Bento box (premium) price in Japan
Average retail price
- Cheapest surveyed city
- ¥589 Osaka
- Priciest surveyed city
- ¥977 Sapporo
See all 47 cities, cheapest first
| # | City | Price (JPY) · per piece |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Osaka | ¥589 |
| 2 | Yokohama | ¥592 |
| 3 | Wakayama | ¥600 |
| 4 | Saga | ¥613 |
| 5 | Morioka | ¥623 |
| 6 | Aomori | ¥627 |
| 7 | Tokyo (23 wards) | ¥639 |
| 8 | Otsu | ¥639 |
| 9 | Nara | ¥639 |
| 10 | Kobe | ¥643 |
| 11 | Fukushima | ¥653 |
| 12 | Akita | ¥663 |
| 13 | Miyazaki | ¥663 |
| 14 | Kumamoto | ¥676 |
| 15 | Nagasaki | ¥680 |
| 16 | Sendai | ¥690 |
| 17 | Yamagata | ¥690 |
| 18 | Utsunomiya | ¥690 |
| 19 | Niigata | ¥690 |
| 20 | Toyama | ¥690 |
| 21 | Kanazawa | ¥690 |
| 22 | Fukui | ¥690 |
| 23 | Kofu | ¥690 |
| 24 | Nagano | ¥690 |
| 25 | Gifu | ¥690 |
| 26 | Shizuoka | ¥690 |
| 27 | Tsu | ¥690 |
| 28 | Tottori | ¥690 |
| 29 | Matsue | ¥690 |
| 30 | Okayama | ¥690 |
| 31 | Hiroshima | ¥690 |
| 32 | Yamaguchi | ¥690 |
| 33 | Fukuoka | ¥690 |
| 34 | Oita | ¥690 |
| 35 | Kagoshima | ¥690 |
| 36 | Mito | ¥693 |
| 37 | Kyoto | ¥693 |
| 38 | Tokushima | ¥693 |
| 39 | Takamatsu | ¥693 |
| 40 | Maebashi | ¥700 |
| 41 | Saitama | ¥700 |
| 42 | Chiba | ¥700 |
| 43 | Nagoya | ¥700 |
| 44 | Naha | ¥700 |
| 45 | Kochi | ¥707 |
| 46 | Matsuyama | ¥713 |
| 47 | Sapporo | ¥977 |
Retail price survey conducted by the Statistics Bureau of Japan. This is a survey average, not a shop price — actual prices vary by store. 総務省統計局 小売物価統計調査 · Surveyed items and specifications
Key facts
Bento box (premium) costs ¥681 per piece in Japan as of September 2026 — the unweighted average of 47 surveyed cities, up 0.9% from a year earlier. Measured as an index, the official CPI for bento box (premium) reads 121.8 (2020 = 100) in September 2026, up 1.6% year on year and up 18.8% over five years.
Bento box (premium) sits in the food group of Japan's CPI basket, with 501 monthly observations from January 1985 to September 2026. The series peaked at 121.8 in September 2026 and bottomed at 68.6 in January 1985; the latest reading is at its highest recorded level. Against ten years ago it is +34.7%.
Annual average index by year
| Year | Index | YoY % | Months |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 90.6 | +3.0% | 12 |
| 2016 | 90.6 | 0.0% | 12 |
| 2017 | 91.5 | +1.0% | 12 |
| 2018 | 96.0 | +4.9% | 12 |
| 2019 | 94.3 | -1.8% | 12 |
| 2020 | 100.0 | +6.0% | 12 |
| 2021 | 102.4 | +2.4% | 12 |
| 2022 | 104.3 | +1.9% | 12 |
| 2023 | 110.1 | +5.6% | 12 |
| 2024 | 111.8 | +1.5% | 12 |
| 2025 | 118.8 | +6.3% | 12 |
| 2026 | 121.3 | +2.1% | 9 |
Average of the monthly index values in each year (2020 = 100). Blank months are excluded.
Average retail price by month
| 2026-09 | ¥681 |
|---|---|
| 2026-08 | ¥679 |
| 2026-07 | ¥679 |
| 2026-06 | ¥679 |
| 2026-05 | ¥678 |
| 2026-04 | ¥678 |
| 2026-03 | ¥681 |
| 2026-02 | ¥679 |
| 2026-01 | ¥679 |
| 2025-12 | ¥680 |
| 2025-11 | ¥677 |
| 2025-10 | ¥676 |
| 2025-09 | ¥675 |
Frequently asked questions
- How much does bento box (premium) cost in Japan?
- ¥681 per piece, as of September 2026 — the unweighted average of 47 surveyed cities in the government's retail price survey.
- Which Japanese city has the cheapest bento box (premium)?
- Among the surveyed cities in September 2026, Osaka was cheapest at ¥589 and Sapporo the most expensive at ¥977.
- How much have bento box (premium) prices changed in Japan over the past year?
- As of September 2026, +1.6% year on year, measured by Japan's official consumer price index (2020 = 100).
- How much have bento box (premium) prices changed in Japan over the past five years?
- +18.8% compared with the same month five years earlier. The index now reads 121.8.
- When were bento box (premium) prices in Japan at their highest?
- Right now. The latest month, September 2026, is the highest reading in the series at 121.8 — a record high since the series began.
- What is the difference between the index and the yen price?
- This page carries two kinds of number. The index (2020 = 100) measures percentage change over time and is not a yen amount; the yen figure is an actual average retail price from the government's retail price survey. Source: 総務省統計局 消費者物価指数 (e-Stat table 0003427113, nationwide, monthly).