Kotobuki Geisha Doll Bento Set

My daughter has been using this bento box for years. It has held up well. I pack a more American lunch: sandwich, fruit/veggies, etc. or crackers, cheese, meat and fruits/veggies. Mussels or shrimp with bread on the side and fruits/veggies. You can fit an entire sandwich in this box in the top tier. Using square bread I would utilize the heart shaped sandwich cutter and all four pieces fit nicely. When I used rectangular bread I cut the crusts off and cut the sandwich into four pieces, two rectangles and two triangles, and I could fit it in nicely. Also tortilla roll-ups fit nicely in this box. I really prefer putting fruit/veggies in the top tier though since I like their fruit/veggies to be over half their lunch. Doing that their is not room for a sandwich but when I am not packing sandwiches I use the face tier for fruits/veggies and when I pack sandwiches I'll include a whole piece of fruit in their lunch bag.The hat piece can actually hold crackers, nuts, or other dry foods. You just teach the kids to turn the bento upside down when they take that piece off. I use silicone cupcake liners to separate foods in the box which allows for a more compactly packed lunch.I was hesitant when I first got these because they seem small, but learning a few tricks for compact packing makes this bento completely useable for a preschool through elementary aged child. Once they get a little older you will have to add another type of container in order to provide the right amount of food. Still, I before I got these i tried a lot of different container options and they never worked well or they only lasted one year. This is well worth the price.

I've read the reviews about this product being too small and was really apprehensive about buying it because I needed a lunchbox for school next year. After debating about it for a week, I decided to bite the bullet and buy it.In the end, I like it a lot! It is made in japan (not in China-a 1st subtle sign that it's of good quality). When I saw that, I said "wow, that just made my purchase worth so much more!" I don't intend to offend any Chinese here (I'm chinese myself!), but China tends to produce rather low quality items. This seems very sturdy and durable, the paint looks like as if it would stay on for a long period of time. The plastic lid cover is on very securely. Overall, the design and quality of this bento is superb.Now, the main concern, the size. When I saw it in real life, I was actually surprised at how BIG it was! No, by no means am i saying that it's a big bento. It is small. However, after reading the comments, I imagined it to be so much smaller. Therefore I was pleasantly surprised. This box is definitely enough food for lunch in accordance to the Japanese ideal of a lunch. I can easily see how this will be a filling lunch if one knows how to pack a bento efficiently. I'm excited to use this bento and I know that I will be very full with my lunch during the school year.

It's well made and very sturdy. Perfect for a girl, but in order to pack it for a lunch you need to be cognizant of its size and place the food snugly. I separate items with those small cupcake thingies and cut everything vertically. I still think my daughter eats very lightly when I put her lunch into this, but she loves her geisha so much she'll never admit it. I took off one star because the part where the face is has a domed cover, wasting valuable space in the hair part where extra room would have been useful. I followed a previous reviewer's advice for learning how to pack this, it was very helpful.

I wanted a bento box container my daughter would like. The head makes a nice bowl to store a napkin, cookie and/or a love note. The middle has a tupperware-type cover. Three sections, all dishwasher safe. You can put a salad in one level, meat & cheese shapes in another or tiny silicon containers full of little items - get creative! Take a small cookie cutter or stamp [bento supplies sites have hundreds of shapes] and cut meats, cheeses and vegetables into flowers, hearts, animals, etc.Bento makes lunches fun! Mine never come back with uneaten food in them. If you are using portion control for your child, this is also a fantastic tactic. Lots of tiny servings of different items keep it interesting and they don't notice they're eating less. Small children, say 5 and under, go bananas for bento.I purchased a cute washable cloth drawstring bag to carry this - leaving room for a juice or milk box. I found one that looked like a pink pig with ears.Small drawbacks to consider: my daughter had a tough time stacking and getting the bento strap back on without help. Also, the adorable design of this set, plus the food shapes and colors in her "surprise" lunches were drawing a LOT of attention at lunchtime. Other kids would 'oooo' & 'ahh' so much, she felt embarrassed and finally asked me to stop sending bento lunches :(