I revamped my journal layout & userpics to try and encourage myself to post more! I'm also thinking of posting normal Blog stuff as well as just bento stuff- I have the bentolunch community where I post my bento pics, and as such I hardly ever post here anymore. Hmm.

The doll's festival was on Saturday. Mothers and daughters set up dolls in dioramas with sweets. You should have seen the amazing cakes on sale! I got this pop-up box of chocolates!

 

	My new bento!
	Inside! Nashi (Japanese pear) and a hello kitty cheese, mini mango pudding & spoon, nikuman (steamed meat dumpling) and cherry tomato/gouda cocktail skewers.
	Square watermelon! Just for fun :)

	Simple bento Rice with tamago furikake, a chicken drumstick, chips, parsley, banana chips and dried fruit.
	Cherries are in season! Japanese cherries (paler than American ones), chicken salad tortilla wraps, seafood stick, and tamagoyaki with ham in it. I bought it premade, can't say that I like the ham added to it.
	A mess of seasons! Instant ramen with leftover tempura kabocha. Autumn cake and summer cherries!
	Momiji cake These are a speciality of Hiroshima, but you can buy them everywhere. The cake is filled with sweet red bean paste, they are delish!

I haven't been posting many bentos lately as they have all been a bit dull! Hopefully this new book will give me some inspiration. It's blatantly aimed at mothers of elementary school children, but I never claimed to be a grown up!

New Bento Book! A little car made from a bread roll, too cute!	Instructions This page shows how to construct various packaging (including an onigiri packet) from an old milk carton!

Miffy Monday Left: two steamed gyoza, orange slices, panda filled with gyoza sauce, seafood sticks. Right: pasta with sauce & cheese.	Dinner from the same bento makings! On a Lilo & stitch kids plate (><)^
Last Firday's udon curry bento. Made with vermont curry, mmm. I love curry udon! I love curry anything!	Miffy box lid

Bento made on 666! The bento of the beast! I wish I had thought of that theme earlier, instead of going with Italian! Left: pasta with 3 bean & mushroom sauce Right: potato salad with mustard & cumin, tomato & vegeta ble bread.

Rushed Bento Mini homemade (and a little burnt!) Frankfurt pies, vits & calcium, macaroni, veg. Not pictured: green tea kitkat.

Ramune This is a Japanese favourite. A fizzy lemon drink (tastes a bit like a cross between Mitsuya Cider and soda water).	Inside the bottle. The glass bottle uses a marble as a stopper, rather than a screwtop lid.

	Vegetables and sweet potato cakes left: Boiled vegetables with carrot flowers. right: a potato sunfish and parrot, 2 sweet potato cakes and vits & calcium. With a banana.
	The outside. I included a green tea teabag and a melon flavoured panda chocolate lollipop!

I have been lax this week, and only just getting round to uploading my weekday bento pics.

Cute sauce bottles! 4 little bottles and a pipette for filling them!

....and I ended up buying bento stuff !

	Ichi-ni-san-shi Sports day begins with rajio taiso.
	Special sports day bento This obento cost 1,050 yen.
	Inside the bento On the right are two sushi rolls and above them are sushi rice with raw fish separated with bamboo leaves, I can't remember the name for this type of sushi though! Next to those are two more sushi wrapped in leaves so you can pick them up and eat them. On the left is shredded daikon, fish, chicken nugget, lemon, shrimp, pumpkin, carrot, konbu, aubergine and a meatball. I couldn't finish all of this bento! Too much food!
	Some of my students eating lunch in the shade.

Bento for Thurs 18/5/06 Hamutaro: Sliced grapes and tangerine, Blue: Banana chips, octopus cut sausage, cucumber. Seafood sticks & cucumber, macaroni cheese with onion and tomato.
packed to go!

	Tuesday 16/5 On the left- grapes and sliced orange. On the right- mini pizza made from 1/2 muffin, edamame, octo-sausage. Pork strips and cucumber, pig w/soy sauce.
	boxes

	Monday's lunch LEFT: Mini brown roll with half a hotdog, surrounded with cucumber slices. RIGHT: Octo-dog, steamed edamame, cherry tomatoes & seafood sticks.
	All wrapped up!
	banana & avocado smoothie I also made this tasty smoothie with an overripe avocado, 2 bananas and some gum syrup.

tako san

I like how the little legs open out while they cook. They taste much better cold though.

tako san packet tako san brand of pre-cut processed ham sausages

These sausages are pre cut into octopi. They even have little eye holes already, the ultimate timesaver! I bought them because a) I'm lazy, and b) they were on special offer for only 100 yen.

This bento business is getting out of control!

I went downtown today to see if I could pick up a gloomy bear for my boyfriend, and ended up in one of those teenybopper shops that sells everything kawaii....

I got a gloomybear for him, and er, a few things for myself!


Cute little hamutaro lunchbox


Two separate removable parts inside, for small eating days!



Oh how I love Lilo & Stitch! There were lots of Stitch bento boxes, luckily I didn't have a lot of cash on me or I'd have bought them all! As it was I settled for this one with two separate inner parts. It's larger than the hamutaro one.


And the best (and most expensive!) find of the day- Miffy bowl bento goodness!


There are two tiers, the bottom being the largest, and sealable with the white cover. There is an oval side dish and a sauce bottle too. And it came with recipes!


Side shot to show depth.


I'm really pleased with the Miffy one in particular, really versatile and when the weather gets hot and humid I can bring zaru soba (cold soba noodles with dipping sauce) to work! Mmmm!

Of course, now that I spent all that money on boxes, I can't afford any fancy food to put in them ! (><)