I'm Biggie: avid cook, speedy lunch packer, mom in San Francisco, & former expat fluent in Japanese. 
Faux bento lunch with erasers
Today’s bento is a little hard to swallow, mainly because it’s full of tiny erasers, not food! I spied these in San Francisco’s Japantown and thought you all might get a kick out of them. See if you can find inarizushi, shumai dumplings, onigiri rice balls (both plain and grilled yaki onigiri), grilled fish, mini hot dogs, a quail egg, cherry tomato, strawberry, apple rabbit, corn dog (!) and a cup of tea (!). (Click on the photo for an annotated version with what’s what.)
My favorite is the apple rabbit, which reminded me of a big bowl I spotted at my son’s Japanese immersion preschool last month during prep for a school lunch. (As you may remember from my apple rabbit how-to, the final step is a soak in cold water to get the “ears” to curl up nicely.) The children usually bring their own bento lunches, but once a month parent volunteers get together to make a communal meal for all of the students. As you can see, apple rabbits were on the menu — classic children’s food in Japan.
For locals, I picked up the little bento eraser sets at Ichiban Kan dollar store for about US$1 per box, and then experienced classic bargain-hunter vindication when I saw the exact same thing for sale at Kinokuniya’s stationery store for US$4.15 each. Ha! Ichiban Kan rules. They also sell the erasers loose, so you can choose your favorites. (See the SF Bay Area shopping guide for bento gear.) (Disclaimer: I have no commercial affiliation with Ichiban Kan.)
FURTHER READING:
- Bento box song
- “Obento obento ureshiina” song
- Allergy restrictions in school lunchrooms
- Bentos & the picky eater
- Biggie’s list of top speed tips, tutorials and equipment reviews
February 6th, 2008 | Categories: SF Bay Area local, equipment, for kids | 
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February 6th, 2008 at 6:25 am
Oh my goodness these are just too cute! I love the Rabbit Apples and the Big Strawberry too. What a cool find.
February 6th, 2008 at 6:43 am
Ah yes, the chest thumping YES! of bargain-hunter vindication - a beautiful thing to be sure
So about Ichiban Kan - I’m compelled to ask … any word?
February 6th, 2008 at 8:12 am
Way too cute. When Ichiban Kan finally goes online (any word?), I’m in deep trouble lol. Although, I may check and see if our local Japanese grocery has them by some slim chance
February 6th, 2008 at 8:46 am
I have two small gift sized o-bentos that are filled with candy that has been shaped into food. So we have rice, some sushi bits, an umeboshi, dividers, umeboshi, real little soy-bottle and doll sized chopsticks. I just soooo get a kick out of it :).
February 6th, 2008 at 10:46 am
so cute! how much were they? we have some at our sanrio store here, but they’re like 8 bucks for a pack of 5 or so.
so expensive!
February 6th, 2008 at 12:09 pm
@1 from Nicole: I don’t usually buy many erasers anymore as I mostly use pens, but once I saw the bunny apples I couldn’t resist. The store also had little cherries on similar stems as the strawberry — adorable.
February 6th, 2008 at 12:11 pm
@2 from Lisa: I’m a little in the dumps about Ichiban Kan’s online store. I was there again last week and asked the manager for an update — they weren’t specific (*maybe* next month???) and said the date for opening it keeps getting pushed out.
February 6th, 2008 at 12:14 pm
@3 from mercury_chan: Definitely check your local Japanese stores for these and don’t wait on Ichiban Kan. I was there last week and asked about the date for opening their online store — they weren’t specific (*maybe* next month?) and said the date keeps getting pushed out. *sigh*
February 6th, 2008 at 12:15 pm
@4 from Jessika: I’ve seen those little bento candy sets before — very cute! The chopsticks sound irresistable…
February 6th, 2008 at 12:17 pm
@5 from vampyra1: They were US$1 (or $1.50?) for each little bento box filled with the eraser assortment. Sounds like your Sanrio store is working on the Kinokuniya pricing scheme!
February 6th, 2008 at 1:26 pm
yeah. i hardly buy anything there. we have decent japanese dollar stores here so i get bento gear from them. :)but $1 for those cute erasers are a steal! you can bento-fy your desk!!!
February 7th, 2008 at 12:03 am
This is all very japanese I keep telling myself when I stumble across a candy o-bento, or see an eraser bento or whatever, yet I can’t help myself just to walk on by ;). Usually I end up getting it. Doesn’t help the shortage of space
February 8th, 2008 at 5:31 pm
They are so funny! My kids would love them…
February 8th, 2008 at 7:26 pm
Haha I remember when I was little,
I had a chocolate cake eraser!
February 9th, 2008 at 4:01 am
@13 from Amber: Well, I had Bug use one for the first time yesterday after he got hold of a pencil and wrote all over the kitchen wall… I’m not sure he loves them anymore!
February 9th, 2008 at 4:02 am
@14 from Cindy: Ooh, a chocolate cake eraser? That sounds like something I would have loved as a child!
October 2nd, 2010 at 9:58 am
cool!! i love it!
October 2nd, 2010 at 10:03 am
THEY ARE SO, SO, SO COOL AND NEAT!!!!!!! I LOVE THEM AND WOULD LIKE MORE. I ALREADY HAVE 3 BOXES OF ERACER FOODS AND LOVE THEM ALOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
April 27th, 2013 at 7:01 am
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