Just Bento

Adorable bento-themed stationery. And did you know you can advertise your bento-related Etsy (or Zazzle, Artfire, etc.) store for free? continue reading...

Just a few notes for people who are subscribed to this site by email (everyone else, just move along): continue reading...

• The email is automatically sent out to you via the Feedburner service.
• I don’t have control really over how or when it’s delivered to you. I also can’t answer questions like “why don’t the images show up” (my guess is that it has something to do with the way you’ve set up your Yahoo!

Thank you for your interest in advertising on JustBento.com. Established in 2007 as a sister site of JustHungry.com, Just Bento is one of the leading web sites dedicated to the subject of bento box meals. With more than 180,000 site subscribers according to Feedburner (more site access statistics on request), the site attracts a loyal readership that is interested in bento boxes and equipment, lunch ideas, health and weight loss, as well as Japanese popular culture. continue reading...

I have noticed a lot of new visitors coming to Just Bento lately, so now is a good a time as ever to explain how the site is organized, and how to find your way around. (And if you are new here, welcome! I hope you enjoy the site!) continue reading...

A little site news: I’ve added a new search function to the site that will search both Just Hungry and Just Bento for your convenience. It’s using Google Custom Search, which is a very easy way of setting up multi-site searches. continue reading...

Subscribe to Just Bento via newsreader

A newsreader is a great way to easily keep up with new content on your favorite sites, like Just Bento. Here are the feeds currently offered. Just click on the link to subscribe. (The page you'll get to will help you to subscribe.) continue reading...

Each complete bento presented on Just Bento has a calorie count. This is derived from the following information:

• Official nutritional information labels on packaged foods
• Online nutrition information databases, such as the ones at Calorie Lab and CalorieKing
• English language nutritional databases often have inaccurate or misleading information about Japanese foods, so I rely on the official food nutrient database (五訂食品標準成分表) which is published by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology and is the standard nutrition information text for dieticianss and other food professionals in Japan. (There are several consumer-friendly versions of this very useful publication available in Japanese. I use one with lots of cute pictures.)

Keep in mind that all calorie counts are approximate, since portion sizes may vary.

Most of the complete bentos (the numbered ones) are around 500 to 600 calories or lower. They can easily be made bigger or smaller just by increasing the volume of each component. (I frequently show larger “Guy” variations.)

Cup measures and weight and such

The capacity of “1 cup” varies from country to country, in a maddening way. In the U.S. it’s about 240ml (236.588238 ml); in Japan it’s 200ml; in the UK it’s 436ml. I use 240ml (standard U.S. cup measure) as an approximimate middle ground, especially for rice. If you are very concerned about every single calorie, it’s best to invest in a good kitchen scale.

About JustBento.com. continue reading...