsudo in Ichinoseki City, with bento boxes from other regions also being sold depending on the season
Sea urchin bento (1,670 yen: Sanriku Riasutei)
From the official Iwate Sanriku Tourist Guide website
This popular ekiben can only be purchased at Sanriku Riasutei inside Sanriku Railway Kuji Station, and is limited to 20 per day, making it difficult to obtain
The steamed sea urchin is packed so tightly that the rice is barely visible, giving it a different texture from raw sea urchin and allowing you to taste its sweetness
In 2013, it appeared in the NHK drama series "Amachan" as "Summer Bappa Sea Urchin Bowl," and because it is handmade by the proprietress and her husband of Sanriku Riasutei, the restaurant that served as the model for "Bappa," only 20 servings are made a day
Reservations are required to purchase, but reservations often fill up quickly, so be prepared to line up before the store opens at 7am
Sanriku Rias Tei <Information>
Name: Sanriku Rias Tei
Address: 3-38-2 Chuo, Kuji City, Iwate Prefecture, inside Sanriku Railway Kuji Station
This roast beef nigiri sushi is made with Maezawa beef, which is famous as a pioneer of A5-grade beef from Iwate Prefecture
When you pour the included soy sauce sauce over the roast beef, which goes perfectly with it, and take a bite, the delicious flavor of Maezawa beef will fill your mouth
The rice is of course made with Hitomebore rice from Iwate Prefecture, and the set includes five pieces: four topped with wasabi for a flavor accent, and one wrapped in seaweed
Steamed sea urchin, simmered in a special soy sauce-based broth to enhance its flavor, popping salmon roe, crunchy wakame seaweed stems and yamagobo burdock pickled in soy sauce, and fluffy shredded egg are all generously placed on top of brown rice
This ekiben, which allows you to enjoy the harmony of textures of various Sanriku seafood, is a popular ekiben that always records top sales at ekiben events in Tokyo and other places
This popular ekiben, which was sold until around 1990 under the name of Ichinoseki's traditional performing art, "Torimai," was revived in 2017 to commemorate the 35th anniversary of the opening of the Tohoku Shinkansen
It is filled with plenty of thick, chewy chicken teriyaki, and is accented with flavorful stewed bamboo shoots, shiitake mushrooms, and shredded egg. Side dishes include miso-wrapped deep-fried shiso leaves, bamboo shoots, kamaboko fish cake, wild vegetables, and pickles
This ekiben features rice cooked with Hitomebore rice from Iwate Prefecture in chicken stock, and goes perfectly with these side dishes
Morioka Jajamen and Beef Rice Bento (1,500 yen: Saito Shogetsudo)
From Saito Shogetsudo's official Facebook page
On November 1, 2022, the first Iwate Prefecture station bento was released, featuring Morioka's specialty "jajamen" in a heated container
The package is divided into two parts, and contains thick noodles topped with "jajamen"-style meat miso, and stewed beef rice
The sweet and spicy meat miso and chewy thick noodles are said to perfectly capture the atmosphere of "Jajamen," and are popular among locals
It's a shame that you can't enjoy the final dish of cheetan tan (boiled rice) soup with this bento, but the volume of the beef rice makes this a satisfying bento
Saito Shogetsudo <Information>
Name: Saito Shogetsudo
Address: 2-37 Kamiotsukigai, Ichinoseki City, Iwate Prefecture
Here are the stations in Iwate where you can buy ekiben!
JR sells ekiben at the following stations where the Shinkansen and conventional lines connect (Ninohe Station is on the IGR Galaxy Railway), as well as at Kuji Station on the Sanriku Railway
I have also included the sales locations at each station
Morioka Station (There are bento shops inside the Shinkansen ticket gates and outside the north ticket gates)
From the official website of JR East Tohoku General Service Co., Ltd
We mainly sell Saito Shogetsudo's ekiben
Boxed lunches are also sold on the first floor and basement of the station building, "Fezan."
Fezan <Information>
Name: Fezan
Address: 1-44 Morioka Ekimae-dori, Morioka City, Iwate Prefecture
Ichinoseki Station (there is a Shinkansen transfer gate and an ekiben shop inside the station building)
From Saito Shogetsudo's official Facebook page
We mainly sell ekiben made by the local Saito Shogetsudo brand
Shin-Hanamaki Station (sold at the shop in front of the ticket gate)
In addition to Saito Shogetsudo, the following ekiben are sold by Kudo Foods in Kamaishi City
Ihatov Gomoku Okowa Bento: A makunouchi bento with soy sauce-flavored rice, pork shogayaki, and tempura
Ihatov Kintoki Sekihan Bento: A makunouchi bento with Hokkaido-grown azuki beans and glutinous rice
Galaxy Railroad Scallop Rice Bento: Seafood rice with the delicious flavor of scallops
Ninohe Station (sold at the shop in front of the ticket gate)
In addition to the occasional sale of ekiben from Saito Shogetsudo and Shin-Aomori Station, the following ekiben, supplied by Ofukurotei in Ninohe City, are also sold
Ginga no Megumi-chan bento: Contains nine types of locally produced local dishes, including millet and buckwheat noodles
Iwate Tankaku Wagyu Beef Simmered in Soy Sauce Bento: The more you chew the lean Tankaku beef, the more delicious it becomes
Sasuke pork cutlet rice bowl: Pork loin cutlet made with Ninohe's specialty Sangen pork (Sasuke pork) and eggs from the prefecture, served in dashi broth
Kuji Station (sold at Sanriku Rias Tei inside the Sanriku Railway station building)
From the official Iwate Sanriku Tourist Guide website
At Kuji Station, the Sanriku Railway and JR station buildings are next to each other, but Sanriku Rias-tei is located inside the Sanriku Railway station building (please refer to the map for Uni Bento above)
summary
Unfortunately, as of December 2022, there are no bento boxes that can be called Morioka ekiben, but on November 1st, Saito Shogetsudo in Ichinoseki City began selling an ekiben featuring Morioka's specialty, Jajamen
I hope that it will become so popular that it will be recognized as a local Morioka station bento
I'm a former Edokko man who loves Morioka and the six Tohoku prefectures, and I also love history, food, travel, sports, alcohol, and singing. I'll be introducing you to the interesting, delicious, and great things about Tohoku!
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