The New Joy of Ekiben

Our company was founded as a bento shop in 1885, the same year the Shin-etsu Main Line's Yokokawa Station opened. However, before our founding, we actually started by running a hot spring inn in an area near Karuizawa called Kirizumi Onsen.

That area flourished as a post town on the Nakasendo, one of the five major highways. In the Meiji era, when transportation was changing significantly, Taro Katsura—who later became Prime Minister—happened to stay with us and shared information about the upcoming opening of the railway (Shin-etsu Line). My ancestors decided to start a business in front of Yokokawa Station, and that's how our ekiben shop began.

In the beginning, it wasn't 'Kamameshi.' We started by wrapping two rice balls and two slices of pickled radish in bamboo skin.

Our company began when Hisayuki Kubo, who was the fourth stationmaster of the original Yokohama Station (now Sakuragicho Station), received the rights to operate within the station upon his retirement.

It was like a modern-day Kiosk, selling things like milk, cider, tobacco, and mochi. There were food items, but it was questionable whether they could be called 'ekiben' yet. At the time, it seems they were sold by vendors walking around, much like vendors at a baseball stadium.

We also originally operated an inn called Abe Ryokan. In 1903, when Mori Station on the Hakodate Main Line opened, we started our bento business at the same time.

Later, we closed the inn business and focused solely on bento from 1941. That was when we started selling 'Ikameshi' (squid stuffed with rice), and we've continued that way to this day.

It's the same for us, starting ekiben from the inn business. As Mr. Nonami mentioned, obtaining the in-station business rights to start is also exactly the same as our company. It seems obtaining those rights was quite a challenge.

It seems we also obtained ours when Mori Station opened.

Later, in the Taisho era, a plan arose to build a new Yokohama Station (the current Yokohama Station) between Yokohama and Hiranuma Stations, and to close Hiranuma Station.

At the time, there was a shop called Toyoken at Hiranuma Station, and another company also applied for sales rights at the new Yokohama Station. The Tokyo Railway Bureau, which received the applications, made it a condition that the three companies manage the business jointly. Thus, in 1915, coinciding with the opening of the current Yokohama Station, the Kiyoken anonymous association was launched. Shortly after, my great-grandfather, Shigekichi Nonami, became the manager.

Our company opened in 1885, but we didn't start selling 'Kamameshi' until 1958.

That's quite a long gap.

That's right. It seems a lot happened during that time.

After World War II ended, amidst severe shortages of goods, the shop was practically closed. Bento didn't sell at all, and the management was in a very difficult situation.

Yokokawa is a small station sandwiched between two large stations—Karuizawa and Takasaki. People would buy their bento at those larger stations. Realizing we couldn't go on like this, my grandmother, Mineji Takamizawa, came up with the idea for 'Kamameshi.'

Actually, my grandmother had married into the family and became the fourth-generation head, but her husband, the third-generation head, passed away at the age of 34. Facing the double blow of financial hardship and the loss of her husband, she tried to create a bento that would sell so that Oginoya wouldn't go under.

That is a tremendous display of will.

Since bento were selling well in Takasaki and Karuizawa, she knew there was demand. She decided it was better to create something unique and went around asking customers for their opinions. She heard people say, "I want to eat a warm bento."

At the time, Makunouchi bento were the mainstream, and they were the same everywhere. Keeping them warm was very difficult. During her trial and error, one day a supplier brought over a ceramic pot (kama). Since ceramics have high heat retention when heated, she thought that if she packed the bento in these pots, she could realize a warm meal. That's how 'Kamameshi' was born.

She also asked customers about the ingredients and worked through trial and error to create a simple, home-style taste. To add unique features, much like Kiyoken, she included things like apricots and chestnuts—initially using ingredients harvested locally.

Has the shape of the pot remained unchanged from the beginning?

There have been some minor changes, but basically, it has stayed in this shape. However, it didn't start selling immediately after launch. Because the ceramic was heavy and the price was high, it seems the national railway initially wouldn't grant permission to sell it.

At the time, other bento were 80 yen, but based on cost calculations, we couldn't break even unless it was 120 yen. They told us we couldn't sell something so expensive, so it took time to get permission. Also, because it was heavy, the vendors didn't want to sell it at first.

But one day, about six months after the launch, it was featured in a magazine article and suddenly started selling. It was a very small column, but being introduced there set it off, and production couldn't keep up with the demand.

"Ikameshi" was created in 1941. During the war, the previous owner's wife saw soldiers heading toward the garrison in Asahikawa in the north who were very hungry. She wanted to fill their stomachs with something and invented 'Ikameshi.'

The previous owner was my father's uncle. It's unthinkable now, but at the time, there was a massive surplus of squid at the seaside by Mori Station. To figure out what to do with this squid, they first tried stuffing it with Hokkaido corn or potatoes and simmering it. Ultimately, the most delicious version—and the one that was cheapest and most filling—was 'Ikameshi' made with a blend of glutinous rice and regular rice. That was the beginning of making 'Ikameshi' for the soldiers.

Did Abe Shoten create Ikameshi itself first?

Yes. It seems the idea of stuffing something into squid and simmering it existed in Hokkaido, but there wasn't anything that used rice, especially glutinous rice.

"Shiumai" went on sale in 1928; before that, we sold very ordinary products. As you know, Yokohama is a city that grew from the opening of the port at the end of the Edo period. It had no long history and no local specialties.

After the Great Kanto Earthquake, Shigekichi Nonami thought he had to offer something unique. He saw the shao mai served in Yokohama's Nankingai (now Chinatown) and thought he could adapt them.

So, he scouted a dim sum chef named Wu Yusun from Nankingai, and in 1928, they completed 'Shiumai' that tasted good even when cold. They made them bite-sized so they wouldn't spill even inside a swaying train.

Did they sell well from the start?

No, at first, people thought it was just the president's hobby. He even scattered free coupons from an airplane (laughs) in an attempt to sell 'Shiumai,' but it just wouldn't catch on.

After the war, he saw beautiful women distributing Peace cigarettes in Ginza and thought it was interesting. At the time, work inside station premises involved carrying heavy things, so it was a man's job. In 1950, he changed the sales style to have female vendors called 'Shiumai Girls' sell them, and that's when it started to take off.

Then, in Shishi Bunroku's newspaper novel 'Yassa Mossa,' a Shiumai Girl appeared as the heroine. Thanks to that being made into a movie, the name Shiumai spread all at once.

It wasn't until 1954, 26 years after we started selling Shiumai, that it took the form of the 'Shiumai Bento.'

Shiumai served in restaurants are best when freshly made and steamed; they themselves taste bad when cold. As mentioned earlier, since our business cannot serve them freshly made, it was vital to create Shiumai that remained delicious even after time had passed and they had cooled down.

Kiyoken's Shiumai have something unique about them.

We haven't changed the scallop ingredients at all. We use various cuts of pork, so there are differences between the parts. By mixing them, we create a uniform state.

Nowadays, other places sell Shiumai with dried scallop mantle, but at the time, making them with a mix of pork and dried scallop mantle was apparently new. That good blend seems to have been the secret to making them delicious even when cold.

Exactly. We also create our products by working backward, assuming they will be eaten cold. I believe being 'delicious even when cold' is a minimum requirement for a bento.

"Ikameshi" is also delicious when cold. I always say that.

It seems 'Ikameshi' became a topic of conversation among soldiers during the war, but it became particularly popular after the war.

Mori Station is really in the middle of nowhere. I think the reason the 'Ikameshi' brand has remained so deeply rooted since then is actually thanks to there being nothing else. Because people have no choice but to buy 'Ikameshi' (laughs).

In our case, the biggest event was the closure of the Shin-etsu Main Line between Yokokawa and Karuizawa in 1997 due to the opening of the Nagano Shinkansen (now the Hokuriku Shinkansen). Because of this, 99.9% of our station sales disappeared.

We had already been operating drive-ins and providing for people traveling by car, so we were somehow able to survive. Therefore, rather than just 'ekiben,' we now view them as bento for enjoying a journey.

Initially, we expanded mainly around Gunma and Nagano, but recently we've established sales locations in Tokyo and sell at ekiben fairs. We are constantly thinking about how to exist between the 'ordinary' and the 'extraordinary.'

I want people to enjoy ekiben by providing something that gives them that special feeling of going on a trip—that feeling of wanting to eat something different even in their daily lives.

We are similar in terms of having a sense of crisis. In the past, we operated with rights from the national railway to sell inside the station, but in 1934, the national railway created a subsidiary to sell inside stations. We wondered what to do, and after that, we were allowed to open shops in department stores and shopping centers attached to stations.

We moved from doing business inside the ticket gates to jumping outside the gates. We were able to successfully turn a crisis into an opportunity.

We have a spot in Tokyo Station called 'Ekiben-ya Matsuri,' but our main sales are at department store food fairs. In reality, I wonder if even 10 boxes a day sell at Mori Station now. But if we don't sell there every day, our trademark will be taken away (laughs).

It's an era where people have stopped buying at stations to that extent. I think my friends in their 20s hardly care whether it's an ekiben or not. I've been selling ekiben since I was little, almost like a game, though.

From about what age?

From about age eight. I still remember the sight of many people getting off the train during a one-minute stop at the station, with only those who could make it in time being able to buy. Now, we only do that in the summer using high school students for part-time jobs; the old scene that could be seen year-round is gone.

Many people who come to department stores are older, so they often stop and tell me stories about the old days at Mori Station, but I have no idea what they're talking about even when I listen (laughs).

It's true that at department stores, there are people who talk very happily about how things were at Yokokawa in the past.

Our company also has very low penetration among the generation born after the Yokokawa-Karuizawa section of the Shin-etsu Line was gone. We are doing various things to address this, and a prime example is our partnership with Lawson. We are getting our name known through things like onigiri bento under the label 'Supervised by Toge no Kamameshi Honpo Oginoya.'

Since 2017, we've had a presence in GINZA SIX. We are actively promoting the existence of this kind of travel enjoyment as ekiben culture, in a way that catches the eye of international visitors. Foreigners always take those pots home; I guess they find them interesting.

Our business area covers Tokyo and four surrounding prefectures—the entire southern Kanto metropolitan area—and we operate within a range where we can continue to say 'Yokohama.'

International visitors don't really place value on things being 'delicious even when cold.' People on shopping sprees arrive at the shop by bus in a swarm and touch everything. They're like, "Is this warm?" and then, "What, it's not warm?" before moving on to the next shop (laughs).

At that time, I thought maybe I should sell things that are delicious when warm. But even with sushi, people used to say, "Is it okay to eat raw fish?" and now it has spread as a culture all over the world.

Thinking about it that way, since so many international visitors are coming, I believe that if they understand that 'bento that are delicious even when cold' is a part of Japanese culture, it will surely spread.

I went to Singapore recently, and it seems people in Southeast Asia are a bit more familiar with the seasoning of 'Ikameshi.'

I've been saying let's go to Europe, but it seems they dislike squid and octopus and won't eat it unless it's fried calamari. To people overseas, 'Ikameshi' apparently looks grotesque because it's in the shape of the squid itself (laughs).

It doesn't make people go 'Wow, it's Japanese!' like 'Kamameshi' does. It doesn't even look like a typical bento. So, I think I have to use a slightly different strategy than spreading it to people overseas as a traditional Japanese ekiben.

What kind of things are you thinking of?

For the younger generation, SNS has the most influence. Also, I personally don't refuse any opportunities to appear in media like TV and magazines.

I think the power of media is significant, so I want to share more of that through SNS. People overseas are watching that too. I believe that is my mission.

For us, I think it's a big deal that people know the melody of our commercial, 'Oishii Shiumai Kiyoken.'

Basically, our stance is not to spend on advertising costs but to try to get featured in various media. Recently, the most talked-about topic was 'being particular about the order in which you eat a Shiumai Bento.' Also, at our directly managed restaurants, we do a 'Jumbo Shiumai Cut' where we cut a large Shiumai, and these things get picked up by the media.

Our company has also long held the view that if we have money for advertising, we should use it to build a hygienic environment, so we don't run aggressive advertising campaigns.

However, in this day and age, if you aren't featured, you'll be forgotten. To maintain a presence amidst the overwhelming amount of information, we are moving forward with various collaborations.

One that became a hot topic was a collaboration with 'Initial D,' a manga by Shuichi Shigeno about cars racing on mountain passes set in Gunma Prefecture. It's a story about street racers, and our company appears in it by its real name. The author apparently really likes our 'Kamameshi,' so we made a special version where the 'Kamameshi' wrapping paper featured the 'Initial D' manga.

When we did that, fans came looking for it. It became a topic of conversation, and while a Kamameshi is currently 1,080 yen, a single piece of this wrapping paper is being traded online for 3,000 or 4,000 yen. It's completely detached from railways now (laughs).

That's true.

On the other hand, regarding railways, this year marks the 20th anniversary of the opening of the "Usui Pass Railway Heritage Park," which was created after the section between Yokokawa and Karuizawa was discontinued. To commemorate this, original design wrapping papers featuring characters from the light novel "Usui, Her, and the 63," set at Usui Pass, were sold. Some enthusiasts come specifically looking for these.

Lately, the thing we've been playing around with the most is "Hyo-chan." That was really a stroke of luck. It used to be just a plain, featureless soy sauce container, but in 1955, the manga artist Ryuichi Yokoyama said, "Let's give it some eyes and a nose," and that's how it was born.

There are so many varieties, aren't there?

There are two sizes, large and small, but in the standard version, there are 48 varieties based on the 48 characters of the Iroha syllabary.

Recently, we've been getting many offers for collaborations using Hyo-chan. Most recently, we worked with the local Yokohama F. Marinos, and last year was our 110th anniversary, so since 110 is the emergency number for the police, we collaborated with the Kanagawa Prefectural Police to create "Police Hyo-chan" wearing a police uniform.

In 2015, Hyo-chan turned 60. At that time, we made a Hyo-chan wearing a red "chanchanko" (vest), and since that alone was a bit boring, we also made a golden Hyo-chan. Since it was a bit expensive to produce, we couldn't put them in every box; we included them at a ratio where you wouldn't find one even if you bought all the shiumai delivered in a single day to our best-selling shop. Even so, some customers said they would keep buying and eating until they found one.

We haven't changed the design of the Ikameshi wrapping paper for a long time. We haven't changed the size of the contents either. People often say, "It's gotten smaller," but I tell them, "It's just that you've grown up" (laughs).

My father has always told me, "Never change it." It might not look like it would fill you up, but our selling point is that you'll be full after eating it because it's packed tightly into this size.

I have no intention of changing the size or the packaging in the future. It has an old-fashioned look, but conversely, young people seem to think it's retro and cute.

Right now, I'm also working as a basketball reporter, so recently I've been selling them at basketball venues. When I do that, thousands of people coming to watch the game come all at once. I want to spread the word in places like that where we haven't gone before.

Just like how rugby is getting exciting now, sports are really powerful. I secretly hope that the idea of "Ikameshi for watching basketball" will take root.

Is Mori Station the only place where "Ikameshi" is made?

It's all live cooking demonstrations. Even at department store fairs, artisans go there each time and stuff the rice into raw squid on the spot.

There's also the problem that those artisans might disappear in the future. We have about 20 artisans now, and they travel all over the country to make them. They can't go home for about six months. The youngest is in their 40s, and being in their 60s is common.

They are all tough, determined women. My biggest worry right now is what to do when they are gone.

Since the seasoning is also done on the spot by the artisans, sometimes it's sweet or salty. But I think the fact that the taste is different every time, like home cooking—that it's "that person's flavor"—is good because people don't get tired of it. Some Ikameshi fans even tell us, "I like the flavor made by that specific person."

Our company also has established recipes, but the artisans cook based on their own senses without looking at the recipes. When I'm in Yokokawa, I do a tasting every morning, and the seasoning is subtly different depending on the person. But as long as it falls within a certain average range, I consider it okay.

Occasionally, there are people who notice those changes. We have factories in Yokokawa and at the Suwa store, and when someone says, "The taste is different at the Suwa store," it gives me a start, but in a way, it's also gratifying.

The current Kamameshi is available in paper containers, isn't it?

It's a very light container called pulp mold. The reason we made this was because of opinions, especially from women, that the ceramic pots were heavy and they didn't like carrying them.

It's not a problem when selling in Gunma or Nagano, but we created it because of feedback from customers at event stalls who didn't want to buy Kamameshi because they didn't want to carry it home, and from bus tour passengers who found it difficult to dispose of the ceramic pots after eating on the bus.

We get scolded by people saying, "This isn't Kamameshi anymore," but since Kamameshi was originally created based on customer feedback, we felt we should make it if there were such voices.

The material isn't just paper; it's environmentally friendly, recycling industrial waste like bamboo skin and sugarcane bagasse. It even won a Good Design Award in 2013.

You still sell the ceramic ones too, right?

Yes, we do. However, in Tokyo, the pulp mold containers sell overwhelmingly better. The choice is completely different depending on the customer demographic. Men overwhelmingly choose ceramic, but women go for the paper containers.

I think I'd prefer this (paper) one too.

I suppose it's a practical sense. Personally, I feel it tastes better in the ceramic pot. I think I'm experiencing the food with all five senses. The contents are exactly the same, though.

But in terms of numbers, the paper ones are selling more?

No, overall, the ceramic ones are still more numerous.

We haven't changed the wooden part called "kyogi," but the Yokohama scenery depicted on the top packaging has changed slightly over time.

Continuing to use the wooden "kyogi" containers is part of our commitment to taste. I believe such investment is necessary to ensure it tastes good even when cold.

The contents of the Shiumai Bento have actually changed a bit over the long years. For a period, we used cherries instead of apricots. Fried chicken was once fried shrimp. However, I believe the current form is the most beloved, so I intend to keep it that way without further changes.

What has changed since we officially started selling Kamameshi are actually the quail eggs and green peas.

Before quail eggs, we used shredded egg crepes for color. However, eggs can develop bacterial growth over time, which was an issue when participating in ekiben fairs, so we switched to quail eggs.

For the green peas, we used to use snow peas, also for color, but we switched to green peas which are easier to handle. Other than that, while the origins of the ingredients have changed, the seasoning and the contents themselves basically haven't changed.

Do you ever change the contents of "Ikameshi"?

I was just listening and thinking how envious I am that you've changed things (laughs).

Are there no variations at all?

When we do events at Keio Department Store, we might do something like "Scallop Ikameshi, limited to 50 units" with scallop adductor muscles inside, but that's about it.

Partly due to space issues, basically nothing changes.

In that case, it's more like you derive different products from "Ikameshi."

Right now, we're doing "Ikameshi Croquettes," and they're quite popular. They might even be more popular than the Ikameshi itself (laughs).

Inside the Danshaku potato, there's both squid and rice, and since it's seasoned with Ikameshi sauce, you don't need any extra sauce; you can taste the Ikameshi directly in a croquette. They're even more popular overseas. There are even lines for them at festivals in Yoyogi Park.

So you're not deep-frying the Ikameshi itself?

That's right. It's a normal Danshaku potato croquette seasoned "Ikameshi-style," with a bit of rice and chunks of squid inside.

Battering and frying the Ikameshi itself sounds like it would be delicious too, though.

I often get asked, "Is the Ikameshi fried?" I do want to create more new products during my time.

Our company also operated on the principle that "Kamameshi must not be changed," but since I took over, I've actually started creating various variations.

For example, during the autumn season, the most expensive one is the 6,660 yen Matsutake Kamameshi offered at GINZA SIX. This contains 1.5 to 2 domestic matsutake mushrooms, so it's actually a good deal.

That's amazing.

We sell one or two by reservation. We also use special pots or release versions that are slightly different.

Lately, with the focus on "experience-based consumption," we've been creating products to match certain events.

For example, in 2017, Shota Horie, a player for the Japan national rugby team, said he loved Kiyoken and wanted to eat even more, so we created and sold a "Mega Shiumai Bento" that was 1.5 times the size. We are selling this for a limited time during this Rugby World Cup.

I tell them not to change the contents of the Shiumai Bento itself. Regarding the packaging, we get requests to change the wrapping paper of the Shiumai Bento, but we don't change it. Instead, we propose other lunch boxes where that kind of playfulness is possible.

We used to sell "Ikameshi" at the Kiosk inside Mori Station, but now it's only sold at a shop called Shibata Shoten just outside the station.

But if you ask to just buy Ikameshi, they'll let you out through the ticket gate, right?

Yes. There's nothing else to eat there anyway (laughs). I check when railway enthusiasts post about it every day on blogs or social media. But I wonder what will happen in 30 or 40 years, even if those people continue.

I believe that as long as the memory of having a lunch box made by their mother in elementary or junior high school remains with children, the culture of lunch boxes that taste good even when cold will remain in this country.

I think the number of foreigners eating ekiben on the Shinkansen is increasing. When I'm on the Hokuriku Shinkansen, I see people from many different countries eating them.

In some ways, foreigners seem to know more about these kinds of Japanese pastimes than Japanese people do.

In my elementary school yearbook, I wrote that my dream for the future was to be the "3rd generation of Ikameshi." While everyone else wrote cute things like florist or baker, I was the only one (laughs).

I think I've felt that way since I was old enough to understand things, but to be honest, I didn't seriously intend to take over. But as an only daughter with no relatives around who seemed likely to take over, the thought of letting go of "Ikameshi" felt like having a sibling taken away.

It was about three years ago that I started being featured on TV variety shows as the "3rd generation Ikameshi heiress," but originally my father always told me I didn't have to take over.

He told me many times, "It's a man's world." But while continuing my work as a reporter and in the media, I want to keep wearing two hats for as long as I can. I want to protect Ikameshi as my own without giving up my hopes as a woman, like wanting to get married and have children someday.

Do you not make them yourself?

I've become able to do everything up to the seasoning. I was trained by those ladies. At first, it was so hard that I would cry my eyes out while touching the squid. I can't even do my nails. My hands are a mess. But I want to think positively and feel that this is something I can do precisely because I was born into this family.

I also didn't intend to take over at first, but since I'm doing it, I intend to thoroughly carry out the things that only I can do. Looking at history, things are rarely in a good state constantly, so the company must take on challenges. If you don't challenge yourself, you can't seize opportunities and things won't change. I use "Challenge, Chance, Change" like a motto.

I want to develop different things centered around "Kamameshi" and try new forms as well.

I feel strongly that our company is supported by the people of Yokohama. As I often say, Kiyoken is a company entrusted by the citizens of Yokohama with the manufacture and sale of "Shiumai" and "Shiumai Bento."

With that feeling, I want to continue "making ekiben" in the future.