Just Bento

I know that quite a lot of people who follow Just Bento and/or Just Hungry are interested in Japanese culture in general. So, this is a very-infrequent plug for my Japanese language mini-lesson blog and Twitter account. The Twitter account is separate from my main chatty Twitter (@bentotips, where I actually rarely tweet any bento tips…); it’s at @mainichinihongo. There is also a companion blog, Hungry For Words, which has longer lessons on occasion. The lessons are not very structured or anything - I just talk about words or phrases that pop into my mind.

So, if you are studying Japanese, or just interested in nihongo, take a look! It’s all part of my mission to spread Japanese culture over the world, like gomashio on rice ^_^.

(Cross-posted to Just Hungry and Just Bento.) continue reading...

Amazon astores, J-List, bento box sellers, and more: where to get bento stuff! continue reading...

Interested in connecting with other fans of Just Bento, and bentos in general? Here’s how: continue reading...

After many long late night hours of hacking away, the brand new forum is now up and running! It may be a bit wonky in places, and is quite minimalist, but should be functional. For the Bento Challenge, start here. Take a look around the rest of the place too. As I said before, you will need to log on and register to post to the forum. Suggestions for additional sections or improvements etc. are welcome! continue reading...

You may have noticed that I've now made the user login form much more visible (it's right there, in the left corner of the page). This is to encourage you to register on the site. I have stopped short of requiring registration in order to comment and so on for now, but I have turned back on comment moderation for any unregistered commenters. continue reading...

I'm still working on getting the forum up and running for the Bento Challenge, and some other things behind the scenes (you may have noticed the site has a slightly new layout/design, and new logo too). Please bear with me for a bit longer

In the meantime, take a look at the Just Bento flickr group, already up to 174 members!

The bento challenge that I talked about previously here and here, will start on January 13th January 12th.

Why the 12th? Well, I think that at the start of the New Year, a lot of us are very busy with work or school, for ourselves or for our family, cranking up into full gear. continue reading...

[Update:] Menu For Hope has been extended to December 31st!

You thought that the Anniversary Giveaway was exciting? Well, here are some more goodies for you, plus you get to donate to a great cause!

Menu For Hope is an annual fundraising event, now it its 5th year, contributed to by food bloggers around the world. Last year, nearly US $100,000.00 was raised for the United Nations World Food Programme, to benefit the school lunch programme in Lesotho, Africa.

Menu For Hope’s creator and head organizer is Pim of Chez Pim, and this year’s regional Europe host is Sara of Ms. Adventures In Italy.

I’m very happy to announce that Just Bento is once again offering a raffle prize for Menu For Hope V! continue reading...