Don’t mean to ignore you, BeachRat but I tend to go up North rather than out West.

Wanted to add another data point as MrLapLap asked LapGirl to have one of the classic Shinkansen shaped ekiben from Tokyo Station’s Ekibenya Matsuri so we could give the container to a train freak child we know in London. The box (a lot of the room inside of which was taken up by a giant commemorative ticket) really was the only reason to get it. Apart from the kamaboko fish paste flag it was an unmemorable meal. Here’s what she struggled with.
The Tachikawa eCute omelet donburi was much more enjoyable.

Looks like a typical "kids meal." Hamburger, spaghetti, toy, etc. Eminently forgettable.

My go to food for journeys from Kyoto is Kakinoha Sushi. If you're not into oily fish, you can find versions without the mackerel. This dish is, in fact, a speciality of Nara, so pedants can shoot me for the anatopism, but I rarely visit Nara and I can easily find it at the station in Kyoto. IMHO It's the perfect travel food. If you want something authentically Kyoto for your train menu, grab some Kyoto pickles. And for dessert, buy some yatsuhashi:
Kakinoha-sushi-The specialty food in Nara

Hakata has several of the most popular ekiben in the country:
Kashiwa meshi (Looks like Neapolitan ice cream - A tray of Rice with overlayed stripes of Minced chicken, egg, and seaweed)
Fuku wa fuku yobu fuku meshi (Happiness is happiness-bringing happiness rice)
Daimyo do chukago (Daimyo road palanquin) - Essentially Kashiwameshi with a second tray of vegetables
https://gurutabi.gnavi.co.jp/i/gs10701/

https://washokufood.blogspot.com/200...io-ekiben.html

Himeji - I don't know. Just grab whatever looks good.

As a rule of thumb, I find that things in souvenir containers are like restaurants with views. You're not paying for the food. YMMV.

Okosama lunches can actually be really good. LapGirl only has a few more visits left before she won’t be eligible for them so she makes sure to order a sample range. They can be quite varied and offer a welcome opportunity to try a wider array of foods (in bite size portions) from a restaurant than a standard menu item would offer.
But I thought it worth pointing out that this ekiben version was not one of the good ones, not by a long shot. Especially as visiting tourists are a bit more likely to order these as they come with (for many) an enticing and unique souvenir - and, unlike in a restaurant, there is no indication, let alone stipulation, that the customer has to be a child.

When in Osaka, Horai pork buns are the thing to get. It's so fragrant that it is discouraged from partaking in a train. Butaman tero made quite a wave across the social networks last year. But what's stopping you? Nothing will stand between you and the delicious pork buns, right? Gaijin Smash!

May as well admit my top, grotesquely indulgent, Shinkansen treat this year. Only thing is that I picked it up from just outside Shirokane Takanawa Station (midweek so managed to avoid any of the considerable queues) and had it with a coffee in comfort on the way to Gala Yuzawa.
It was glorious. Just not a bento.

The Gazta (basque style) over priced and supremely over-packaged cheesecake.

GAZTA Shirokane / index

My mouth is still dripping.

Still can’t believe I lost weight this last trip. Desserts and patisserie instead of rice. Cheesecake instead of Maruichi Bagels or Mt Thabor Milk Bread.

At Shin Osaka station, we got a beef ebiken from
https://tabelog.com/en/osaka/A2701/A270301/27090217/

Mine was just beef and rice with a little veggie but the beef was really really good.
A bit pricey though.

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...3fc0f85d9d.jpg

I love the look of this guy who was selling the beef ebiken!

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...46edd68ba3.jpg

Also saw some other interesting ebiken like the sushi wrapped in leaf, Gram pancakes(queue was too long at the actual shop), tonkatsu and beef sandwich, squid type ebiken
Unfortunately , have limited stomach space and budget.

At Tokyo station, we bought more beef ebiken and ate inside the hotel room.
Got it from a store called 格之進 kakunoshin but cant seem to find the tabelog entry for the Tokyo station shop.
Cheaper than the Osaka store

I like how the various stores have 人気 no.1, 2, 3 etc

The hamburg steak was yummy!
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...0579a0823b.jpg

Souvenir packaging traps- why must you have such good game. I have enough packing challenges from pudding jars acquired as I travel via train, luggage likely dispersed in at least two points of Japan. I sometimes takkyubin the empty jars/ceramic cups & onsen towels to my destination just to offload them from my backpack and yes, they are probably < 80 yen jar being shipped for 1,200 (trust me, I've wondered if they'd fit into a TAQ-Q-BIN compact or odd shaped JP Post Letter pack). I do not need a plastic shinkansen, ceramic pot shaped like an octopus, or character good to try to fit into carry-on, even if I were to buy at the station to consume at my final hotel https://soranews24.com/2015/11/03/th...-on-the-train/ If I were rational, I'd also admit I do not need more pudding jars or onsen towels.

My favorite soraben so far is at Sato Fishery at CTS and HND ????? ???????????????????????????. HND Soraben Kobo has a counter with Sato Fishery https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/japa...light-hnd.html Daimaru next to Tokyo station also has a good ekiben-able seafood "Zeitaku mille fuelle" for those who like crab, ikura, salmon, and uni https://www.tsunagujapan.com/8-bento...tokyo-station/

CTS - Royce store and pastry shops doesn't count as soraben but I usually get a dessert pudding to go & nama choco special flavors as gifts/souvenirs if I'm in that area. [MENTION=37887]LapLap[/MENTION] I guess we need a term for coffee break/dessert on a train - "ekifika" from the Swedish Fika? I remember someone used the term "shink-drink" to describe Shinkansen beer :)

[MENTION=69961]jib71[/MENTION]
Any ideas?
[MENTION=24603]freecia[/MENTION]
The dessert pots/ceramics isn’t just you. To cope with uncontrolled accumulation we have a household rule prohibiting “pongos”*. Can’t pick up anything that doesn’t have a natural storage space and a demonstrable use. These managed to pass the test. The Koi Nobori** in particular was memorable as a dessert AND souvenir, delicious! We put the container and plastic iris to good use early in May.


* from the Spanish “¿Donde lo pongo?” which means “where do I put it?”. Describes any desirable item that will transform into useless tat the moment it reaches your home. (Also describes a lot of items that were never desirable and were useless tat on the shop shelves - but you get the drift). MrLapLap coined the term “Ponguería” for shops that specialise in “pongos”.

** from a little patisserie stand at a platform entrance inside Tachikawa station

My mind is blank at the mo. Perhaps 車両＆リラックス　＝　シャラックス。

That's an interesting twist on William Morris' golden rule: "Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."

What I like about that is it feels like a great thing to say as a way of a wink or a doff of the cap to someone else also enjoying this splendid past time. Encapsulates Shalom + Relax/Chillax :cool:

—
I saw “pongo” explained in a very, VERY limited audience provincial TV skit in Spain and we’ve absorbed the message. Long after Morris, but before Marié K popularised the Spark-Joy tag.

Yeah. That's what left me feeling uneasy with it.
https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2016...5248426559.jpg

You thought your ekiben was pricey?
Isn’t that a 21,000yen bento on the bottom row? (Next to the 4,800yen one)

No wonder the vendor is dressed as the Monopoly Man.

A "train station Bento" is part of our Japan travel tradition, and a trip wouldn't be the same without it. We arrive at the station a little early and make our bento choice - especially fun at Toyko Station where there must be a million options. Then we get settled on the train, wait awhile after departure and then get out our bento boxes and explore the contents. The whole experience just makes us smile a little.