Gransta Tokyo have selected the best travel lunches for your next long train ride.
One of the many social etiquettes surrounding Japanese trains is to not eat food in them beyond simple light snacks to avoid affecting the comfort of your fellow passengers. However, there is an exception to this rule: Longer journeys, such as when on the bullet train. As travels on the bullet train and limited express trains can often take in excess of one hour, you might quite easily find yourself shooting past lunch time, so it’s a lot more acceptable to enjoy a meal on board. In fact, there’s even a whole subsection of Japanese cuisine that is dedicated to these particular journeys.
Ekiben (“station boxed lunches”) come in all shapes and sizes, and often highlight local foods from the area they were purchased in. Walk into most stores in a major station and you’re likely to be confronted with a wide assortment of mouth-watering meals, making your choice for lunch a difficult one. The staff at Gransta Tokyo, a shopping mall full of shopping and gourmet delights located within JR Tokyo Station, are confronted with this problem every single day. That’s why they’ve clubbed together to create a top ten list of the most recommended ekiben throughout all of the shops within the mall. A total of 614 people completed the following sentence to give everyone an honest and trustworthy selection to choose from: “If I were to buy an ekiben myself, it would be…”.
● 10th place – Umi no Sanshoku Cup (750 yen [US$5.10]) from TOUBEI (1F, Central Passage Area, Store 8)
● 9th place – Noriben Hizakurige (1,380 yen) from Hake Jouyu Noriben Yamanobori (B1, Station Zero, Store 44)
● 8th place – Yamagata-ken San Yukifuri Wagyu Obanazawa Sirloin Rib Roast Steak-juu (from 3,650 yen) from Niku Oroshi Kojima (First Floor [1F], Central Passage Area, Store 2)
● 7th place – Aka Renga Roast Beef Sushi (1,540 yen) from Izasa Chaya (B1, Station Zero, Store 28)
● 6th place – Gransta-gentei Go-shu Inari Tsumeawase (979 yen) from Mamedanuki (B1, Station Zero, Store 25)
● 5th Place – Tsubame-fuu Hamburg Steak Bento (1,930 yen)
Sold at: Ekiben Tsubame Grill (B1, Station Zero, Store 41)
Looking at the top five in more detail, this restaurant’s popular Tsubame-style Hamburg Steak is made from scratch right there in the station, starting with grinding the meat.
Staff comments:
“It’s amazing to be able to eat freshly made hamburg steak from the in-store kitchen right here in the station.”
“Really delicious and recommended.”
● 4th Place – Gransta Tokyo Sukiyaki Bento (2,592 yen)
Sold at: Asakusa Imahan (B1, Station Zero, Store 42)
This takes a store’s famous sukiyaki and puts it into a bento, featuring branded beef shoulder and a secret sukiyaki sauce to create a meal that allows you to fully enjoy the taste of the meat.
Staff comments:
“This completely destroys the idea that meat doesn’t taste good cold, because even if it’s chilled, you can still enjoy the full taste of the beef.”
“The umami of the beef is delicious without being too salty or too sweet.”
● 3rd Place – Tokyo Eki Marunouchi Ekisha San-kai Tate Bento (1,250 yen)
Sold at: Tonkatsu Maisen (B1, Station Zero, Store 50)
This stackable ekiben includes their famous fillet pork cutlet sandwich, pork cutlet on rice, and minced meat rice in a three-tier box. The packaging features a design of Tokyo Station’s Marunouchi Building.
Staff comments:
“As it comes in three different layers, you can eat it without getting bored.”
“I have kids, so it’s fun to share it with everyone. The packaging looks good too.”
● 2nd Place – Meat Mix Curry B Type (1,696 yen)
Sold at: Aubergine (B1, Station Zero, Store 29)
A luxurious bento that comes with three different types of meat: beef, pork, and chicken. It’s a popular ekiben that is well-loved, even by celebrities.
Staff comments:
“For someone like me who doesn’t like spicy food, it’s so delicious that I can easily polish it off.”
“Packed with chunks of meat, leaving you completely satisfied. A hint of sweetness is followed by a rush of spice, making it an addictive meal.”
● 1st Place – Gyutan Bento Yuzukosho-aji (2,020 yen [US$13.73])
Sold at: Date no Gyutan Honpo (Basement Floor (B1) inside the ticket gates, Square Zero area, Store 34)
Plump and satisfying slices of beef tongue, seasoned with yuzu pepper, and served with some of Miyagi Prefecture’s local specialties as side dishes, such as beef tongue shigureni, shiso rolls, and nanban miso pickles.
Staff comments:
“I’ve tried many ekibens at Tokyo Station, but this one excites me the most.”
“Beef tongue and yuzu pepper is the best combination.”
If the personal recommendations of staff aren’t enough to convince you to give one a try, Gransta Tokyo has also published a list of their top five best-selling ekibens. With three of them already having made an appearance above, you can feel reassured that the staff really do know what they are talking about when it comes to where to pick up the best ekiben.
Ekiben Sales Ranking Top Five (as of July 2025)
- 5th Place – Kokusan Kuroge Wagyu to Kokusan Gyumeshi Moriawase Bento (1,512 yen) from Wagyu no Icchoda (B1, Square Zero, Store 48)
- 4th Place – Gyutan Bento Yuzukosho-aji from Date no Gyutan Honpo
- 3rd Place – Gransta-gentei Go-shu Inari Tsumeawase from Mamedanuki
- 2nd Place – Gransta Tokyo Gyuniku Bento (1,512 yen) from Asakusa Imahan
- 1st Place – Meat Mix Curry B Type from Aubergine
The ekiben that took second place is from the well-known store Asakusa Imahan, who also sell the Sukiyaki Bento that came in fourth in the list of recommendations, so there’s a high chance of getting a great meal if you can pick up an ekiben from there. The luxurious ekiben in fifth place comes with both premium grilled and beef rice, and given its reasonable price for Japanese Wagyu beef, it’s no wonder it made it onto the best-selling list.
Next time you find yourself in JR Tokyo Station and you’ve got a long journey ahead of you, there’s no longer a need to be overwhelmed for choice with this list of top-tier lunches to sink your teeth into as the scenery whizzes on by. If you’re still undecided on what to get, there’s also a hand-picked list of bentos from some ekiben experts for you to choose from too.
Related: Gransta Tokyo (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
Source, images: PR Times
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