In the spring of 2024, the Series 381 train that has operated the Yakumo limited express train between Okayama and Izumo City Stations will cease regular service, and a new Series 273 train will begin operation. The “Limited Express Yakumo San’in Ekimono” commemorates not only the introduction of the new train but also the retirement of the train that has been in service for many years since the Showa period. It is produced by Miyoshino Honten, a long-established company that has been selling boxed lunches at Okayama Station since 1891.
Remove the wrapping paper, which has a picture of the Series 273 “Yakumo” filling the entire front, and open the lid to find a grid of 12 different dishes divided into groups. The top four are a group of side dishes. The middle row contains four types of rice. The bottom row is a group of dipping sauces and desserts. Many of the bentos are regionally inspired ekiben that have a connection to the area where they are served.
Let’s start with the side dish group. In the upper left corner is beef shigureni, a well-known local dish of the San’in region. It is seasoned with a sweetness that is more pronounced than the taste of ginger, and although the quantity is not so large, it is very satisfying. Other dishes include Spanish mackerel baked in white soy sauce, grilled prawns, fried chicken, and various other ingredients such as beef, Spanish mackerel, prawns, and chicken. These ingredients from the sea and mountains are fried, baked, and simmered in a variety of ways to create a rich variety of tastes and textures. The sweet shigure-ni is served with a less sweet carrot stew, grilled dishes are topped with vinegared lotus root, and sweet burdock root is hidden behind the baran, among many other accents.
There are four types of rice: crab chirashi-sushi, a San’in specialty; shijimi clam rice topped with sweetly simmered shijimi clams; festival sushi, an Okayama specialty; and Hiruzen okowa, a sticky, lightly seasoned okowa rice topped with sweet chestnuts. There is also sushi rice and mochi rice, which is a rice cake with a variety of tastes and textures.
Accompaniments & desserts include boiled komatsuna with fried bean curd + slightly sweet black soybeans and fried egg. The sweet potato nectar is quite sweet when combined with simmered shiitake mushrooms and boiled green beans in salted soy sauce. It is now in the realm of dessert. And for real dessert, kinako (soybean flour) dumplings.
In any case, this ekiben has a large number of items and a wide variety of flavors. If you look closely, it seems to be an all-star ekiben, selected from a number of ekiben manufactured by Miyoshino Honden, including “Momotaro no Matsuri Zushi” popular at Okayama Station, and other items between Okayama and San-in area. In fact, it is a type of ekiben that can often be found nationwide at long-established ekiben shops with many product lines. It is especially recommended for those who seek a regional flavor typical of ekiben and those who want to enjoy a variety of flavors little by little.
Incidentally, the hanging paper includes the names of all the stations where the “Yakumo” stops and an explanation of the trains it has operated, from the diesel train era to the latest Series 273, so why not enjoy this information as a little accent to your trip?
© Source travel watch