How to wrap bento box

No more boring lunch box! I am going to share how to wrap bento box. Have you ever wondered how Japanese people wrap up bento boxes so neatly? Japanese wrapping culture is like no other in the world. In this post I am going to share an easy and cute way to wrap bento box with a bow on top.

While I was in Japan, taking my own lunch was part of my daily life since I was in high school. I packed my own bento and wrapped it up nicely. Bento is usually wrapped up with handkerchiefs or small square fabric in various sizes but usually 30cm x 30cm( 11.8inch x 11.8inch)

One of the fun things was to choose bento wrapper fabric when every new school term started. It is a bit like “back to school” sale when the shop sells lunch boxes and stationaries in January in Australia. Japanese people would buy new lunch box, chopsticks, and bento wrapping fabrics

Luckily there is Daiso here where I can buy Japanese stuff and I found the cute panda Tenugui (Japanese hand towels) there. I have been using this for wrapping bento box in Brisbane. When I posted about bento a while ago, a lovely reader asked me how to wrap the bento box. You can tie it up in any way but I think it is worth to share how Japanese people would with this rectangle shape Tenugui (Japanese hand towel).

My bento box size is approximately 17cm x 10cm oval shape and hold about 400 ml in volume. I think it is a good size and fits about what an average Japanese female would consume for lunch. When it is packed, it should be around 500 calories (depending on what you put in but usually half filled with plain rice and other half filled with various little bits of side dishes). You don’t need special Japanese bento box, anything can be used as a bento box. I sometimes use Ikea and Tupperware brand ones as well.

This rectangle Japanese tenugui is good to wrap my bento box or any rectangle shaped box. Now let me explain.

1. Place the bento box on the left hand side off the centre line.
2. Fold one side over the top of the bento in length wise.
3. Fold the other side over the top of it to over wrap.
4. Cross both ends and make a knot. One side is longer and one side is shorter.
5. Fold the longer side 1- 2 times and make it sit on top of the knot.
6. Secure the centre by crossing over the folded longer side to make a bow and tuck the end of it underneath the knot.

Hope this helps to bring your Bento box to the next level. Here is a mini movie for “How to wrap bento box like Japanese do”