The “Hyogo Five Provinces Sake Sakana Bento” is a commemorative lunchbox for the West Japan Railway’s sightseeing train “West Express Ginga”, which went on sale in September 2020, the same month that the train started its service. Hyogo Gokoku refers to the former provinces of Tajima, Tanba, Settsu, Harima, and Awaji, each with a different climate and history, and each specialty is included in one bento.
Nari sushi topped with simmered Tajima beef is generally sweet in flavor. The black cooked soybeans made from Hyogo Prefecture’s Tanba black soybeans were topped with sweetened chestnuts, which were much sweeter. The omelette with the sushi was also quite sweet, but this one was only slightly sweeter.
Grilled chicken thigh with miso is a dish from Settsu. The miso, which is not too assertive but has a robust flavor, goes well with the refreshing Shishito peppers, and although it looks small at first glance, it is well worth eating. The sweetness of the grilled onions from Awaji that accompanied the dish was also very tasty.
From Harima, there was a variety of dishes including pressed sushi with conger eel, pickled ginger, octopus sushi using Japanese octopus from the Seto Inland Sea, and Himeji oden-style simmered vegetables. The octopus sushi was a little too much vinegared rice for the octopus, but it was very tasty, and the crunchy lotus root on the side was a nice accent. The Himeji oden-style simmered dish has a refreshing taste with a hint of ginger.
Other items include pork and onion skewers served with Otafuku tonkatsu sauce, fried sweet shrimp, lotus root tempura, and vinegared vegetables, making for quite a variety of items in a single bento.
As I proceeded to eat, I was impressed by the balance of sweet and refreshing side dishes. The announcement at the time of its release claimed that the bento could be enjoyed not only as a meal, but also as a snack, and it certainly seems to go well with alcohol.
It is not usually easy to see ekiben that strongly emphasize trains other than the Shinkansen, but the Hyogo Gokoku Sake and Snack Bento has a large, cool picture of the West Express Ginga on its package. It stood out from the wide variety of ekiben available, and that was the deciding factor in my purchase.
The next day, I happened to see the “West Express Ginga” while strolling around Shin-Osaka Station. I think it must have been the bento I had the day before that made me feel a little like a child again and allowed me to spend a pleasant time looking at the train.
© Source travel watch
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