Japanese Gourmet Train Food | Shinkansen Bento Adventure ★ ONLY in JAPAN

Japan's Bullet-train or Shinkansen is super fast, traveling at speeds of 350km/hr through wide landscapes of rice paddies of north Japan. This is the Tohoku-Hokkaido Shinkansen and in this episode we'll ride from Tokyo Station to Shin-Aomori in regular and GRAN CLASS cars eating 7 gourmet ekiben, Japanese Train Food.
Joining me on this adventure is Peter von Gomm and we'll be eating our way across Tohoku.
★ What is an EKIBEN?
It's a Bento (Japanese gourmet boxed lunch) sold at express train station to be eaten on the Shinkansen or special rapid trains. It is always prepared fresh using local ingredients highlighting the regions gastronomical attractions. They usually cost between 750 yen and 1600 yen but can go as high as 3000 yen for Kobe Beef, A5 wagyu, domestic unagi and other luxury foods. They usually sell out by 4pm, not many choices for dinner.
★ The JR EAST PASS (Tohoku Area) is 20,000 yen for 5 days of consecutive shinkansen and train travel for foreign tourists and foreign residents of Japan with a non-Japanese passport.
More informmation: www.jreast.co.jp/multi/en/pas...
Tohoku-Hokkaido Shinkansen Train Schedule in English: www.eki-net.com/pc/jreast-shi...
EKIBENYA MATSURI (駅弁屋 祭) has several shops inside Tokyo Station, open from 5am.
00:00 Start
00:44 Inside Tokyo Station: Guide
01:28 Bento Shop in Tokyo Station
01:47 Where is Tohoku?
02:32 A Hungry Man
03:00 ① Bento Set Unboxed
07:28 Shinkansen Blasts Past Camera
08:18 ② Bento Set Unboxed - Gyutan
11:32 Sendai Station
13:15 ③ Bento Set Unboxed - Ikura / Uni
17:10 Morioka Station
18:16 GRAN CLASS Car
19:00 ④ Bento Set Unboxed - Tohoku
20:08 Our Favorite Train Bento
21:23 Shin-Aomori Station
21:41 Conclusion
★ The ONLY in JAPAN Animated Opening was created for John by D'ART Shtajio dartshtajio.com/​
Thank you to Peter, visit his channel: / @thehomicideinc.podcas...
◉ Media Inquiries & Questions: Please contact me through onlyinjapan.tv​
ONLY in JAPAN ® is a registered trademark - All rights reserved. John Daub has been a reporter for NHK World TV since 2008 and KZbin creator & producer of the ONLY in JAPAN ® series building a community of over 1.6M. Thanks for watching!
#onlyinjapan​ #tokyo #shinkansen

[@n0isyturtle]

Can we all appreciate John bought each meal twice just to get a pretty unboxing shot for every one?

[@mrs.quills7061]

I noticed this too. The level this man goes to for his audience.

[@mayanganggarani]

Yesss .....

[@ussopahmed8797]

Best of the best!

[@LaNoir.]

I hope it didn't go to waste tho...

[@F_C...]

@@mrs.quills7061 and that he recorded the trains passing the station from outside the train. He even got drone footage of the tracks leading into each major city. Amazing.

[@ManaDeplete]

So glad that you're still making content. The quality of this video is just amazing. I was on your old channel and it hurts to see a channel with 1.4million subscribers die slowly, but this just shows that you have the abilities and passion to rebuild in this new channel. Looking forward to more of your videos, John.

[@wiseversa5369]

What happened to the old channel?

[@xcalibertrekker6693]

@@wiseversa5369 Wao Ryu japan owned it and he worked with them which is most of the reason the content was so good. He lost all the professionals helping him which is why he now has to really on that live stream channel which is not very good and has not grown for many years.

[@wiseversa5369]

@@xcalibertrekker6693 Aww that's sad. Hope he'll be able to rebuild it again. Thanks

[@Del-Lebo]

Well said!!! Agree

[@xcalibertrekker6693]

@@wiseversa5369 He doesn't want to since he has a family and new kid part of the reason he transitioned to live streams. Plus he has all these idiots throwing money at him during the stream and that is enough for him I guess.

[@SupremeLeaderKimJong-un]

Gotta love the chemistry between John and Peter, what a dynamic duo I don’t think Peter even realizes how iconic his voice is on this channel

[@diningwithderek]

I totally agree Supreme Leader!

[@mrs.quills7061]

You’re quite the icon on this page too dear leader.

[@ntr10me]

Well, Supreme Leader, you should know as YOU are the one who invented chemistry. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@CookingwithYarda]

You are right Kim !! Do you like how the Japanese trains have pointy noses ?

[@dianaelmedo354]

Ok! Why are u here in japan kim jong un 🤣🤣🤣

[@ntr10me]

Ekiben is just such a wonderful comforting experience. So wholesome and welcoming. So much care goes into the whole experience.

[@lindiavlogbkklife9628]

Growing up in Japan, i never thought the train bento is something special, but now i moved to abroad. Realized how AMAZING Japanese bento is😂😂

[@muajin]

Parents make awesome bentos for their kids. It's cute!

[@gwillis01]

Sometimes it takes living in another country to make you realize how nice certain things were in your home country compared to your new situation.

[@sourishsaha8067]

Japanese people are lucky to live their what an amazing country

[@harshranjan8526]

I have similar experience, I live on hills(quite literally), but when I moved for higher studies, I found that my town was very unique, which I had never realised earlier.

[@lindiavlogbkklife9628]

@@harshranjan8526 Interesting😊☝️

[@Silvarak]

Train bentos are super nostalgic for me. I have fond memories of riding the regular train to visit family in Taiwan and buying a bento on the train was the best thing. Such a good time slowly watching the landscape change while eating a delicious hot meal. Makes me really want to eat a good bento now.

[@mamaraidervlogs3429]

The entire world is soooo behind when it comes to Japan technology , I wish each country should be like them. And those Bentos , Wow! 👌👌👌

[@xcalibertrekker6693]

In what way?

[@jameskungemail]

The sound mixing is really well done. For the close up shots of our two heroes John’s voice is distinctly on the left and Peter’s voice is distinctly on the right, with the rolling train noise as the back drop, but not overbearing. I watched this with a pair of earphones on and it almost seems like you were there riding along. Very cool.

[@singlefather01]

In a mean time in US, the lunch box comes with a stale sandwich with dried up roast beef with a bag of potato chip. And an apple. It is a disaster.

[@halogod3798]

We like to call them box nastys in the military

[@Tokmurok]

@@halogod3798 a little bit of depleted uranium makes the sandwich taste so much better.

[@Desi365]

Oh please, it can't be worse than the food in the French high speed trains, the TGVs . It's horrendous and overpriced.

[@tiyaskun]

@@Tokmurok lmao

[@angelabyker1587]

Absolutely love John and PVG together, so much great chemistry. Loved watching every minute!

[@devdattajoshi1949]

It is absolutely gratifying to see you express yourself through your content with full freedom, John!!! I have been a fan for more than half a decade or so now, since you did the giant gyoza challenge, and it has been thrilling to be on this ride and seeing all your adventures!! Very very excited about what's coming next!!! Thanks a ton, John and the OIJ team!!!

[@secretscarlet8249]

Thanks for posting this edited version! I don't have much time for the livestreams, so getting the polished version always helps. :)

[@onlyinjapan]

Thanks! I love the edited shows, it just takes time but worth it :) the live streams fill in the blanks and that channel helped me survive the transition from the old channel. Editing the next adventure now!

[@nkw1985]

@@onlyinjapan - The quality of your edited videos especially is amazing. The camera angles, editing, and subject matter combined with your personality results in something truly special that I never get tired of.

[@JC-qb1bb]

I actually really appreciated that you did a couple live streams for this trip (and when you went back for b-roll), and then shared with us this final cut of the video. Awesome subject and format. I don't know any other channel that does this! I must get that last Shinkansen bento next time I'm in Japan.

[@rashoietolan3047]

This dude really cares about high quality content 🤝

[@winununana]

I've been a fan of Only in Japan Segment since 2015... and until John Daub finally created his own KZbin Channel for this kind of content! I'm living for it! These kind of bento unboxing/mukbang is my thing! ARIGATOU! Love from the Philippines 🇵🇭

[@gloriamanalo3405]

Same here, i wish i could be in Tokyo again.🥰🎎🎎🙂

[@gloriamanalo3405]

Aittai Tokyo ne.🎎🎎💔💙💜

[@norman-yoshida]

I miss eating ekibens. There is nothing like it in the States. Your video reminds me of what I miss so much of being in Japan. Food, culture, service, and so much more. Thanks John. ps. Make sure you're taking a lot of pictures and videos of Leo !!!

[@renaudli5834]

I've been to Japan and I loved it.

[@AverytheCubanAmerican]

If you want a kid to eat a bento, making it shaped like a train and fill it with meaty goodness is the way to do it. I’d get that one just for the train to keep as a souvenir It’s great they have several bentos from Tohoku for the journey, to give you a taste of where you’re heading. The attention to detail in these bentos is one to admire. Making the ginger shaped like sakura is a nice touch. And the fact the crew were holding a “Have a nice trip” banner is proof of how great Japanese hospitality is. They really care about satisfying their consumers

[@mariapaz-bi9vm]

Msdeiraislland

[@aryogono6338]

17:38 "The new Tohoku Shinkansen shuffle should never be repeated unless you want a divorce"😂 I saw that dance LIVE on the Shinkansen Gran Class OIJgo livestream. I didn't expect you would include that 😁👍🏽.

[@onlyinjapan]

Ha! From a new angle 📐 inside the train 😂 I saw it when editing and had to include a bit of it. Kanae really let me have it when I got home! Haha! As a dancer, she had a lot of pointers …

[@gaspump]

The best part is how casually the line is delivered.

[@aryogono6338]

@@onlyinjapan & @gaspump 😂😂

[@mehchocolate1257]

@@onlyinjapan yay 😂 😂 😂 😂

[@desertratsteve]

John, the best videos you have made have been when Peter is with you. This video is no exception where both you and Peter share with the world about the wonders of the awesome Ekiben from Tohoku.

[@georgelabe-assimo4365]

Man, the moment I saw this, I instantly clicked on it! Absolutely was waiting for this.

[@lisalarose812]

Bentos are so much fun! Thanks for sharing your gastronomic adventures on the bullet 🚆💚

[@thyandyr7369]

I miss Japan so much :'(

[@BFMVatME]

John?! Great video again! Excited love from germany , keep on going.

[@onlyinjapan]

Thank you! You got it - more, more, more! Working on the next episode now ٩( ᐛ )و

[@SohThirsty]

Watched your channel since I was a teen=D You are prolly the first guy I watched on youtube regarding Japan haha! Keep it coming!

[@onlyinjapan]

Thanks for this, great encouragement to NEVER GIVE UP! ✌️

[@JohnDaubSuperfan369]

Finally the voice artist extraordinaire rocking a main channel video! Awesome job, JD & PVG 🤘🏻🤘🏻

[@syrkaros5815]

I still remember the DELICIOUS smell of bento food when I travelled on the shinkansen.

[@jayjanuar2954]

hi John thanks for making this channel. I really love your videos, the way you narrate them and contents. Wish you all the best and looking forward to watch more videos from you

[@ssirin]

I travelled to Japan almost 20 times pre-covid thanks to relatively reasonable direct flight from Bangkok to various destinations there. I always purchased JR pass which gave me free reign on most shinkansen and express/rapid on JR lines. I miss those times when I would browse around for bento, snacks and drinks to enjoy on long train rides while looking at the landscape out the window. Can't wait to visit Japan again!

[@michaelsasano8622]

Gaaaah! Loved this video so much! What's better than being on a special E5 Tohoku Shinkansen and Ekiben unboxing with one of your Bff's? Nothing! The best of both worlds all in one video. This is what makes OIJ by far the best KZbin channel ever! Thank you for making this my bro. On my return visit to Japan I'm looking forward to gaining a 100 pounds from all the foods you've been sharing with us. But I have to say that I agree with you that the salmon and ikura ekiben would be my choice as well. Itadakimasu!

[@thehomicideinc.podcast7811]

There will be PLENTY of amazing food upon your return!

[@jacquelinehua1]

The quality of this video is amazing😦

[@JonathanLee2000]

John! I’ve been watching your videos for many years, and I feel like they’ve been revamped and they’re so much better!

[@Absent641]

Once again John GREAT video! Keep it up. I love it

[@HongKongHoods]

Brilliant video! I remember ekiben from my time living in Japan, truly a wonderful and varied eating experience depending on region. A subject very well presented!

[@naomibedek1701]

Those self-heating Bento boxes are amazing. Not sure I could eat 4 Bento boxes worth of food in under 4 hours.

[@lovenature8704]

Ah , as a native from Miyagi , gyutan bento is simply making me drool😋🤣

[@UFOBobTV]

Shinkansen, food, and two amusing lads: a winning combination.

[@czarodzi9967]

Good food and good company!

[@akashmishra4727]

quality is insane

[@sourishsaha8067]

John coming after One year "You waited for me? " Me- "ofcourse"

[@kobahefc]

Mankai Sakura Sushi looks so delicious. Thank you for introducing it.

[@Altstark]

Wow, great job. That really is some high value production. I cant even imagine how long it took you to get the video finished. Thank you!

[@gracen.1289]

Great video! Love the ekibens! Production value is over the top! I lived in Japan from 1988 to 1991. Cannot wait to head back there again! Thank you John for bringing me back to Japan!

[@DenshaBoy500]

Daub-san for the true information about the speed of the E5 Series Shinkansen Hayabusa, it's 320 Km/h not 350. Love your video By the way, I will be planning soon to make a travel video along Tokyo to Hakata (Fukuoka, Kyushu). お疲れ様です。 Thank you for the Hard Work of these videos you make over the years.

[@catnip3141]

7:07 It's not ginger. As the package says (桜漬) it's pickled radish seasoned with umeboshi juice.

[@onlyinjapan]

Good pick up. That makes sense now - it was snappy with a kick like ginger, same color but Aomori has a lot more daikon than ginger! Kanae and John missed that one 😵‍💫

[@LaNoir.]

yeah I also wondered because the pink color was so clear, ginger normally gives at least a hint of yellow to it

[@rameezmohammed9677]

The amount of love you put in your videos is amazing! I remember watching the livesteams and seeing it all in this video is mindblowing!

[@muzazu]

The quality of the video always blows my expectation.

[@MC-tm2uy]

Been to Japan multiple times and I can honestly say Japanese train station food or food from 7-11 chain there is better than restaurant food in so many other countries I've been to

[@mogublogjapan]

I wanted to travel by Shinkansen. Thanks for the great video！

[@azabujuban-hito8085]

I guess that having been living here in Tokyo for over a decade, I'm no longer think ekiben as something special..but this vid making me appreciating the ekiben again. The craziest ekiben I'd had was the Hello Kitty ekiben on a Hello Kitty shinkansen from Shin Osaka to Fukuoka 😁😁

[@uoftotaku7]

The Shinkansen Shuffle should definitely feature in JR East's next international promo video

[@KravenSpider]

Man, Peter just seems like such a cool dude to hang out with.

[@gopagirigiri5767]

Your all videos about Japan is Excellent, Super,Fantastic! !!! Welcome from India

[@caseygarrigan8004]

Love John. So glad you are back….

[@giovanniamadorrosales9270]

This one of the best only in Japan episodes I've ever seen. Awesome work John dub. Keep up the good work my man. I love your KZbin Channel.

[@bassmasteraek]

another quality video added to the library. Great work~!

[@mitchellhuber835]

I'm blown away by the quality of food that is in the ekibens. It all looked surprisingly fresh. I feel that would sadly not be the case in the US if we had a train network like this.

[@raycht7400]

My fiancé and I managed to catch you on the livestream where you uploaded this video. We then projected your new video on the TV while watching your livestream on the mobile, it was so much fun! We’ve thoroughly enjoyed the ekibens! It’s making us really hungry atm at 3am here in Sydney lol. Congrats John on the 100k subs, hoping you great success on your new Channel and we will continue to support you in whatever ways we can! You are the ONE & ONLY Only in Japan producer/creator! ✨✨

[@onlyinjapan]

Thank you Raych! It’s late here too now. This episode looks good on the big screen!

[@tokyospin7766]

@@onlyinjapan someones on dad duties ;-)

[@raycht7400]

@@onlyinjapan the 4K looks amazing on the big screen! Not forgetting the drone shots and use of google earth, looks fantastic!! 🙌🏼

[@Kingsman-1981]

Mouth watering food 🍱 Amazing 🥲 Japan 🇯🇵

[@schmidsgamebox5883]

Great Video! =) I'm very impressed by the self heating bentos. That's future!

[@doll2210]

Watching your videos made me more and more jealous for not experiencing all these but thank you for showing us our fav country 🗾

[@perfectblue8443]

The quality of production of these videos never ceases to amaze me

[@mrs.quills7061]

I know! I love the timelapses and crazy drone shots he has now!! It’s awe inspiring and makes my jaw drop.

[@GregTPhoto]

I love the bit where you are carrying all the ekiben to Peter. Normally I would only by one, next holiday in Japan I'll be buying multiple in one sitting.

[@shirishpanwalkar]

Once again a wonderful episode! Thank you so much for making our lives beautiful!

[@oltorf520]

really fun video, great production! thanks for the upload

[@Tastychronicles]

Great job on covering the spendors of Ekiben aka train food. I truly enjoyed watching the progressive ekiben dining experience. Perhaps round two could be a ride to Southern Japan to try a different set of ekiben.

[@ohayo_world_channel7252]

Hi from Japan! I really enjoyed watching Shinkansen Bento Adventure:) Thank you for introducing Japan to the world!

[@jennifersantos3918]

Wow! Thank you for sharing your delicious Ekiben experience with us. They are all so beautifully presented, and so is your video with all the scenery. I’m so glad you took the time to get those shots of the Shinkansen flying past. 👏 👏 👏

[@SevenSoul433]

Very good and high quality content. Good job. Greetings from Switzerland

[@kelath5555]

Love, love, love these videos! It's my dream to be able to try ekiben from all over Japan.

[@ruthiepruitt9086]

Omg! I am drooling 🤤 watching you both eating 🍱😱😂 I will make sure to try all the Bentos next time. Thank you John for all your videos! 👍

[@nitinjaitely]

Amazing production! Love it!! Great work John

[@maitland72]

Trains x Bento makes me smile! Great episode as usual, John. You and Peter are great together!

[@JarmanInternational]

I want to eat all of those Ekiben!!

[@onlyinjapan]

We'll always have an extra ekiben for Ruthie on Tohoku Adventures! \(^_^)/

[@jason_from_canada]

Such an enjoyable and appetizing experience! 🚅😋 The salmon and ikura and beef tongue were my favorites. Loved the close ups of the boxes and the use of google maps to take us right into where you were. Tux jacket PvG is stylin 😎 👍

[@veronicaisl]

Japan is the best ❤️

[@srinivase9484]

The editing on this video is simply superb. Enjoyed thoroughly!

[@hibikisanmmd9107]

Yay! you are back! I love your content so much. My love for japan has grown since your channel started. Keep up the great work!

[@furrysophie8997]

the use of Google Earth was really smart

[@onlyinjapan]

I was impressed at how good it was, almost like a drone, cinematic if used right 😉 good job Google Earth team! 🌏

[@amirhussain4558]

You look handsome in your profile pic 🐕

[@KarlDahlquist]

Another great video for the collection. Thank you for taking us places where we can't go ourselves, and sharing your and PvG's corny humor along the way.

[@bottomlessstomach6211]

Have Fun and Stay Safe.. Loving every content you make.

[@thevegaspugtenshi2050]

Ekibento 駅弁当🍱いいなあ。懐石料理みたいですね。

[@obisan666]

We would eat the curry dishes in the stations when we travelled Japan.. this is amazing! Need another trip to Japan and experience bento on JR.

[@hardiahin5275]

Great episode, Ekiben aka Train Bentos in Japan is always unique for me. ❤

[@adrinlow]

Watching this in HD makes all the difference. And Peter is always a delight to have in your videos. Now all the live runs to take the great shots make sense.

[@silentconversation]

Great video John! Amazing views of the Shinkansen, and the info about the typical food of each prefecture was really interesting 👏 Many thanks to you and Peter, well done! Keep it up my friend 👍

[@cumi-cumikokobop8106]

I didn't know that Google Earth shot was this HD. And all the bentos are lookin good, but very expensive 😭

[@onlyinjapan]

I was impressed too, it took a while to learn how to use the new Earth Studio but it was worth it :) yes, they are all a little pricey compared to a convenient store rice ball 🍙 for ¥110 but these are all non-chemical fresh ingredient - if you compare it to some other fancy Japanese cuisine where people pay a premium for the presentation and ingredients, this is an affordable way to try it for sure. I don’t think you need to eat 3 or 4 of them in one trip! 😂 THAT got expensive. It cost me over $100 to buy them all, but that’s what an Ekiben adventure with PvG costs!

[@Glasseyyy]

The self heating ones are just so cool! The one I want to try the most is I think called Hipparidako Meshi, and it's in a ceramic pot

[@LaNoir.]

I think I saw those in one of TabiEats bento videos, looked pretty nice and you can keep the pot, so that's cool

[@Aoskar95]

I believe they use the same chemical heating element as a military FRH used for MREs

[@tails21c]

This kind of editing is so cool!😊 keep it on

[@JCP1992]

yes, another train tour. thanks john please more of this contents.

[@onlyinjapan]

Working on a new one this morning the JR East :)

[@CynicalCynosure]

Can we get more ekiben/bento videos?! They’re awesome!

[@onlyinjapan]

YES!! I have many on the live streaming channel ONLY in JAPAN GO but would love to collaborate with Japan Rail some more.

[@Jko0922]

Sugoi! Excellent, as usual! I really would like to try the “hot” Ekiben. 😋 You always make me feel hungry! 💞

[@elvissancho2722]

Great episode. Peter's watch is amazing. Ty.

[@CravingCanada]

Food creativity in Japan is just amazing! Thanks for sharing John. Such a well put together video.

[@TheCyberMantis]

This was great! I loved seeing the trains, and the view out the train window when it was speeding along! The ekibens were all very interesting! Different from typical American cuisine. Some looked kinda good... some looked kinda weird! Nice how they named that shinkansen the "Hayabusa"! Which means "falconer", and also Suzuki makes a big sport motorcycle with the same name!

[@DreamingDownUnder]

I liked the boxes with the seafood the best. They all looked delicious. Great video

[@min2vietin]

Love your new show opener, John! Coooollll! I also love the mixed documentary type and live hosting. Thanks for an excellent show.

[@peterlkim]

All those bentos looks so great! Thanks for introducing them!

[@jorgeabivagarcia2544]

Bullet trains and bento onboard will be my next experience :)

[@sanashi27]

This video got me hungry. All the ekiben look good! The last one had a lot of stuff in it but the ones with the reusable containers were nice.

[@thepowerstation2702]

Thank you 🙏 John. Great video. A lot of hard work went into the making of this, especially the days spent trying to get or getting the drone shots in a field!!! 👍. ✌️ Levent 🦁

[@steveridgewaynrtgo]

The shot of the two of you walking through the GranClass car with the scenery moving by so quickly that it couldn't be captured by the camera was very powerful and futuristic. Great video! 👍