Shizuoka Prefecture has a population of almost 4,000,000 souls, practically the same as New Zealand or Ireland, and Shizuoka City counts from 800,000 of them.
Many workers in Shizuoka Prefecture are of the white-collar sort who have little time to prepare or eat lunch at a restaurant.
But Japan has developed the concept of a portable lunch to a perfection reached nowhere else: bento!
It is no wonder that one can find so many of them in mind-boggling variety and price range, especially in large cities from the cheap ones sold at convenience stores to the very specialized ones concocted by restaurants as extravagant take-outs.
At least this makes for a hopefully unending series of articles even if I shun the mountain of run-of-the-mill found in convenience stores or company cafeterias!
At the same time I can help you discover all about local gastronomy through a very practical, reasonable and tasty way to spend your lunch or dinner back home, on a park bench or at your hotel!

Matsuzakaya Department Store in Shizuoka City offers an incredible number on its basement floor and I had to survey the whole floor twice before I decided to acquire one at a small shop run by Matsuoka Company.

Matsuoka Co. hails from Nagoya city in neighboring Aichi Prefecture but the ingredients are obviously from Shizuoka Prefecture. They presently offer a bento limited to 20 boxes whose ingredients comprise tofu hamburgers!

At 12:00 a;ready half of them had been sold!

it was packed again in a cellophane paper bag with disposable chopsticks, toothpick and tartare sauce before being placed into another vinyl bag for transport! Talk about Japanese hygiene!

befor opening. Sorry for the fuzzy picture!

At 680 yen very reasonable!
Every ingredient is clearly printed!
Made on the 16th of August 2013 at 11:45 and to be sold before 16:45!
The hygiene rules are pretty strict in Japan!

Once opened it not looks appetix\zing but also colorful and artistic in spite of the simple ingredients!

Kyoto-style red cucumber pickles, tamagoyaki and boiled/steamed broccoli.

Simmered eggplant, yellow sweet pimento and blanched lotus root slice.

Fried shishito pepper, simmered eggplant, red sweet pimento blanched lotus root slice and fried kabocha pumpkin slices.

The deep-fried tofu hamburger coated with sweet and sour sauce and sprinkled with golden sesame seeds.

Shredded dry seaweed/nori between the rice and the toppings for extra taste. And so healthy!

The tofu hamburgeres1
Sorry for the fuzzy picture, I was really hungry!

See next lunch! LOL

RECOMMENDED RELATED WEBSITES

BULA KANA in Fiji
Kraemer’s Culinary blog by Frank Kraemer in New York,Tokyo Food File by Robbie Swinnerton, Green Tea Club by Satoshi Nihonyanagi in Shizuoka!, Mind Some by Tina in Taiwan, Le Manger by Camille Oger (French), The Indian Tourist, Masala Herb by Helene Dsouza in Goa, India, Mummy I Can Cook! by Shu Han in London, Pierre.Cuisine, Francescannotwrite, My White Kitchen, Foodhoe, Chucks Eats, Things that Fizz & Stuff, Five Euro Food by Charles,Red Shallot Kitchen by Priscilla,With a Glass, Nami | Just One Cookbook, Peach Farm Studio, Clumsyfingers by Xethia, PepperBento, Hapabento, Kitchen Cow, Lunch In A Box, Susan at Arkonlite, Vegan Lunch Box; Tokyo Tom Baker, Daily Food Porn/Osaka, Only Nature Food Porn, Happy Little Bento, J-Mama’s Kitchen, Cook, Eat, Play, Repeat, Bento Lunch Blog (German), Adventures In Bento, Anna The Red’s Bento Factory, Ohayo Bento,

Must-see tasting websites:

-Sake: Tokyo Through The Drinking Glass, Tokyo Foodcast, Urban Sake, Sake World
-Wine: Palate To Pen, Warren Bobrow, Cellar Tours, Ancient Fire Wines Blog
-Beer: Another Pint, Please!, Beering In Good Mind: All about Craft Beer in Kansai by Nevitt Reagan!
-Whisky: Nonjatta: All about whisky in Japan by Stefan Van Eycken
-Japanese Pottery to enjoy your favourite drinks: Yellin Yakimono Gallery

Non gastronomy must-see sites by Shizuoka Residents

HIGHOCTANE/HAIOKU by Nick Itoh in Shizuoka City