5 Cute Character Bento to Brighten Up Your Day!

Have you heard of kyarabento?

Kyara-bento – or character bento – is a Japanese lunch box that features pop-culture icons and mascots, from anime heroes like Naruto and Sailor Moon to kawaii characters such as Hello Kitty, Rilakkuma, and so many more. Kyara-bento is quite popular throughout Japan, especially among dedicated moms who go the extra mile to make their children’s lunch a fun surprise!

A lot of patience, creativity, and care is needed to transform an ordinary lunch into kyara-bento. Having said that, preparing a special kyara-bento for someone you admire is sure to warm their heart!

1. Hello Kitty Pretty Pink Sushi Bento

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This cute Hello Kitty kyara-bento is the perfect combination of a tasty and healthy lunch!

This perfectly-pink bento is looking pretty for any Hello Kitty fan ! The kyara-bento consists of sushi rolls featuring Hello Kitty’s adorable face and bow as well as pink gingham flower rolls to match! Fresh raspberries & pomegranate arils along with Hello Kitty shaped carrots round things out for a healthy dessert. With this menu, the Hello Kitty bento makes for a kawaii character driven meal that’s sure to satisfy!

2. Vulpix Pikachu Pokemon Bento

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This elaborate Pikachu bento may be a challenge to create, but the final result is worth the effort!

Is that a Pikachu or a Vulpix sitting atop a delicious bed of ketchup rice? Ah, it looks like Pikachu has taken up cosplay! This adorable Pokemon themed bento is made up of egg crepes, pepperoni, chicken, ham, pickled ginger, and a variety of cheeses. It looks so yummy! Almost cute enough to eat, don’t you think? However, as we’re sure you can imagine, it would take a lot of patience to create this Pika-powered kyara-bento . Do you have what it takes to make the very best bento?

3. Easter Bunny Rilakkuma Bento

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Celebrate Easter with Rilakkuma and Kiiroitori packed in your bento box!

A bento for Easter day sounds so like so much fun! This festive Rilakkuma kyara-bento consists of ground meat, mint peas, and buttered corn. It feels like Spring has sprung! Rilakkuma himself is crafted from rice colored with soy sauce, and beets to color his kawaii bunny hat! Kiiroitori – one of Rilakkuma’s best buds – is made of a hard-boiled quail egg. Fancy! Can you guess what other ingredients make up this Rilakkuma bento?

4. Christmas Tree Pusheen Bento Box

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If it was up to Pusheen, we would be celebrating Christmas all year long!

The rice in this Pusheen bento is naturally dyed with grounded black sesame seed to give Pusheen his natural, soft grey color. The Christmas tree costume is made of egg crepes that are colored with spirulina powder (hence the green glow!). Add some simple salt & peppered shrimp, braised bell pepper kinpira, and steamed broccoli topped with parmesan to make your lunch a merry winter wonderland!

5. Aggretsuko Bento Box

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Work or school leaving you feeling dismayed? This Aggretsuko bento is here to save the day!

We can all relate to Retsuko, right? Sometimes, the daily grind just brings you down. How about trying out this Aggretsuko bento to lighten your day? This bento is easy to make since all you need is a simple sandwich as the base, with Aggretsuko’s head shaped with cheese as the main ingredient! Don’t forget to add a little bit of ham and nori to complete Aggretsuko’s fed-up face! To round things out, pack up your sandwich alongside fresh salad and your Aggretsuko bento is ready to rock. You’ll be sure to relish this relatable kyara-bento during your darkest days!

All of the kyara-bento mentioned above are made by a talented bento creator named Shannon! If you’re interested to see more of her creations, you can check her website and Instagram! If your eyes are hungry for more kawaii bento creations, check out these 5 Japanese food art Instagram accounts!

Which kawaii characters would you like to transform into a yummy kyara-bento? Let us know in the comments below! If you go for it, make sure to tag us! We want to see what you create!