Japanese Bento

Remember the days when you had to bring lunch to school? I vividly remember my 'lunchbox days'...carrying my Ninja Turtle lunchbox to preschool was the coolest thing ever (Oh yes, I was obsessed with the red one).

In Japan, "bento" or "lunch boxes" can be very elaborately arranged in a style called kyaraben or "character bento". Kyaraben is typically decorated to look like popular Japanese cartoon characters (anime), characters from comic books (manga), or video game characters.

Below are some awesome Japanese Bento that I've collected from the web..and here are some of my favorites. Enjoy!