During my most recent trip back to Japan, I had a chance to do some proper train travelling, indulging in several ekiben or station bentos along the way. Here's a brief report, plus what you need to know if you try your own train and ekiben trip.

This is the top page for bentos that are made completely (or mostly) in a rice cooker.

Here's the great bento idea of the week from the bento community - cucumber ribbons from MJ!

Here's a easy and pretty bento decorating idea from around the bento community - decorated muffins by Emily.

This is the start page for the Bento Idea Of The Week posts, where we highlight neat bentos and bento-box ideas from the JustBento community.

You've browsed the bento blogs and flickr bento groups, and while you know that any appropriate box can be used for bentos, you're hankering after a 'real' bento box. But bento boxes aren't that cheap, especially if you're ordering by mail. How do you know you're getting a box that's the right size for you?

You may have read what bento box sizes are considered appropriate for kids, women, men and so on. But that's advice given for traditional-style Japanese bento meals, where about half of the capacity or more is taken up by tightly packed rice. If you'll only be toting Japanese style lunches those recommendations are fine, but if you plan to mix it up with salad bentos, sandwich bentos and more, then the box-capacity recommendations may not apply to you.

So how can you really tell, before you spend the money for a bento box, if it's the right size for your specific needs?

In this section, you'll find all the news, updates and so on about the Just Bento Cookbook: Everyday Lunches To Go, and its sequel, the Just Bento Cookbook 2: Make Ahead, Easy, Health Lunches To Go.

So you are planning a trip to Japan. You want to stock up on bento boxes and accessories. Where should you go? There are stores to cater to many needs and budgets.

Note that this guide is biased towards the Tokyo metropolitan area, but the general principles apply to other areas of the country.