I bought a bento box for dinner. I visited the store around 2:00 PM on a weekday. The store is located on the north-south free passage on the 2nd floor of Kyoto Station, next to the JR West Exit ticket office (south side). The front of the store is open, making it easy to enter. The store is spacious compared to other similar stores. Many customers were coming in one after another. Various bento boxes are displayed in the showcase, with samples and photos of the contents making it easy to understand. There were more bento boxes from neighboring prefectures than from Kyoto. I purchased the "Kakinoha Zushi Ajishichiro" for 1,050 yen (tax included) from Yamato in Gojo City, Nara Prefecture. I enjoyed it at home around 8:20 PM on the same day. The "Kakinoha Zushi Ajishichiro" contains seven types of kakinoha sushi (mackerel, salmon, shiitake mushrooms, blackthroat seaperch, sweet shrimp, minced chicken, sea bream), each one wrapped in a kakinoha leaf. Chopsticks and a hand towel were included. The sushi pieces are small and cylindrical, with toppings on top and wrapped in a kakinoha leaf. There was a hint of kakinoha leaf fragrance in the sushi. All seven types were light in flavor, but with different ingredients, so it was not boring to eat. I personally enjoyed the stronger flavors of mackerel, salmon, shiitake mushrooms, sweet shrimp, and minced chicken.

I had a rare hit bento experience! A well-established station bento shop created a "Winter Taste" bento that is like a collection of side dishes from other bentos. While there is no particular unique feature, it covers a variety of seasonal side dishes, all for 950 yen, which is quite a good deal! I had a meeting scheduled in Ishiyama, so I had to skip lunch. I planned to eat Kyoto ramen on my way back at Kyoto Station. However, the meeting ran longer than expected, so I decided to buy a bento at the station on my way back. I wasn't very familiar with Kyoto Station, so I decided to step out of the ticket gate to look for a bento shop. As I walked towards the Shinkansen ticket gate, I found a bento shop called "Tabibento Nigiwai," which looked like it was managed by JR. Since I only had 10 minutes left before my departure, I decided to buy the "Winter Taste" bento for 950 yen! It was quite a bargain for the amount and variety of food included. I also bought a highball. The catchphrase was "A compact bento with two servings of chicken soboro and egg rice, accompanied by our sukiyaki and vegetable stew." The "Winter Taste" bento is a creation of the long-established bento shop "Awajiya"! I have eaten Awajiya's bentos many times before. It is said that the first bento in Japan started in Kobe in the 10th year of the Meiji era. In the 36th year of the Meiji era, Awajiya began selling bentos. Since then, Awajiya has been reigning as the face of Kobe station bentos. The birthplace of Awajiya station bentos is Kobe, where the history of station bentos began. The history of Awajiya is synonymous with the history of station bentos. Awajiya's bentos spread as Kobe's station bentos. When I opened the bento on the Shinkansen, it was a colorful array of side dishes that you wouldn't expect for 950 yen. The bento seemed to have reused side dishes from other winter bentos rather than being specially made for the "Winter Taste" bento. Perhaps that's how they achieved a luxurious yet affordable bento. The contents are as follows: grilled salmon, beef sukiyaki, tamagoyaki, ganmodoki stew, simmered beans, eringi and scallion salad, kinshi tamago with chicken soboro rice, simmered daikon with burdock, quail egg stew with rolled kelp, simmered carrots with shiitake mushrooms, pickled lotus root, boiled green beans, and more. The flavors are relatively mild overall, but the rice and sukiyaki are well-seasoned, providing a good balance. The salt-grilled salmon is small but thick and satisfying to eat. The tamagoyaki and simmered beans were extravagant and delicious! My favorite was the chicken soboro and kinshi tamago rice. Delicious! Awajiya truly did a great job.

I visited in September 2022. The location is in the Kyoto Station concourse. They have items that you can't find at the station bento shops. They specialize in offering Peach Boy bento, which is only sold in Okayama Prefecture, and retort food from Himeji Station's station soba. I heard that they have Shinkansen bento at the station bento shops in Kyoto Station because it's summer vacation, so I decided to check it out. I purchased the Doctor Yellow Shinkansen bento for 1380 yen and the Nozomi Shinkansen bento for 1300 yen. Both are not only cute in appearance but also deliciously made. The containers can also be reused. I highly recommend it.

I bought a bento box at Kyoto Station. I chose the "Summer Color Bento" for 1150 yen, while my companion chose the "Crab Rice Two-Tiered Bento" for the same price. Depending on the bento you choose, it can be hit or miss. It's worth trying different options. Unfortunately, mine was a miss, but my companion seemed to enjoy theirs.

The order is always out of order. Suddenly, this trip will be the last one. I bought a Shinkansen ticket and came back the same way to buy a bento here. It was past 5 pm. There were various bentos lined up, but the ones with cheaper prices were visibly sold out. The ones priced around 1,000 yen were still available. I understand that feeling. I found a delicious looking bento and purchased it. It was the "Rokko Mountain Traverse Bento" (680 yen including tax). I opened it on the Shinkansen. The wrapping gave a nice feeling of traveling. Cleaning up afterwards was easy, so I folded it up and took it home. It contained two rice balls and various attractive side dishes. I left only the chicken, which I don't like, and enjoyed the rest.

■Visit Date: July 24, 2021■Items Received・Takomeshi with Danjyu (Me)・Anagomeshi (Wife)■MEMOVisited on July 24, 2021. After receiving my second dose of the COVID vaccine, I decided to stop by before catching the train. Living in Kyoto, I rarely have the chance to buy station bento boxes in Kyoto. Today, I wanted to take it easy after getting vaccinated, so I chose to visit here. I got Takomeshi with Danjyu, while my wife got Anagomeshi. My wife's Anagomeshi was quite substantial, with chopped conger eel and a sauce to pour over it. She said it was delicious. As for me, I had a hard time deciding but ended up choosing Takomeshi with Danjyu. It came in a sturdy bento box with Takomeshi and side dishes. The Takomeshi in the lower tier was delicious. I'm always impressed by the quality of modern station bento boxes. The upper tier had simmered beef, simmered vegetables, salmon, and rolled omelette, offering a colorful and well-balanced meal. It was a delightful experience enjoying delicious station bento boxes at home. I look forward to trying other bento boxes if I have the chance.■Bloghttps://ay-style.net/

I visited Kyoto on a weekend in November. I was captivated by the beautiful scenery of Arashiyama and the stunning display of kimonos at Bishamon-do, Jisso-in, and Enkou-ji. Before leaving Kyoto, I stopped by a specialty bento shop along the Kyoto Station North-South Free Passage to find some snacks for the train ride. The shop had a wide variety of bento boxes lined up, all looking delicious. After much deliberation, I decided to purchase the "Kani Meshi Nidanjuu" for 1,100 yen and boarded the train. The famous bento shop "Awaji-ya" known for their "Hippari Dako Meshi" at Kobe Station had packed the bento in a sturdy plastic two-tiered box. When I opened it, the top tier contained dishes like beef stew, sweet potato simmered in syrup, lotus root simmered in soy sauce, and taro simmered in soy sauce, all with a comforting taste. On the other hand, the bottom tier held the luxurious "Kani Meshi" with large crab claws proudly topping the dish. The rice, generously mixed with snow crab meat, had an exceptional flavor even when cold. I was momentarily enchanted by the deliciousness of the crab-infused rice. While convenience store bento boxes are popular these days, the taste of traditional bento shops is incomparable. This experience once again made me realize that.

There is a station bento shop in the concourse of Kyoto Station that accepts GOTO Travel electronic coupons! ● Kyoto-style dashimaki and gyusuki juu 1080 yen A bento supervised by a kaiseki restaurant in Sanzen-in, made by Minamiyo-ken, a company in Kusatsu City, Shiga Prefecture. They not only make station bento, but also various other bento boxes. The dashimaki tamago is fluffy and has a strong dashi aroma. When you bite into it, the dashi juices out, making it juicy and delicious. It is truly the best egg dish in a bento box! The domestic beef gyusuki is also delicious, with a small but tender and elegant sweetness, perfectly balanced with soy sauce without any greasiness even when cold. The yuba ohitashi with Kyoto pickles and sansho pepper seeds is a perfect palate cleanser. The overall portion is just right, and I was completely satisfied with this bento. It deserves a very high score in the history of station bento! I arrived early at Kyoto Station, had a long wait, and got hungry, so I ended up eating it on the bench in the waiting room on the Shinkansen platform haha. But since I just slept on the Shinkansen, my trip to Kyoto ended perfectly. (﹡ˆ﹀ˆ﹡)♡

On March 29, 2020, I purchased a bento box from Shimogamo Shrine and took a bus to Kyoto Station. It was quite crowded on the last Sunday of March, and I must admit that I wasn't practicing social distancing either. After that, I took a Shinkansen back home. The smoking cars on the Shinkansen have been abolished, so I no longer needed to make reservations in advance. I just reserved a seat after arriving at Kyoto Station. Now, what should I have for dinner? I couldn't think of any restaurants to eat at on the way home from Nagoya, and I didn't feel like going out once I got home. So, I decided to buy a bento box. There are various bento boxes from Kansai and Hokuriku regions available at "Travel Bento Ekiben Nigiwa Kyoto" shop. Since it was evening, some popular ekiben were already sold out, but there were still many options left. However, I had a strange preference that I wanted to buy a bento box specifically from Kyoto and not from other regions. It's like having a weird obsession with authenticity. I found the "Uzumasa Noriben" bento box for 870 yen (tax included). It is from a shop called "Hokusa" in Uzumasa, known for location catering and ekiben. Uzumasa is a famous filming location for movies and dramas. I bought this bento box and had it at home. The bento box included salmon, fried white fish, tempura chikuwa, tempura bell pepper, tamagoyaki, and lotus root kinpira. The salmon was delicious, but the rest... it wasn't a large portion, and compared to other bento boxes, it was more than double the price. Well, it's an ekiben, so I guess it can't be helped... However, after buying this bento box, I found a section with only bento boxes from Kyoto shops on the opposite side. Yeah, next time I'll take more time to explore before buying... Thank you for the meal.

During my stay in Kyoto, I had a one-day business trip to Himeji. I bought a bento box to eat on the Shinkansen on my way to Himeji. The bento box was from a specialty store located between the local train platforms and the Shinkansen platforms in the central and north-south passage of Kyoto Station. It cost 950 yen and was called "Kyotagaya Bento". It had a variety of colorful side dishes with Kyoto flavors. I chose this bento box for three reasons: 1. It was featured on a TV show called "Matsuko no Yoru". 2. I'm a sucker for anything labeled "limited to Kyoto Station". 3. It was one of the cheaper options at 950 yen. I finished my bento box and beer before arriving in Himeji. It was a satisfying meal.

I'm heading towards Toyama Prefecture (*´艸`*) I transferred at Kyoto Station and bought a bento box for the almost 2 and a half hour journey to Kanazawa ✨ There were many options to choose from, but I decided to get this one that looked delicious - Beef Sukiyaki and Dashimaki Tamago Bento for 850 yen (tax included). The meat was seasoned with a mild sweetness and had some slightly tough parts (´∀`;) Also, there were some white chunks of fat here and there, but I guess it's expected at this price point haha. The pickled vegetables were a nice palate cleanser. Surprisingly, the dashimaki tamago was really tasty ✨ It was gentle but had a strong flavor and there were 4 large pieces! It went well as a snack with beer ♡ If I have the chance, I'd like to try a different one next time. Bon appétit! (*˘︶˘人)

On the way back from Kyoto, I had station bento for lunch. There were many types of bento lined up at the store, creating a lively atmosphere. I chose the "Seared Steamed Anago Bento" that was placed right at the entrance without hesitation. When I opened the lid, two beautifully arranged anago eels were inside, accompanied by pickled vegetables. I poured the sauce, added wasabi, and enjoyed it. The taste was refreshing without the greasiness of eel, and the wasabi enhanced the refreshing flavor even more. It was quite satisfying. I enjoyed it with a Kirin beer. Good night!

I ate the Naniwa Ajiwai Makunouchi bento and Kyoto Beer Gold Ale on the return Shinkansen. It had a variety of ingredients and was perfect for snacking.

Ordered mentaiko mackerel sushi 8 pieces for 1188 yen. Couldn't find a Kyoto-style bento on the way back from Kyoto, so ended up going to the reliable Wakahiro. This time I went with mentaiko and it was delicious.

Excellent. Two distinct personalities are clearly great.

The hustle and bustle of Kyoto Station.