Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters

Take your next trip with Atlas Obscura!

Our small-group adventures are inspired by our Atlas of the world's most fascinating places, the stories behind them, and the people who bring them to life.

Visit Adventures
Trips Highlight
Macchu Picchu
Peru • 10 days, 9 nights
Peru: Machu Picchu & the Last Incan Bridges
from
Central Asia yurt night stars
Uzbekistan • 15 days, 14 nights
Central Asia Road Trip: Backroads & Bazaars
from
View all trips
Top Destinations
Latest Places
Most Popular Places Random Place Lists Itineraries
Add a Place
Download the App
Top Destinations
View All Destinations »

Countries

  • Australia
  • Canada
  • China
  • France
  • Germany
  • India
  • Italy
  • Japan

Cities

  • Amsterdam
  • Barcelona
  • Beijing
  • Berlin
  • Boston
  • Budapest
  • Chicago
  • London
  • Los Angeles
  • Mexico City
  • Montreal
  • Moscow
  • New Orleans
  • New York City
  • Paris
  • Philadelphia
  • Rome
  • San Francisco
  • Seattle
  • Stockholm
  • Tokyo
  • Toronto
  • Vienna
  • Washington, D.C.
Latest Places
View All Places »
Saquon Barkley Plaque
Kirkkasik Bedesten inside
Kirkkasik Bedesten
Someshwar Temple
Someshwar Temple
Grilled cheese and tomato soup are soulmates.
The Palisades Restaurant
Latest Places to Eat & Drink
View All Places to Eat »
The local catch is delicious fried as well.
Terry's of Charlevoix
Carlson’s Fishery is a Great Lakes institution.
Carlson’s Fishery
The Cathedral Café maintains the building’s original church exterior.
Cathedral Café
Exterior of the historic Dyffryn Arms pub.
Dyffryn Arms
Most of what’s on the menu here comes from Michigan.
The Glenwood
Recent Stories
All Stories Video Podcast
Most Recent Stories
View All Stories »
Siegfried Tieber specializes in sleight-of-hand magic using small objects, as well as mentalism, which gives the illusion of reading minds.
Does a Magician Really Never Reveal Their Tricks? AO Wants to Know.
12 days ago
Decoy’s wines reflect the terroir of California.
How a Wooden Duck Migrated From the California Wetlands to a Wine Label
15 days ago
There’s more to the French capital than the Eiffel Tower.
Dear Atlas: What Are Some Non-Touristy Things to Do in Paris?
18 days ago
The plants around Liz Dauncey in this photo are not poisonous, but many common garden and houseplants are.
Are Some of Your Favorite Houseplants Poisonous? AO Wants to Know.
25 days ago

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All Japan Tokyo Ekibenya Matsuri
Gastro Obscura

Ekibenya Matsuri

A railway station takeout shop sells boxed meals in containers shaped like trains and snowmen that hold the country’s abundant regional delicacies.

Tokyo, Japan

Added By
Rohini Chaki
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
An array of ekiben.   World Discovery / Alamy Stock Photo
An array of ekiben.   World Discovery / Alamy Stock Photo
The Daruma box.   coward_lion / Alamy Stock Photo
From afar, you wouldn’t know the culinary delights that await in the store.   World Discovery / Alamy Stock Photo
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

It’s always a festival (in Japanese, a matsuri) of feasts between tracks 6 and 7 at Tokyo Station. Here, at Ekibenya Matsuri, travelers bustle around choosing from nearly 200 different kinds of ekiben, portable meals meant for the Shinkansen bullet train and other local trains that set off from the cosmopolitan city’s central train station.

A portmanteau of eki (Japanese for "station") and ben (from the Japanese bento, meaning "boxed meal"), each ekiben holds bite-size holistic representations of Japan’s food culture, portioned out in compartments of beautifully designed bento boxes that resemble wrapped and string-tied gift boxes.

At each train stop in Japan Railways’ vast network, vendors sell ekiben containing the specialties of that particular region. In Hyogo prefecture, this might mean the hipparidako meshi ekiben: A rice, octopus, eel, and vegetables dish served in a miniature takotsubo, modeled on the traditional earthen pot designed to catch octopus in the area. At Shizuoka station, travelers might line up for the tai meshi, a locally popular dish of sea bream and rice. But circling the displays at Ekibenya Matsuri, one can find most of these region-specific novelties, stacked against one another in a single frenetic train station shop. The popularity of Ekibenya Matsuri, which sells over 10,000 ekiben daily, covers the cost of sourcing ekiben from all the prefectures of Japan.

Indulge your inner child with an ekiben shaped like a train. Or, take advantage of seasonal ekiben, made only with location-specific seasonal produce. Then there’s the high-tech self-heating ekiben, packaged in a box that heats up when a string is pulled. Or, you might keep it traditional, with the Daruma bento, packaged in a box that looks like Daruma, a doll meant to represent Bodhidharma, the founder of Zen Buddhism. The box has a slit at the mouth, and can be used as a coin bank, making it a lucky keepsake.

The average price of a box at Ekibenya Matsuri is about $10, and travelers will typically purchase several boxes for themselves and as gifts. Ask for a warmed bottle of miso soup when you pay, or grab a bottled matcha tea, or even single-serve bottles of wine, which they also sell. Travel through Japan’s culinary foodways with ekiben that look like boxes of jewels, as you traverse its beautiful landscape on your rail journey.

Related Tags

Train Stations Food

Know Before You Go

The store is located in the GRANSTA shopping area on the first floor of Tokyo Station, near the Yaesu Central Exit. It's open every day from 5:30 am to 11:00 pm.

Atlas Obscura Adventures

Hidden Japan: Sado Island, Nara & Kyoto

Explore a different side of Japan.

Book Now

Community Contributors

Added By

Rohini Chaki

Edited By

Fred Cherrygarden

  • Fred Cherrygarden

Published

July 3, 2019

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • https://matcha-jp.com/en/3653
  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rz4MCZ1ymrE
  • https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/japan-train-food
Ekibenya Matsuri
1-9-1 Marunouchi
Central Street 1 F, Chiyoda
Tokyo, 100-0005
Japan
35.682159, 139.768438
Visit Website
Get Directions

Nearby Places

Jan Joosten Memorial

Tokyo, Japan

miles away

Ikkoku Bridge Stone Marker for Lost Children

Tokyo, Japan

miles away

Intermediatheque

Tokyo, Japan

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Tokyo

Tokyo

Japan

Places 220
Stories 13

Nearby Places

Jan Joosten Memorial

Tokyo, Japan

miles away

Ikkoku Bridge Stone Marker for Lost Children

Tokyo, Japan

miles away

Intermediatheque

Tokyo, Japan

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Tokyo

Tokyo

Japan

Places 220
Stories 13

Related Stories and Lists

The Exquisite Boxed Meals of Japan’s Train-Station Kiosks

food

By Rohini Chaki

Related Places

  • Touge no kamameshi.

    Annaka, Japan

    Oginoya’s Kettle Rice Pottery

    This iconic “station bento” comes in an earthenware pot you can take home and repurpose.

  • Take some of Michigan’s produce home with you.

    Petoskey, Michigan

    American Spoon

    Stock up on superb sour cherry preserves made by hand in copper kettles.

  • The local catch is delicious fried as well.

    Charlevoix, Michigan

    Terry's of Charlevoix

    Line up for ample portions of freshly caught whitefish, walleye, and perch from the Great Lakes.

  • The Cathedral Café has been serving its community for more than 120 years.

    Fayetteville, West Virginia

    Cathedral Café

    Soak in the sacred vibes at this beloved food and coffee hangout inside a former church.

    Sponsored by West Virginia Department of Tourism
  • Most of what’s on the menu here comes from Michigan.

    Onekama, Michigan

    The Glenwood

    Savor Great Lakes produce, fish, and spirits at this local favorite in a century-old warehouse.

  • The beef, Guinness, and oyster pie sports a rich, flaky crust.

    London, England

    The Guinea

    Some of the best renditions of traditional British dishes can be found on the site of a 15th-century inn.

  • This may be the oldest pie in the world.

    St Helens, England

    St Helens 'Oldest Pie' at The Turks Head

    A fossilized pie discovered during renovations of a traditional English pub is now on display.

  • Obihiro, Japan

    Kofuku Train Station

    On an abandoned railway line, "happiness" station is still a popular destination for lovers.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.