How much is the Yamayuri Beef Shigure-ni Bento?

It costs ¥1,350 including tax on Ekibenya Matsuri's menu in October 2026. Older reviews show ¥1,150 to ¥1,250, which are out of date, and prices can differ by branch.

Where can I buy the Yamayuri Beef Shigure-ni Bento?

You can buy it at Ekibenya Matsuri inside the JR ticket gates on the 1F Central Passage of Tokyo Station, open 5:30 to 22:00 every day. Not every branch carries every box.

What does shigure-ni mean?

It is a Japanese way of simmering meat or seafood in soy sauce, sugar and mirin, often with ginger, until the sauce clings to it. In this box the beef is cooked sukiyaki-style with shirataki noodles.

Is the Yamayuri beef bento good for kids?

Usually, yes, because the sauce is sweet and there is no raw fish. Check the allergens, which include egg, wheat, shrimp and sesame, and cut the slippery shirataki noodles for small children.

Can I eat it on the Shinkansen?

Yes. Eating at your seat is normal on the Shinkansen and limited express trains. Avoid eating on commuter trains, and take your rubbish with you.

Yamayuri Beef Shigure-ni Bento: Kanagawa Beef on Rice at Tokyo Station

01/09/202610/10/2026

Yamayuri Beef Shigure-ni Bento open next to its sleeve, with simmered beef on rice and small side dishes

Quick answer

The Yamayuri Beef Shigure-ni Bento is still sold in October 2026, at ¥1,350 including tax.
It is sweet simmered Kanagawa brand beef and shirataki noodles on white rice, under the Ofunaken label.
Buy it at Ekibenya Matsuri inside Tokyo Station's JR gates, open 5:30 to 22:00 daily.

Contents

Is the Yamayuri Beef Shigure-ni Bento Still Sold?

Yes. As of October 2026 the Yamayuri Beef Shigure-ni Bento is on Ekibenya Matsuri's official menu at ¥1,350 including tax, up from ¥1,250 when we first wrote about it.

It sits in the shop's meat section, and the shop's price card for it is dated 1 September 2026.

Detail	Current information
Name	Yamayuri Beef Shigure-ni Bento (Yamayurigyu Shigureni Bento)
Price	¥1,350 including tax (October 2026)
Made by	JR East Cross Station, sold under the Shonan Kamakura Ofunaken label
Where sold	Ekibenya Matsuri, inside the JR gates at Tokyo Station
Hours	5:30 to 22:00, daily

Prices can differ by branch, and not every branch carries every box, so check the label in the shop. The menu also says boxes can change or end without notice.

Older reviews online still show ¥1,150 to ¥1,250, which are out-of-date prices.

The label on the side of the bento box showing the time limit and the price at the time — The label on the box in late 2025 still showed ¥1,250, and the price is now ¥1,350

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What Is Inside the Box

Most of the box is beef simmered with shirataki noodles in a sweet soy sauce, spread over plain white rice. The menu describes it as Yamayuri beef and shirataki cooked into a sukiyaki-style shigure-ni.

A small compartment at the top holds the side dishes.

Yamayuri beef shigure-ni. Thin slices of beef are simmered in soy sauce, sugar and mirin until glossy. Shigure-ni is a Japanese way of simmering meat or seafood with ginger and soy until the sauce clings.
Shirataki. These thin, slightly springy noodles are made from konjac, a root vegetable. They soak up the sauce and stretch the beef.
White rice, which takes on the sauce from above.
Green onion or greens on top of the beef.
Red pickled ginger (beni shoga) to cut the sweetness.
Side dishes. The small compartment holds a piece of simmered carrot, a ganmodoki (a soft fried tofu cake) and a heap of simmered hijiki seaweed.

The dish is close to a sukiyaki rice bowl in ekiben form. If anyone in your family likes Japanese beef bowls (gyudon), this is the same idea with a sweeter, richer sauce.

What Is Yamayuri Beef?

Yamayuri beef (yamayuri-gyu) is a brand of beef from Kanagawa Prefecture, the prefecture just south of Tokyo that includes Yokohama, Kamakura and Hakone. It is registered under the prefecture's Kanagawa Brand scheme, which the prefecture runs with producers' groups for local farm and fishery products.

In October 2025 it covered 74 products and 130 registrations.

It shares its name with the yamayuri, the golden-rayed mountain lily that is Kanagawa's prefectural flower. Yamayuri beef is not wagyu from a well-known region like Kobe or Matsusaka.

It is a local brand, and the box offers a taste of the region around Tokyo rather than the most expensive beef in Japan.

The bento carries the label of Ofunaken, the old station-food brand of Ofuna Station in Kamakura. Ofunaken's own menu today centres on its pressed horse-mackerel sushi, and Ekibenya Matsuri credits it with the first sandwich sold at a Japanese station, in 1899.

If you are going to Kamakura, our guide to a Kamakura day trip from Tokyo covers the area the box is named for.

What It Tastes Like and Who It Suits

It tastes sweet and savoury, like sukiyaki, with soft beef, a thick soy-and-sugar sauce, and rice that soaks it up. The sauce is sweet enough that children who like teriyaki usually like it, and the pickled ginger is there for adults who want something sharp.

Good for. It suits beef lovers, children who like sweet sauces, and anyone who wants a filling box without raw fish.
Less good for. Skip it if you are avoiding sugar or want to taste the meat on its own, because the sauce is the main flavour.
Portion. One box is a full meal for an adult. Two younger children could share one with a snack on the side.

It is eaten cold, like most ekiben. The sauce stays soft at room temperature, so the beef does not dry out, and the rice under it stays moist rather than hard.

That is why simmered beef is such a common ekiben, since it tastes much the same at noon as it did when you bought it at 8:00.

Several ekiben open on a table, including the Yamayuri beef box, a sandwich box and a tonkatsu box — The Yamayuri beef box next to other Tokyo Station ekiben

ONO

I have eaten this bento, and I recommend it.

Where to Buy It at Tokyo Station

Buy it at Ekibenya Matsuri, inside the JR ticket gates on the 1F Central Passage of Tokyo Station. The shop is open 5:30 to 22:00 every day and stocks about 150 kinds of ekiben.

Getting there. From the Marunouchi Central Exit, walk straight along the Central Passage towards the Shinkansen gates. Matsuri is on the right.
Finding the box. Look in the meat section for a tall sleeve with a photo of beef on it, or show staff the name.
Timing. Go in the morning, because the shop is busiest around lunchtime and the best-selling boxes can sell out.
Payment. The shop takes cash, credit cards, IC cards such as Suica, and other e-money.

If you are not boarding a JR train, you need a platform ticket (nyujoken) from the ticket machines to get in. Our Ekibenya Matsuri guide has more on the shop.

Other stations. Ofunaken's own website lists its shops at Ofuna, Fujisawa and Kamakura stations, plus Ekibenya branches at Shinjuku, Ueno and Atami. Its online menu shows only the pressed sushi, so we cannot confirm which of those shops stock this box. Treat Tokyo Station as the reliable place.

Can You Pre-Order It?

Not at Ekibenya Matsuri. The shop's notice says it does not take reservations or hold boxes for customers.

For a large order, the shops' customer line (03-3213-4353, 9:00 to 19:00) can tell you which shops in Tokyo Station accept reservations and for which boxes. Ekibenya Odori, next to Matsuri, takes online pre-orders for its own range up to three days ahead.

We have not confirmed that this box is among them.

How to Eat It on the Shinkansen

Eat it at your seat once the train has left, which is normal on the Shinkansen and limited express trains. On the Yamanote Line and other commuter trains, wait.

Open the sleeve flat on the seat tray so the sauce does not run to one end.
Eat the beef and rice together, from one end of the box to the other, so each bite has sauce.
Use the pickled ginger between bites if the sweetness gets too much.
Bag the empty box and use the bins on the train deck or the platform.

Keep the box flat in your bag before you eat. Our guide to the Shinkansen with kids covers seats and luggage.

Allergy and Practical Tips

The shop's price card lists egg, wheat, shrimp, beef, soybean, yam and sesame among the allergens. The full list is printed on the box in Japanese, and the second photo on the official product page shows it.

Check the label with a translation app if anyone has a food allergy. The shrimp and yam are easy to miss in a beef box.
Eat it the same day. The label shows the time limit, and the box in our photo had a time limit of 1:00 at night.
Keep it out of the sun and away from heaters.
Shirataki are slippery. Cut them with chopsticks for small children.

On our family days in Tokyo, I ask about allergies before the day and plan meals around them, which is part of our private Tokyo tour with kids.

Similar Boxes If It Is Sold Out

If the shelf is empty, Ekibenya Matsuri lists several beef boxes that suit the same eater.

Ekiben	Price (Oct 2026)	Why pick it
Nihonbashi Daimasu Gyu Sukiyaki-ju	¥1,400	Sukiyaki beef on rice, the closest match
Gyusuki and Yakiniku Bento	¥1,450	Two kinds of beef
Charcoal-Grilled Style Beef Tongue Bento	¥1,480	Self-heating, eaten hot
Edo Amamiso Katsu and Gyusuki Bento	¥1,500	Pork cutlet in sweet miso, plus sukiyaki beef

Read more about the Gyusuki and Yakiniku Bento, or see our pick of the best ekiben at Tokyo Station. If you are new to station bento, start with our guide to ekiben in Japan, and for food beyond the station, our Tokyo food guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much is the Yamayuri Beef Shigure-ni Bento?: It costs ¥1,350 including tax on Ekibenya Matsuri's menu in October 2026. Older reviews show ¥1,150 to ¥1,250, which are out of date, and prices can differ by branch.
Where can I buy the Yamayuri Beef Shigure-ni Bento?: You can buy it at Ekibenya Matsuri inside the JR ticket gates on the 1F Central Passage of Tokyo Station, open 5:30 to 22:00 every day. Not every branch carries every box.
What is Yamayuri beef?: It is a brand of beef from Kanagawa Prefecture, south of Tokyo, registered under the prefecture's Kanagawa Brand scheme. It shares its name with the mountain lily, Kanagawa's prefectural flower.
What does shigure-ni mean?: It is a Japanese way of simmering meat or seafood in soy sauce, sugar and mirin, often with ginger, until the sauce clings to it. In this box the beef is cooked sukiyaki-style with shirataki noodles.
Is the Yamayuri beef bento good for kids?: Usually, yes, because the sauce is sweet and there is no raw fish. Check the allergens, which include egg, wheat, shrimp and sesame, and cut the slippery shirataki noodles for small children.
Can I eat it on the Shinkansen?: Yes. Eating at your seat is normal on the Shinkansen and limited express trains. Avoid eating on commuter trains, and take your rubbish with you.

Sources

https://foods.jr-cross.co.jp/matsuri/ekiben/detail/598.html
https://foods.jr-cross.co.jp/matsuri/ekiben/tag/meet.html
https://www.gransta.jp/mall/gransta_tokyo/ekibenyamatsuri/
https://foods.jr-cross.co.jp/matsuri/information/
https://www.ofunaken.co.jp/
https://www.pref.kanagawa.jp/docs/vw7/prs/r9834242.html

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