Ekiben and Britain

It’s been really interesting seeing my country through the eyes of friends from India who want to see as much of the country as possible, and they have encouraged me to remember a childhood of holidays across the UK, renting cottages, and seeing the castles and countryside of Britain.

I have always enjoyed seeing what this country can offer, but that doesn’t mean I think it’s in any way optimised. Recently I went down to Cornwall and couldn’t help but compare it to my last trip: Japan. I think Britain has a lot to learn from the Japanese tourist industry. The two islands are incredibly similar, both pulling much bigger weight internationally than we perhaps ought to due to outsize cultural impact, Japan and the UK are both bucket-list destinations for a wide array of people across the world. In my view, however, Japan is much more adept at providing a dynamic holiday experience and at encouraging its own citizens to ‘holiday at home’, and the more I see, the more I think this small island could learn from that one to boost our economy with tourist dollars and keep more of our own money here.

Ekiben

‘Eki’ means ‘train station’, and ‘bento’ are the traditional Japanese style of lunchbox. I was incredibly excited for ekiben when I was in Japan, because we were travelling across the country and the boxes often contain regional specialties to show off each prefecture in the best possible light. I was so keen to try the local dishes and produce, which Japan really does take seriously, and have what I perceived as a more ‘authentic’ and ‘superior’ Japanese experience, without having to do anything more than buy a boxed lunch.

This is something we have in the UK: think Yorkshire rhubarb, Kenton apples, Birmingham Balti as just the tip of the iceberg of our regional specialties. Think how every town has its own bread, its own cheese, and a local pastry, and think how we have a train network whose history, if not its reliability, can easily rival Japan’s Shinkansen for tourist interest. Why isn’t every town in the UK producing a bento box or two to lure tourists to step off the London – Oxford – Edinburgh path? Every town in the UK has enough to occupy a tourist for a day – especially an international tourist, who may be much more wowed by the local church or small museum than a native – and many of us are worried about the death by standardisation of local traditions and dialects. Why not share our heritage with tourists, and encourage them to see the local attraction at the same time? It would keep local people employed in local crafts, and be enjoyable for visitors, with minimal effort.

Beyond tourists, there are literally ekiben fans, who will travel the country for the most interesting and unusual ekiben, and enjoy the whole experience – travel, sightseeing, food. There is a manga about obtaining ekiben, ekiben specifically aimed at children and others for adults, and updates available in several languages about the latest changes in train station lunch boxes to galvanise travel across and enjoyment of the regions. For some people, ekiben are the bonus to travel; to others, it is the purpose, and Britain absolutely could and should be showing off our hundreds of steamed puds and charming cheeses to anybody who likes to try new things… or enjoys the safety of an existing format. Imagine how much happier somebody would be travelling to Milton Keynes if they could pick up a badger in their box, or how much more keen they would be to travel to Stoke-on-Trent and buy local pottery if they were encouraged by its most unusual regional bread. Think how much better British Sunday morning trains would be if hungover people returning home could pick up a lunchbox with self-heating Lancashire Hotpot and a slice of buttered Soreen from Manchester Piccadilly. The possibilities are endless.

I also appreciate that ekiben is available to everyone: even somebody travelling for work with no time to see what a town has to offer could get to the station ten minutes early to enjoy their famed produce, or a tourist who has to change trains to get to their destination suddenly has an opportunity rather than a stressful obligation. Ekiben are on platforms, in the station concourse, and on display in the stores, so even with non-existent Japanese I was able to order ekiben everywhere; even in a rush somebody can get a square meal (sometimes even a hot meal!) for a relatively low price, and the town can get a boost for selling me, or anybody passing through, fresh, local produce.

Train travel in the UK is famously shit, but we have advantages that Japan doesn’t: without a centralised app or purchasing system [1] such as trainline we found ourselves having to buy tickets at station windows and found ourselves confused by seat reservations, express upgrades, and changing to different lines. Were it publicised better, and joined by an incentive such as travelling for local food, I think we would see greater interest in the wider UK, be that traditional tourist destinations such as seaside towns or The Lake District or unusual places with rich culinary heritage such as Bakewell, Derbyshire (fun fact: it’s a pudding not a tart) or Aberdeen for an Arbroath Smokie or Aberdeen Angus fillet.

Gotta Catch ‘Em All

Beyond bento, Japan is amazing at encouraging its locals and international people to enjoy all that it has to offer: whether it’s creating mascots for its onsen (hot springs) that encourages you to see them all [2], naming X number of ‘great’ Y (such as the ‘three great gardens of Japan‘, which I believe are literally on their money) [3], or holding stamp rallies to encourage people to not only visit but show off their trips to everything from shrines to shopping malls, the tourist board of Japan is demonstrating things that everyone from the National Trust to the RNLI could utilise to create buzz and interest and encourage tourists to see the whole of the UK, and stay here for longer [4].

Britain has as much heritage as Japan, so where are the ‘rent a Tudor outfit for a day and take pictures’ shops, like the one I visited in Kyoto for kimono? Where are the ‘a personal guide to afternoon tea’ like the tea ceremony I attended? Where is the government push on brands like Beatrix Potter, Wallace & Gromit, The Beatles, and King Arthur to push tourists around the country and encourage foreigners to see The Lake District, Bristol, Liverpool, and Cornwall respectively? At a local level, cities often celebrate their local children or famous inhabitants, but we don’t see very much joined-up thinking, collaborations with other townships, or national-level intervention to encourage us to visit Bradford, City of Culture, or Exeter, UNESCO Town of Literature. Where are the buses from the station to a town’s one tourist attraction? We are wasting the potential of these expensive outreach programmes and ignoring the culture available to us all. Whatever you’re interested in, Britain has a day-trip or a weekend away that will sate you and expand your knowledge, but it is likely not reaching its full audience, and it is by packaging them together and making them feel like short, easily-accessible trips that we will find fun and charming, whatever our age.

When the journey is the purpose rather than the destination we might encourage tourists to go further afield, and enjoy their trip more for it. We might also change what it means to be a tourist in Britain – change it to a dynamic, attainable thing that appeals to a wider swathe of the public and allows us to embrace the wideness and regionality of our little island’s culture.

[1] yes, there is suica etc, but they require a Japanese address or to be picked up in Tokyo and are in no way simple to obtain.

[2] personally I would like to see this for ‘author’s home’ museums: anime versions of Daphne du Maurier, Jane Austen, Shakespeare, Roald Dahl and more with a unified push for me to see them all, ideally with a similar multimedia promotional push, in which I get a ‘League of Extraordinary Gentlemen’ style anime where they all hang out.

[3] for this one I would choose Botanical Gardens: Kew, The Eden Project, Belfast – we have incredible gardens in the UK.

[4] I am serious about the RNLI – they’re already stationed at many beaches in the UK, they should be asking people to donate £5 to the cause and, in return, giving a unique stamp for that beach.

On This Topic:

• The National Cycle Route index for Japan. In order to register a cycle route with Japan’s federal tourist board, the prefectures need to provide evidence that the route is safe, interesting, and well-appointed with maintenance and stops, so you’re guaranteed a safe cycle, and it gives you the opportunity to see parts of the country you’d never normally stop in.
• Both Gunma ekiben were sold out when I was there, so if you go please buy this and think of me. Then go out and buy a mountain of local pecans to give to me on your return. (also, don’t film strangers, and don’t talk on the trains in Japan.)
• Enjoy British bread. Enjoy British cheese. Enjoy foods I didn’t realise were considered weird until I spoke to people from other countries online.

To-Do:

• Fill up my queued posts after my holiday.
• TEXT. YOUR. FRIENDS.
• Finish Butter.

Today’s Culture:

• I’ve taken to reading part of a library book every day at lunch, then popping it back on the shelf and coming back for it tomorrow. Lord knows how I’ll react if somebody chooses that one fiction book out of the many thousands on the open shelves at my library…
• I hate running so powerfully, but also I am 30 and using the summer to self-improve. It took me three attempts to finish the first run.
• It’s the Library quiz night on the day I’m writing this, so pour one out for the goddess of victory and mentally transmit me your most pretentious knowledge.