Johnny Yong Bosch (Bleach, Yo-kai Watch, Power Rangers)

came ​by The Obento Lady booth at Kikori Con 2016!!!     

I've been The Obento Lady at anime/manga/Japanese culture conventions for over a decade. You can't miss me. I'm the very momly looking person in or near Artist Alley wearing a happi coat, a tako hat, and asking you what you eat for lunch. It is my goal in life to get people to stop using single-use plastic in their lunches. I love teaching other foodies, Japanophiles, and creatives how to do basically meal-prepping with an artistic lens. I have done obento and other Japanese cooking workshops/events at Saboten Con, Kikori Con, Con Nichiwa, Taiyou Con, Okashicon, and several library cons. I would love to do a workshop at your convention, school, or library.  

I'm late to the party. What is an obento exactly?

Obento is a Japanese boxed meal. The super cute, character-themed lunches for kids tend to get the most attention, but adults carry obento, too. They are the perfect balance of color, taste, and texture. You can make your obento at home, but you can also buy them in convenience stores all over Japan. I've been making bento and writing about obento for a long time. You can go here to read the article I did originally for Mothering Magazine back in 2009. I eventually took this article and expanded it into my Obento 101 workshop. You can see my other Japanese food workshops here.

Wait. So is it obento or bento?

Both! The "o" is honorific. When you humbly talk about the awesome lunch you made, you call it "bento." When you receive it from someone else, you need the "o" on there to be polite. 

Do you have an online obento shop?

Not right now. Maybe in the future?

Do you sell pre-made obento at the cons?

I wish! I would love to fill your obento box with healthy foods at a reasonable cost. Alas, I am not permitted to do so. I'll let you in on a little secret though. If you find me at a con and show me your homemade obento (we're going to count anything that resembles semi-healthy food in a box as obento), I will give you a free pair of chopsticks for your effort. You are welcome to do this once a day, every day of the con until I run out of chopsticks.

Want to know more?

I frequently post about cute Japanese food on all of my social media outlets. 

Are you going to be at Saboten Con again? Are you ever going to come to Anime Expo?

Check my Events page for where I'll be wearing my Obento Lady hat next. Sometimes I sell products, sometimes I do workshops, and sometimes I do both.​

The Obento Lady

Sara Fujimura