Obento Lunch Box

(Rolled Omelette)                                    

With gratitude to Renae

Fish in Hokkaido restaurant

Sushi in Hokkaido

北海道

ほっかいどう

hokkaidō

Hokkaido is well-know for fishing and therefore fish is high on the traditional Hokkaido menu. Salmon, squid, tuna and other sorts of fish are widely consumed. Hokkaido also has sheep farms and some cattle farms, but this page is about delicious fish from Hokkaido. 

A takeaway lunchbox with Hokkaido fish.

The origami variety.

Crab meat is particularly sought after in many Hokkaido restaurants as the quality is exceptional.

One crab costs between NZ$150 and NZ$180.

The origami master’s impression.

On this platter one can see squid and different kinds of shell fish. 

This is salmon roe, a dish that is regarded a delicacy. Salmon roe is very high on vitamins and omega 3. It is eaten with a spoon, although sometimes one can see it on top of a sushi-bite, which has seaweed wrapped around it in order to keep the bite nicely together.

Japanese dishwashers しょっきあらいき

食器洗い機　しょっきあらいき　

shokki arai-ki, dishwasher

Japanese kitchen space often dictates the size of the appliance. Also there may not be all that many people needing the appliance in the first place.

This seems to be the size that we are more familiar with in a western kitchen.

Sometimes one has to wonder if the cleaning of the appliance is not more work than actually cleaning the dishes by hand. There’s a thought. Is it a status symbol?

Smart design though: “you just Gota have it!”

コンパクト除菌ミスト

こんぱくと　じょきん　みすと

konpakuto jokin misuto

(compact sterilise mist)

compact with sterilising mist

National  コンパクトで充実機能

National  こんぱくとで  じゅうじつきのう

National konpakuto de jūjitsukinō

compact with full functionality

小さく置ける大きく開く

ちいさくおけるおおきくひらく

chiisaku okeru ookiku hiraku

(little take up space – big open up)

Space saving wide opening

That pan would fill up with water in no time! Oh well, it is a demo for size maybe.

Also: if chopsticks are made of wood, you still would have to wash them by hand… Would you put your expensive Japanese porcelain, or your expensive Japanese lacquer ware in the machine – not really. There is nothing like the good hand-at-the-sink wash.

Not funny, is it?! 

All parents seem to think it is a very useful skill to learn though. You’re doing a brilliant job! Great sink to work at!

We would love one of those glass ones at home, so we could all watch the dishwasher wash the dishes. We would save time washing of course, but we would have time to watch. Unfortunately, these glass ones are only shop demo models.

School lunches 給食 きゅうしょく kyūshoku

給食　きゅうしょく　kyūshoku

In Japan school lunches are provided and compulsory for students, so each child will have had a healthy lunch every day. This practice is instilled from the earliest Primary School years. 

Every day the menu changes, so over a long period of time students get a balanced diet. It also curbs the annoying desire of children to express the “I don’t like this” and “I don’t like that” and “I don’t eat that”. Mind you, not as annoying as parents who decide for their children that they don’t like something! Unless there is a sound medical reason, they all eat it. Annoying too when you think about the fact that one billion people in the world experience hunger at some stage during the day… OK… Let’s move on:

These photos will give you an idea of what Japanese school lunches look like:

High in iron, protein, omega; rice, soup, milk, seaweed, 
salmon, fruit, spinach, pickles. Notice: no sugar!

げつようび の きゅうしょく

getsuyōbi no kyūshoku

Monday’s school lunch

給食　きゅうしょく　kyūshoku

Cheese, rice, kimchee (originally Korean), quail eggs, soup, milk. Notice: no sugar!

かようび の きゅうしょく

kayōbi no kyūshoku

Tuesday’s school lunch

給食　きゅうしょく　kyūshoku

すいようび の きゅうしょく

suiyōbi no kyūshoku

Wednesday’s school lunch

給食　きゅうしょく　kyūshoku

Have you noticed that every day the students have soup of some sort? That’s because research has shown that soup is easier to break down in the stomach and it does so more slowly. Students won’t feel so hungry so soon. Again: no added sugar! How great is that for children!

もくようび の きゅうしょく

mokuyōbi no kyūshoku

Thursday’s school lunch

給食　きゅうしょく　kyūshoku

きんようび の きゅうしょく

kinyōbi no kyūshoku

Friday’s school lunch

給食　きゅうしょく　kyūshoku

We’ll just start on another week’s lunch:

げつようび の きゅうしょく

getsuyōbi no kyūshoku

Monday’s school lunch

給食　きゅうしょく　kyūshoku

かようび の きゅうしょく

kayōbi no kyūshoku

Tuesday’s school lunch

給食　きゅうしょく　kyūshoku

すいようび の きゅうしょく

suiyōbi no kyūshoku

Wednesday’s school lunch

給食　きゅうしょく　kyūshoku

Do we see some repetition here?

もくようび の きゅうしょく

mokuyōbi no kyūshoku

Thursday’s school lunch

給食　きゅうしょく　kyūshoku

That’s a boiled egg on the left there – all prepacked.

きんようび の きゅうしょく

kinyōbi no kyūshoku

Friday’s school lunch

給食　きゅうしょく　kyūshoku

So there you have it: two weeks of school lunches in a Japanese primary school. All lunches have some rice prepared in a slightly different way. They all have a soup of some sort to help with the digestion. They all have an extra carton of milk. They all have some meat or fish to supplement. They all have some vegetables and pickles and it all fits on an easy tray to make distribution in class easy.

いただきます！

itadakimasu!

Enjoy your meal!

給食　きゅうしょく　kyūshoku

The photos were provided by S. Lowry, Japan. We are most grateful for his efforts.

Grace’s favourite Japanese lunch

Nicole’s soba noodles lunch そば

そば　soba

そば　soba

そば　soba

そば　soba

そば　soba

そば　soba

Madi’s Japanese lunch

Arriving in Shin-Kobe 新神戸到着

新神戸駅

しんこうべえき

Shin Kōbe Eki

Shinkansen Kōbe Station

Bullet-train Kōbe Station

Shinkansen Kōbe Station is about half-way between Hakata 

(= Fukuoka City in Kyushu)) and Tokyo, the capital city of Japan

新幹線乗り場

新幹線のりば

しんかんせんのりば

shinkansen noriba

Shinkansen entrance to the trains

  

  

It is so beautifully organised, you just cannot go wrong

  

新神戸駅

しんこうべえき

Shin Kōbe Eki

Shinkansen Kōbe Station

Bullet Train Kōbe Station

Important:

Shin-Kōbe Station is high up in the hills, quite a way away from Kōbe Station, which is downtown. Shin in this context means Shinkansen, which means bullet train. People who arrive on the bullet train in Kōbe still need to get down to the city. Mind you, there is plenty of transport – very convenient.

view from the station towards the city further down the hill

Obento Lunch Box

Things you could say about one type of lunch:

at NCEA Level 1

Delicious lunch おいしいおべんとう

Delicious lunch  おいしいおべんとう

Delicious lunch  おいしいおべんとう

Delicious lunch  おいしいおべんとう

Delicious lunch  おいしいおべんとう