Station bento reborn in unfamiliar milieux
Asahi
Part of the fun of train travel used to be the variety of food on offer.
At almost every rural station, platform vendors sold boxed meals of local delicacies.
Ekiben, as the take-away rail food is known, was like a culinary postcard. Whether it was the pickles or the sauce on the pork, something in the tray of goodies made it unique to the area.
Sadly, the movable feast of window-side dining has gone the way of steam whistles.
Many rural rail lines have closed, depriving ekiben makers of their customers. Besides, the windows on today's fast-moving trains don't even open.
The companies have found a new generation of customers at truck stops and expressway resting zones. But that hasn't been enough to stem the industry's decline.
Hoping to shore up sales, ekiben makers are focusing their promotion efforts at show-and-sale events at department stores and supermarkets that have drawn large crowds in recent years....the rest...
