Whilst I’m not totally down with konbini bento (although I think they have improved in taste and texture enormously in recent years), for the rest of it, I have to admit that I’m with [MENTION=638900]evergrn[/MENTION] about bento elsewhere being generally better than those at, say, Ekibenya Matsuri in Tokyo Station, which I also found overpriced and mediocre. My go to for train snacks in the Tokyo area are the shumai from Kiyoken*.
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There are always going to be ekiben gems, but it’s too much of a lottery to stumble on them.
I’ve had much better luck with ekinaka and nearby depachika (which are often close enough to be attached to station complexes).
Best bento we had this trip were from the ecute in Tachikawa which we picked up for our hanami in Showa Kinen Koen. I’d forgotten what the prices were but I can see that the rectangular bento with the bamboo shoot topped rice was 780yen. (The other, shown alone, had no rice and was under 900yen.) LapGirl chose the round omurice type option and proclaimed it delicious.
*Kiyoken do make delicious bento, but these seem easier to find in a depachika than in an Ekibenya.