lifestyle

Survey reveals 24% of workers in Japan spend Y250 on lunch

51 Comments
By Michelle

According to a 2012 survey of 2,000 Shinsei Bank employees, the average worker now spends 510 yen on lunch every day. That’s down from 710 yen in 2001 and 600 yen in 2007. That’s a 30% decrease in 12 years.

Nikkan Spa, a popular magazine in Japan, conducted its own survey and found an even bleaker outcome. In a survey of 100 salarymen and public servants in their 30s and 40s, a surprising 64% of workers admitted that they spend 500 yen or less on lunch. An even more astonishing 24% of workers get by on just 250 yen a day.

A measly 250 yen won’t even buy a beef bowl at Sukiya, famed to be the cheapest lunch around. If these salarymen can’t even afford the cheapest meals available for purchase, what exactly are they eating? Let’s take a peek inside the slimmed-down lunchboxes of Japan’s typical worker.

◆ “I’ve been taking a lunchbox to work since I got married 25 years ago” admits Wataru Takaoka (49). His wife used to prepare his lunch every day, but has recently started making his own lunches. “I prepare the food the night before and pack it in the morning. I like being able to regulate how much food is in my lunchbox.”

◆ “I used to eat out for every meal, but paying 1,000 yen for one meal is absurd,” comments Takayuki Wada (26). Wada now eats a granola bar for lunch every day. Now he can eat for six days on his former daily food budget.

◆ “I spent too much money attending summer festivals, so I started bringing lunch to work in order to save money” said Hirofumi Kidokoro (26). He heats up frozen food or uses pre-made sauces. “It’s fine if you can get used to bringing a pack lunch every day,” he chuckles.

◆ Since getting married, Shige Toyama’s wife always makes him a lunchbox. “If I ever go out to eat for lunch, I always have a hard time choosing what to order,” he laughs.

◆ “My wife just recently stopped working in preparation for the birth of our child, so she’s been making me a lunchbox every day for the past month. I gratefully eat it everyday,” said Tetsuya Masuda (39).

◆ “Ever since my children became junior high students, my wife has been making us lunchboxes every day. Now I have to eat whatever the kids want for lunch,” said Toshiyuki Nakai (49).

◆ “I often go to the cheap bento shop on my way to work and pick up lunch for the day. It’s closer to homemade than the food at the convenience store and it tastes better, too,” comments Kyohei Sugawara (33).

◆ “I usually just swing by the nearest convenience store and buy some bread and a rice ball. Those two items cost a little over 200 yen. I don’t have to bother purchasing a drink because my company provides free tea and coffee. If I chew slow enough, my stomach feels pretty full. But sometimes I go to a beef bowl shop. I chew that food slowly, too. A egg? That’s definitely a luxury item.” (37, sales)

◆ “The 100 yen menu at McDonald’s is a lifesaver. I can get a hamburger, chicken nuggets, juicy shaka-shaka chicken, or an apple pie for only 100 yen each, so I usually choose two items to eat for lunch. Sometimes I splurge and go for the 120 yen menu items.” (32, financing)

◆ “Sometimes I’m forced to eat out for social reasons, but I normally don’t eat lunch at all. I’ve never been big on eating lunch anyways. My health doesn’t seem to be suffering at all.” (44, civil servant)

◆ “I eat more fish than meat and I make sure to keep a balanced diet when preparing lunch for myself.” (Naoya Ito, 28)

◆ “I had a shotgun wedding, bought a house, then had to change jobs… then we entered the recession and my salary took a hit. Now I eat at an izakaya (Japanese pub) just down the street from my company. I usually manage to spend around 500 yen,” laughs Shinji Hayakawa. At that price, he can enjoy as much rice, miso soup, pickled vegetables, raw egg, seaweed, and fish as he can eat.

“I work at HP and they have a campus cafeteria that I stop by during my lunch break. If they’re serving sashimi (my favorite), I’ll eat lunch at HP, but if they’re serving boiled fish, I go over to the izakaya.” Hayakawa’s wife doesn’t have time to make a home cooked lunch because she also works, and Hayakawa himself cannot cook, so he’s forced to either eat out at his favorite izakaya or at his work cafeteria. “Of course I sometimes get tired of eating the same food every day,” explains Hayakawa. “In that case, I’ll pick up a cheap bento for 320 yen and walk over to a nearby park. But it’s always a challenge to find a bench to sit on. There’s always a ton of salarymen carrying lunchboxes just like me who are on the prowl for a bench to sit on and enjoy their lunch. Fierce arguments are always unfolding at lunchtime in the park.”

◆ Recently, Mr Uemura, an employee at a printing company, always sighs at lunchtime. Half a year ago, he was forced to find another job after his colleagues found out that he was cheating on his wife and performing other unsavory acts. Before he changed jobs, he was able to keep track of his own money and spend it freely, but once Uemura started his new job, his wife instituted an allowance system, maintaining that it was because of the lingering recession. Since then, his pocket change went from over 50,000 yen per month to 30,000 yen, a decrease of 40%. “I understand we don’t have a lot of money because of the recession, but I think she went overboard,” he laughed bitterly.

His decreased budget may have a lot to do with his extramarital affairs and only a little to do with the economy. With less money in his pocket, Uemura no longer has the option to go out to eat for lunch (or spend money on anything that could get him into more trouble with his wife). He now eats at his company’s cafeteria every day.

“My company is really small, so even though they call it a ‘company cafeteria’ it’s not really a cafeteria. The company teamed up with a local Chinese restaurant to provide company workers with lunch. Although the price is fair, there are only five choices on the menu and they’re all greasy. Because I have to eat at the ‘company cafeteria’ every day, I’ve gotten really fat and sluggish. When I get too tired of eating the food there, I go over to the convenience store and purchase some bread or something small. I wish my wife would make me a lunch to take to work, but whenever I ask, she immediately refuses saying she’s too busy.”

◆ “Around 10 years ago, I would always eat out at a restaurant, paying about 1,000 yen for lunch. But from about five years ago, I started ordering pre-made lunchboxes, which cost me around 500 yen. Now I bring a lunchbox from home every day and try to keep the cost down to 150 yen or less,” sighs Kazutoshi Tsuchiya, an employee at an IT firm. He was recently transferred to a job away from his home and wife. As a result, costs of housekeeping have risen, but his salary is at a sideways crawl. With his two daughters about ready to enter high school, Tsuchiya has adopted a spirit of saving.

“I get tired of eating home cooked food every day, but at least it doesn’t taste bad. Although I’ve managed to save some money, I sometimes lose a bit of savings gambling and playing pachinko,” he admits.

◆ Ever since Akihiko Suzumura got married two years ago, he and his wife have been taking lunch to work. “Our wedding and reception cost a lot of money, so we initially started making lunch as part of our savings plan. Thereafter, costs have added up; we purchased a condo, my wife became pregnant, I had to start paying back student loans, and we’re also saving money to go on a vacation sometime. Because of this, we’re continuing to make lunch at home.” Suzumura’s wife makes breakfast and dinner with the leftovers used for lunch. “I think lunches only cost us 150 yen each. We’ve also been taking advantage of bargain sales and save up points on our club card at the local supermarket. We’re really good at saving money now.”

Source: Nikkan Spa!

Read more stories on RocketNews24. -- Life on a Budget and How the Salarymen and Women of Japan Make Ends Meet -- Housewives: Why Carefully Managing Your Husband’s Money Leads To A Happier Home -- What’s Behind Some Japanese Men Not Being Able to Save Money? Could it be Their Lifestyle?

© RocketNews24

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.


51 Comments
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Y250 on lunch. Times are very tough and it doesn't look as though it'll get better anytime soon. Better get used to it and adapt.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

I feel sorry for salary people .. if people start skipping lunch.. local businesses will suffer and that will make recession worse. It is sad to hear that wives will not make rice ball for husband to work all day so she can shop. This is why there is birthrate problem. If people start eating Y100 menu at McDonald's national obesity epidemic will soon rot stomachs and brains. How much is a cup of coffee at STarbucks.. seems to be Y350 or something double price even Hawaii. What is solution? Soup kitchens.. healthy bowl of udon and soup.. just ate Marukame Udon in Hawaii $3.25 and I am full and it has no MSG. Soups with vegetables, I dont know there must be every kind of food in Japan. Employers must also make cafeteria food cheep and healthy.. brown rice is better for digestion also using sea salt is smart. Food is the most important thing in the world.. stopping immigration and outside food infiltrating the food chain is also warning.. people are going to have to also be willing to work at less than glamorous jobs even with university education.. the country needs to export more and buy less from Chinese..

-5 ( +2 / -7 )

Recently, Mr Uemura, an employee at a printing company, always sighs at lunchtime. Half a year ago, he was forced to find another job after his colleagues found out that he was cheating on his wife and performing other unsavory acts. Before he changed jobs, he was able to keep track of his own money and spend it freely, but once Uemura started his new job, his wife instituted an allowance system, maintaining that it was because of the lingering recession. Since then, his pocket change went from over 50,000 yen per month to 30,000 yen, a decrease of 40%. “I understand we don’t have a lot of money because of the recession, but I think she went overboard,” he laughed bitterly.

His decreased budget may have a lot to do with his extramarital affairs and only a little to do with the economy. With less money in his pocket, Uemura no longer has the option to go out to eat for lunch (or spend money on anything that could get him into more trouble with his wife). He now eats at his company’s cafeteria every day.

“My company is really small, so even though they call it a ‘company cafeteria’ it’s not really a cafeteria. The company teamed up with a local Chinese restaurant to provide company workers with lunch. Although the price is fair, there are only five choices on the menu and they’re all greasy. Because I have to eat at the ‘company cafeteria’ every day, I’ve gotten really fat and sluggish. When I get too tired of eating the food there, I go over to the convenience store and purchase some bread or something small. I wish my wife would make me a lunch to take to work, but whenever I ask, she immediately refuses saying she’s too busy.”

This one made me laugh

3 ( +4 / -1 )

I actually look much better and lost 10 of my overweight kg since I reduced the volume I eat for lunch. I usually get along with less than 500 Yen/day, but there are days when I spend more than 1500 (about once, twice/week).

Avoid McD's and conbini food as much as possible. Find a nearby izakaya, mama's snack or wherever they make home-like lunches at low prices. Eat a lot of veggies and eat as slow as possible. Finish your lunch, no mater how small, in no less than 40 minutes. This small steps can keep one healthy with no big costs involved.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Healthy and delicious ¥250 bento at my former company in Japan. Recommend Sukiyaki if you want to eat out cheap. The food is quite healthy there too.

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

Sounds like lots of people are choosing to bring packed lunches from home rather than eat out. Sounds good to me.

The bloke caught cheating shouldn't be complaining that his wife cut his allowance and refuses to make his lunch. He should be grateful that she still gives him houseroom.

7 ( +9 / -2 )

Now interview the wives and ask the same question; you'll probably find they're spending an average of 3000 yen on set lunches or all you can eat buffets at the Ritz Carleton, Hankyu Hotel, or other expensive lunch places to 'chatter' with friends before hitting the department stores for bargain sales.

6 ( +12 / -6 )

Sometimes I splurge and go for the 120 yen menu items.”

This is what the world's third largest economy has been reduced to. Far cry from the pre-bubble days. No wonder folks don't want to have kids. You'd just be sentencing them to a lifetime of $2.00 lunches.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

At my school, we have the option to order hand made (same day) bento that gets delivered in the afternoon around 11. It comes with a fairly sizeable box of rice, furikake for the rice and a packet of miso you just add hot water to make soup with and a seperate tray of the main lunch. It is usually quite healthy and has about 3 types of various vegetable dishes, hijiki, greens, moyashi, soy beans, some sort of mini-salad. some pickles, something sweet like one of those carmalized sweet potatoes or a dango, then the main dish which is usually some kind of fried thing like shrimp tempura, various types of koroke, tofu burger/hambaGU, salmon, saba, karage or a breaded fried piece of chicken slathered in a light sauce with various vegetables, mabodofu or a small pasta. it costs 310 yen. The menu rotates daily and the money gets taken directly out of salary and we recieve an invoice at the end of the month, if you do the math, you can eat for THE MONTH for around 6000 yen.

The company is called CHUOH bento.

Often, because the rice is a bit too much or when I feel full, I'll wrap the rice up and take it home and use it for dinner, just boil up a pouch of curry or something for like 200 yen or so and pour it over rice and there is dinner!

Helps offset the cost of going out for dinner sometimes. I suppose i am very grateful to easily have this option for eats. It gets delivered, I don't have to carry anything to school or wake up and prepare anything or shop specific FOR lunch items. In that way, I feel happy.

However, as I am slowly eating away at cold salmon alone in a break room, staring out the window at grey clouds and distorted nimbus crawling through a frozen blue sky, I wonder...

5 ( +6 / -1 )

I have a 250yen bento shop (262yen inc tax) on the way to the trainstation from my house, and it actually has much larger than necessary servings with plenty of meat/rice. Though carrying a wide bento platter on a packed train is not fun so i often buy it on the way home, repack it into a manageable sized lunchbox and take that instead.

Call me cheap, but Japan can be an awesome place when you want to thrift. Colleagues/friends are spending 5000-8000 a week on lunches, and i spend 1300. Even if i dont buy lunch there, i make it a habit of trying to cook meals that cost less than 250yen/serving (otherwise i might as well have bought a bento!), and I just make an extra serving for the next day's lunch.

As a result i can afford to eat out on weekends, buy clothes, go snowboarding every week and still save almost 40% of my salary

3 ( +5 / -2 )

Hayakawa himself cannot cook, so he’s forced to either eat out at his favorite izakaya or at his work cafeteria.

No he is not "forced", unless the guy has no arms he CAN cook, he just chooses not to and makes excuses about it like countless other Japanese men do as well. It's doesn't take all that much work to learn to cook something, anything, and with all the frozen bento type foods now available in just about any supermarket this excuse to me just sound like the dude is LAZY.

8 ( +9 / -1 )

"I used to eat out for every meal, but paying 1,000 yen for one meal is absurd" comments Takayuki Wada (26). Wada now eats a granola bar for lunch every day. Now he can eat for six days on his former daily food budget.

This guy must be a smoker. No way a 26yr old man can get through a working day on a granola bar alone without suppressing his appetite somehow.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Yep times are really bad in Japan at the moment

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Times aren't bad in Japan at the moment....the women are. That's just cold blooded to micro-manage your husband to such an extent.

These married women spend their time eating lunch at Nina's enjoying a well balanced lunch set that includes cake and tea. The women are spending over 1,000 yen on their lunch. 3,000 yen sounds exaggerated. I think they save the rest to cover half of the love hotels and affairs.

I once had a colleague who would bring a big bag of bread crusts to work. He ate that every day. When I first saw it I thought he liked feeding pigeons. Turns out, he wife never gave him money for lunch.

The problem here is not the economy. Wives treat their husbands so cruelly. What's worse is that Family Court in Japan won't recognize this kind of behavior as financial abuse. Honestly, if I had a wife like these guys I'd quit and divorce. I'd tell her to get out and get a job, here's your 500 yen coin. Good luck with that.

5 ( +7 / -2 )

BTW: I think Japan has reinvented lower living. This is not something to be praised. It's brain-washing at it's finest.

P.S: Ladies, next time you complain that your husbands don't come home and make love to you remember it's because he's got no energy cause you didn't allow him to have a lunch with the proper amount of protein.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

I see the JP ladies always having a nice expensive lunch in restaurants and cafes,Tax is doubling soon too boys, your lunch will be 300 Yen!

3 ( +4 / -1 )

I will never understand how these guys allow their wives to dictate how much money they can get as an allowance. Ok family finances and what-not is one thing, but the guys that get next to nothing should have their heads examined. It's their paycheck, their money. All the Japanese companies that I worked for allowed workers to set up, a maximum of two bank accounts for their pay and dictate how much got put into each from their pay. These guys set aside their own allowance money and the rest went to their wives.

2 ( +4 / -2 )

This guy must be a smoker. No way a 26yr old man can get through a working day on a granola bar alone without suppressing his appetite somehow.

That's a very interesting point. Do these salarymen smoke? And if so, does the cost of the tobacco come out of their allowances, or is it a separate portion of the household budget?

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

I'll wrap the rice up and take it home and use it for dinner, just boil up a pouch of curry or something for like 200 yen or so and pour it over rice and there is dinner!

That's cool, but be aware that many companies and schools don't allow people to take home leftovers because of the risk of food poisoning. Still, it's a good deal for you. I'd be very happy if I could get a nice Y310 bento at work.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

LOL at the dude scoffing at eating a real meal and munching on granola for his power lunch.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Mr. Uemura's life sounds like hell. I guess that's what you get for cheating on your wife (and getting caught).

0 ( +0 / -0 )

24% doesn't seem that bad considering a good chunck of them are eating cheap because they are bringing a bento. I wonder how much the other 75% are spending....

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Mr. Uemura screwed up, and as Cleo said he's lucky his wife hasn't given him the boot. But in all honesty, he should cut ties and move on. Sure, a good part of his pay would end up being alimony, and she'd get everything in the divorce besides, but in the end he'd have more money to himself -- if that's the biggest problem for him. Why would you want to stay in such a relationship after that? It certainly can't be a good home atmosphere. Ms. Uemura can't be too happy either, and who can blame her?

1 ( +2 / -1 )

I'm not too sorry for Mr. Uemura, but I'm not really sorry for his wife either. She's living on easy street, and her friends probably envy her! Not only does she have a steady income plus food and shelter, she also has a convenient excuse for not doing anything for the income provider that she doesn't want to (feed him, sleep with him, listen to anything he says). In her shoes it would be madness to kick him out.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

I used to eat out for every meal, but paying 1,000 yen for one meal is absurd, comments Takayuki Wada (26).

Indeed, but quite a few women do just that. In recent years a huge industry has sprung up to cater for the middle-class lady of leisure, and many faux French/Italian restaurants offer decent lunch sets for as little as Y900 (outside of Tokyo), although Y1200 would probably be about average. Quite a few of these ladies then take cake and coffee at another shop, pushing up the total amount to Y2000. And they do this at least once a week, usually more often. Meanwhile, on the other side of the tracks their husbands wolf down lunch at those standing-room-only Y300 noodle joints.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

Uemura couple deserve each other misery loves company.

A granola bar? That's it? I'm impressed with how many wives are making hubbies lunch. I know very few who get such treatment. I wish I had a wife to make my lunch for me!!

-4 ( +1 / -5 )

I'm not too sorry for Mr. Uemura, but I'm not really sorry for his wife either. She's living on easy street

Sorry, but where in the article does it say anything about her living on easy street? He says she says she's too busy to make a packed lunch for the two-timing louse. Maybe she's busy because she has to get up and out early for her job?

Oh I forgot, ALL Japanese wives are stay-at-home princesses. Right.

I would happily make packed lunches for Mr cleo, but he insists on making his own. I suspect he sneaks bits of dead beast into them.

0 ( +4 / -4 )

Maybe she's busy because she has to get up and out early for her job?

Okay, let's assume she's working. Yet according to the article she's controlling all the household finances, and giving him only Y30,000 a month. So effectively, she's living off two incomes. Sounds like a cushy deal to me!

1 ( +3 / -2 )

I'm going to assume she's not working. I don't know any working woman who would stay with a guy who cheated - more so married to a guy who thinks she should make his lunch even though she has a job. I know plenty of women not working who will suck it up and look the other way. Like I said, they deserve each other.

-6 ( +1 / -7 )

I will never get this allowance thngie too.. married or not.. you work so its your money, if you want to share - set up a mutual bank account and drop whatever you feel necessary there. and unless you got young kids or a newborn.. I really dont see why wife cant work., I would tell her to go get her own job and micromanage that

2 ( +2 / -0 )

cleo: "Oh I forgot, ALL Japanese wives are stay-at-home princesses. Right."

I certainly hope no one's insinuating that. I still have a hard time seeing why she stays with the guy, unless she loves him deeply and despite being hurt wants to stick with him. I hardly think any convenience it may have trumps all the pain, especially when she can get alimony, the place they live, and whatever else she wanted in a divorce. But hey, sometimes people do work things out in the end.

I often pack my own lunch as well, by choice. It's more a matter of the fact that my better half and I have different schedules, and often want to eat different things. So I'll make myself something for dinner and make sure there's enough for next day's lunch and for her as well, if she wants it later. Sometimes she does the same, and if it's something I can easily carry while riding by bike to work I'll pack it in my lunch. We don't have money allowances in my place, and try not to eat out often (separately... or together, I guess). The only time I'll eat at these fast food junk places is out of lack of time and for convenience, not necessarily due to monetary constraints (though saving a bit is nice).

Anyway, the Uemuras aside, it's a pretty miserable situation, and there's no way I'm allowing any kind of okozukai system in my family. I'm not at all saying that on the contrary I control the purse strings, but I'll take money from the account when I need it, and not otherwise, and will keep a bit on hand for the same purpose. My better half can and does do the same. No way will I work from dawn to dusk as a slave for some company to retreat home and get a pittance for the next day -- for a granola bar or what have you.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Oh I forgot, ALL Japanese wives are stay-at-home princesses. Right.

No Cleo, haven't you been reading the posts here? (sarcasm) They can't stay at home because all Japanese women always go out and splurge at expensive restaurants while their husbands are working! Even the wives of the guys standing at a construction site waving a baton. Regardless of how little income is brought in by the family, the wife will always have enough to eat at expensive restaurants with their friends. (/sarcasm)

And there, exposed, is the lie of stereotyping.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

Most of my colleagues eat their home made bento box at their desk, some half working. Personnally, I find it ridiculous and I prefer to eat outside even if I have to pay more. A nice walk and new faces or legs to look at is much better than staying all day long in the office.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

What a dismal life these people have.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

If you want a healthy family and life you need to learn how to cook and prepare nutritious foods. For most cultures this is common sense and the information has been wisely passed down. If you are really clueless about this there are older women that sell bentos made from home (most nutritious bet).

I have seen some people only eat "raw foods." Technically there are issues with this in that some raw foods are digested poorly by the body and really need to be cooked some. If you really don't want to heat/cook the food then you will want to ferment it some (kimchi etc).

Fast Food (McDonalds) is not really sustainable for humans (movie: "Supersize Me"). =People really need to eat as fresh as possible and stay away from the processed foods when possible.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Hey, good idea. I spend 1000 and won weight. If I spend 250, I will cut calories to 1/4 and live longer lol...

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Bentos made by older women contain huge amounts of white rice. Regardless if what this country thinks, there nothing healthy about white rice and very little nutrition in pickled veggies that often go with said white rice. Hence me making my own lunch.

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

Bentos made by older women contain huge amounts of white rice.

The general guide, if my older Japanese friends are anything to go by, is 50% white rice, and 50% nasty fried stuff. Actually I've seen many a male co-worker bring in bento lunches that were nothing but plain white rice with a sachet of furikake to sprinkle over the top. I feel so sorry for them.

Younger mothers make an effort for their kids - artfully cutting up sausages and apples into various shapes, etc - but they tend to do it only to impress their other mama-friends, rather than for the good of their own children. Some of them admit that on desperate occasions (overslept, forgetful, just can't be bothered) they resort to buying conbeni bentos and stuffing them into their kids' lunchboxes.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

"Sometimes I splurge and go for the ( McD's ) 120 yen menu"

This is truly nasakenai / pitiful.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

I think home made food can solve the problem.But Japanese can spend on unimportant things so easy,some of them even use their credit card to buy what they are not worthy of and after they say no money up to the level that they can not eat very well.For me,good food first because I want to be healthy all the time.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Jeez. Can't anyone make their own lunch anymore? Cheapest and best way to go!

0 ( +0 / -0 )

When you travel a lot you always look where people are the healthiest and happiest. I generally look for great teeth especially as people age. I feel the Japanese Ama divers and many people that live on the coast always had it. They benefit from eating fresh and all the little sea animals do all the hard work getting the minerals for them (+the protein, vitamins and fats) Nutrition really is a lost art to the combini/fast food it seems.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAL56VCEchE

http://www.westonaprice.org/in-his-footsteps/switzerlands-loetschental

This is where he started to look for teeth activator x (factor x)

http://www.healingteethnaturally.com/vitamin-k2-dr-weston-price-activator-x.html

-this believed to be activator x.

There are two types of vitamin K2 supplements available, one is synthetic vitamin K2 (menaquinone-4 or MK-4) and the other is natural MK-7 (menaquinone-7) derived from natto.

From the sea, mountains to natto (complete circle around the World and back to Japan). No reason to have thin teeth anymore and good reasons to eat healthy. I still believe in the Ama lifestyle and what a way to live. In many any of the older pictures Women are topless (incentive to attract the combini food zombies)

0 ( +0 / -0 )

You can buy chahan, gyoza, etc. in the frozen section of combinis for a hundred yen and they have fair-sized portions so it is easy to eat lunch here for a hundred yen if you wanted to. You can eat real cheap in Tokyo if you want.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

http://www.priory-antiques.co.uk/images/uploads/HEKURA.jpg

-best book on Japan Ama divers. Incredible images on google also. A real classic. And the author was interned in Japan during WWII -so an interesting life story also.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Younger mothers make an effort for their kids - artfully cutting up sausages and apples into various shapes, etc - but they tend to do it only to impress their other mama-friends

When do the mama-friends get to see the other mamas' bentos? When my kids were little I did my bit with the artful riceballs-presented as-kokeshi, snowmen/rabbits made from boiled eggs and ingeniously carved apple slices, which my kids ate at kindy with no mamas present. Neither did I get to see what other mamas were making for their kids, except on sports days when bentos were a family affair and quantity had a higher priority than artistry.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

When do the mama-friends get to see the other mamas' bentos?

Multitudes of occasions! I have got a group of ten pre-schoolers who meet once a week at English playgroup for lunch, and the mums go all out when it comes to preparing the bentos. They even take photos for their blogs.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

They are so many choices in Japan...buy at combini or making bento,restaurant (Cheap lunch set etc) i'm living in san fran now. its kind of expensive to get a nice healthy meal in SF bay area. i will have to pay about 700-900yen at least to get a healthy meal. i should cook my own bento box.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

When do the mama-friends get to see the other mamas' bentos?

This kids always compare their bentos, -and trust me the adults do too. Where is the Lunch Love?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Even if the lunch is poor, dinner/supper is different. And, the sum of money isn't important. Many Japanese can be satisfied if there are the required nutrient and beauty, even if the dish is simple. Japanese people like simple seasoning for the best use of the food ingredients. True rich is in a simple thing. The sensitivity that can feel the essence is important.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Cleo, I have seen women in the park with their kids comparing. Just because you haven't seen it doesn't mean it doesn't happen.

I find lunch options here shocking. Nasty bento or crap bread. No thanks. Always from home.

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If you can find something nutritious and filling enough at that price, why not? I often think we eat too much, myself included. As long as it's not a case of housewives telling their husbands 'here's your 1000 yen for the week (or 250 yen for the day)' and then she goes out an buys a 50,000 yen brand-name handbag.

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