© Derral Chen · CC BY-SA 2.0

🍱 Ikameshi

Ikameshi is a famous local dish of the Hakodate and Oshima regions. It is said that ikameshi was originally invented as a boxed lunch at Mori Station on the Hakodate Main Line during World War II, when rice was in short supply due to food control measures. The ingredient used was squid, which was readily available due to its large catch in the southern Hokkaido area at the time, and was used to "save rice, if only a little. The "ikameshi," squid stuffed with rice and cooked to perfection, was so popular because it was easy to eat, filling, and tasty that even today it is a popular ekiben that many people purchase whenever a train arrives.