EKIBEN JAPAN (2024)

Season 2

"Ekiben" are lunch boxes sold at train stations enjoyed during train journeys which are filled with the charm of each region of Japan! Let's embark on a journey to encounter a selection of lunch boxes from all over Japan!

Released March 1, 2024 Episode 15 min None+

Genres: Documentary

Keywords: tmdb.cooking, tmdb.train, tmdb.culinary-arts, tmdb.local-food, tmdb.bento, tmdb.japanese-cuisine, tmdb.food-culture

Production Companies: NHK, NHK Educational, Creative Nexus

Network: NHK WORLD-JAPAN

Country: Japan
Languages: Japanese, English

Trakt

TMDb

S2E1 - Curry Framed by 400 Years of History

This curry rice bento, made with local spices and beef, comes in Arita porcelain ware, a 400-year-old art treasured by royalty. Its rich heritage is sure to enhance your travel memories.

Jan. 8, 2025, midnight

S2E2 - Meaty Mushrooms Grown in Winter Cold

Tottori's shiitake bento features thick, sweet, wood-grown mushrooms. The rice, seasoned with Japanese pepper, pairs perfectly with the deep flavor of the shiitake enhanced by special local soy sauce!

Feb. 26, 2025, midnight

S2E3 - The Taste of Home in a Port Town

This ekiben from Kamogawa in southern Chiba features sanga-yaki, made from minced fish, and is packed with regional flavors like thick, tender Boshu hijiki and the long-prized Nagasa-mai rice.

May 25, 2025, midnight

S2E4 - Sakura's Gift: The Flavors of Spring in Tohoku

In April, as cherry blossoms bloom in Aomori, the Sakura Bento goes on sale along the Tsugaru Railway, filled with spring flavors like local scallops, tender kombu, and miso with a wild spring plant.

June 1, 2025, midnight

S2E5 - An Ekiben of Volcanic Memory and Blessing

The Volcano Bento uses only local ingredients, grown in the Shimabara Peninsula's soil shaped by Mt. Unzen's eruptions. It's a heartfelt bento from locals who know the volcano's dangers and gifts.

Aug. 10, 2025, midnight

S2E6 - Reclaiming the Ocean's Blessings

Noto's nature was scarred in the 2024 earthquake, yet the abalone bento still celebrates the peninsula's premium shellfish, enhanced with local salt.

Sept. 14, 2025, midnight

S2E7 - A Bento that Brings Comfort at an Old Train Station

The carefully made Kareigawa Bento, featuring local Kagoshima cuisine, is sold at a wooden train station more than 120 years old, which tells the story of people brought together by the ekiben.

Dec. 14, 2025, midnight

NHK WORLD-JAPAN

15 min/ep

90 min

March 1, 2024

Jan. 25, 2026, midnight

Feb. 1, 2026, midnight

Returning Series