In case you’ve been living in a bento box and haven’t heard the news: Ichiban Kan’s online store is now open! Yep, the famous Japanese dollar store from the West Coast is online. And not a minute too soon. I was beginning to seriously consider spending too much money on bento boxes from eBay.

To give you a sense of what kind of cents you’ll be saving, take a look at my first haul above.

Here’s a list of everything I got for $26.25 (before shipping).

  • 2 white bento boxes with rubber gaskets
  • 1 nifty yellow monkey bento box with two-tiers and room for cookies on top
  • 1 red monkey bento box shaped for large onigiri
  • 1 elastic bento belt for the yellow monkey box
  • 3, yep, 3 mandolin veggie slicers, 1 with a knuckle guard (this is my fave)
  • 1 pack of dressing bottles
  • 2 different sets of rice molds, cute and regular
  • 2 refrigerator trays, tall and short
  • 1 metal soap for getting garlic smells off your hands
  • 1 mini bamboo mat and rice paddle
  • 15 differently sized sealable mini containers

My mind is still shocked at all that for sooo little.

The items that I’m finding most useful are the white and yellow bento boxes, the two smallest slicers, the refrigerator trays and all the little sealable containers. I use the white bentos to pack fruity breakfasts for Peter and myself and the yellow to pack Peter’s lunch. I haven’t figured out how to make the best use of the red bento box yet but still thinking on it. The little sealable containers are awesome for all those tiny leftovers you don’t want to throw away because they just might fit into a bento. AND I’ve been using the wee little round ones for homemade salad dressings.

If you’re wanting to save big on lots of ‘different things’, Ichiban Kan’s loads of fun.