Depaato Matsuya Asakusa is famous for having the Tobu Asakusa Station inside the building. Although it had been missing for over 20 years, the "ekiben" (station bento) corner made a comeback last fall with a new store offering bento boxes from famous Asakusa establishments like Asakusa Imahan. On a morning when I was heading towards Gunma, I arrived at Matsuya Asakusa at 9:55 am to secure a ticket for the 10:20 am limited express train. Feeling a bit under the weather due to overindulging the night before, I still felt my "drinking train" spirit ignite when it came time to board the train. While I refrained from getting a bento, I did grab some canned beer and chuhai from the store on the 3rd floor and headed to the Tobu train platform. With some pocket shumai from Sakaiya on the basement floor of Matsuya, I popped open a can of beer. As Asakusa is known for A-brand beer, I opted for Kirin Ichiban Shibori. As I crossed the Sumida River, enjoying my "drinking train" experience, by the time I arrived at Kitasenju, I had finished my beer and moved on to the chuhai. It was a pleasant time enjoying the "drinking train" experience after a long while.

Yesterday, I purchased a Spacia X special bento at Asakusa Station, but there is another Spacia X bento available at the same station. Today, on 7/16, it was announced that this bento can be purchased at Tobu Store, so I bought it at the Tobu Store in Funabashi Hotei. The flyer mentioned that it would be available for sale at 9:00, but typically these things are put out for sale earlier, so I arrived at 8:30. Surprisingly, it was already displayed at 8:30. I managed to get it without any issues! The bento I purchased is called "Spacia X Bento," and it looks exactly like the Spacia X train. When you open it, you will find chicken rice, fried food, and a mini jelly inside. Specifically, it includes chicken rice, fried chicken, mini hamburger, mini hot dog, smile potato, tamagoyaki, and fruit jelly. Upon trying it, I found that the fried food tastes like frozen food, but the chicken rice is quite delicious. The chicken rice in this bento is tastier than the chicken bento at Tokyo Station. The price is 1980 yen, which seems a bit high considering the container cost. However, since it is only available for a short period, it is understandable. This bento is produced by Tobu Food Service, located at 1-1-2 Hanai, Noda City, Chiba Prefecture. When you look at the map, it is actually a business hotel affiliated with Tobu Food Service. I wonder if they make it at the hotel?

Today, a new limited express train called "Spacia X" (Tobu N100 series train) started operating on Tobu Railway. Unfortunately, I don't have a special express ticket so I won't be riding it today. However, starting from today, July 15th, a limited quantity and limited time premium bento boxes and sweets created by producers and food professionals along the Tobu Railway line are being sold at Asakusa Station. I went there and bought a bento box and sweets to try. First, let's talk about the "Spacia X Special Bento Box". The packaging is simple with no fancy decorations. When you open it, you'll see that it's divided into four sections, forming an "X". The contents include: 1. Tochigi Wagyu beef stewed rice by the long-established Western-style restaurant "Arizona Kitchen". 2. Premium Hana Chirashi with Nikko Yagisawa Farm's Nikko Tanada rice 'Tochigi no Hoshi', sweet simmered dried gourd, marinated salt koji of Nikko Kiyotaki Premium Yashio trout, salmon roe, radish, silk pods, and edible flowers. 3. Warm salad of Ebi Veg from Ebihara Farm, Moroccan green beans, Andes red, colorful carrots (subject to change depending on the season). 4. Roast beef of domestic beef with Sansho salt, Taguri hot spring white miso gratin, and yuzu pepper flavor. All this for 3300 yen, which seems a bit expensive. It would be more reasonable at 2200 yen. Also, the warm salad felt more like raw vegetables than a salad. One important point is that it would be better if chopsticks were included. Since these are sold at the station, people might eat them on the train, and not everyone carries chopsticks with them all the time. This bento box is manufactured by SANKO MARKETING FOODS. Next, the dessert "Tenku no Mizuumi" (Sky Lake). Compared to the bento box, it comes in a sturdy box. Inside, you'll find strawberries buried in jelly. Specifically, it includes summer ripe strawberries Natsutome from Okunikkou, Mizuumi jelly from Okunikkou Senjougahara, and white bean mousse. The water in the jelly is provided by Sanbonmatsu Chaya in Senjougahara. This costs 1500 yen, which also seems a bit high. It would be more reasonable at around 800 yen. This dessert is produced by Saito Shoji in Saitama City. In conclusion, I bought both but although they were tasty, the taste didn't quite match the price. It would be better if they were a bit cheaper.

Just by transferring to the Tobu Express, we went on a tour as visitors in Asakusa, indulging in various food stops. We had a sandwich and daily lunch at Kamiya Bar's restaurant, followed by a 10-piece sushi lunch at Maguro Jin. We were already full, but since we were in Asakusa, we decided to stop by Asakusa Imahan to buy a bento box. When we returned after just 5 minutes, we found that several beef bento boxes had been sold out in that short time. The restaurant was bustling with customers. We tried to visit other places, but they were also sold out. It's recommended to buy the bento boxes early since they sell out quickly. As for the price of 1080 yen, some may find it expensive for a simple bento box with rice and toppings. However, the taste of the food at Asakusa Imahan is exceptional. Despite the simple ingredients, the flavors are amazing. The sauce is delicious, and even the seemingly plain ingredients are well-cooked and flavorful. The bento box is worth the price for the quality of the food. Overall, it was a delightful dining experience, although we regretted overeating earlier in the day.

On this day, I decided to take the Tobu Limited Express to Aizu area after a long time, and I bought a bento box from this shop on the first floor of Asakusa Station. It is called "Oomatsuri" and they have a variety of famous bento boxes around here. I was torn between the Ningyocho Imahan Sukiyaki Bento (1,780 yen tax included) and the Asakusa Imahan Beef Bento (1,080 yen tax included) until the last minute. In the end, I chose the Ningyocho Imahan one, but I slightly regretted it. It's not that it wasn't delicious, but in terms of cost performance, I thought I should have gone with the Asakusa Imahan one. It comes with several large slices of meat and the sukiyaki sauce is served separately, which I think is a plus. However, I would have been happier if there was a bit more sauce to soak the rice. By the way, they do not accept credit cards. A foreigner was having trouble because of this.

This weekend, I decided to spend it in Nikko, so I took the Tobu Line from Asakusa. Due to the impact of the coronavirus, there was no onboard sales, so I bought a station bento before boarding. Since I was in Asakusa, I chose Imahan's sukiyaki bento. I was looking forward to lunchtime. The rice was a bit lacking, and it got cold and hard, which was a shame, but the meat was delicious. It was tender and there was a generous amount, so I was quite satisfied. I think it was around 1,650 yen. I wouldn't mind paying 2,000 yen if they could improve the quality of the rice. It's the rice that really makes a difference when it gets cold, right?