The JR Kyushu Ekiben Grand Prix will be held at Kaegawa Station's "Flower Waiting Station Kareigawa (Forest Bento Yadaya)"
JR Kyushu has announced a total of 10 types of ekiben that have been selected for each award, including the Grand Prix winner of the "Flower Waiting Station Kareigawa" sold at Kakegawa Station in Kirishima City, Kagoshima Prefecture.
The Kyushu Ekiben Grand Prix will be held for the 13th time in six years. In the first four months, 51 types of ekiben were voted on by the general public. From the 3,135 public votes gathered, the top 10 types of ekiben advanced to the finals. In the finals, five judges, including the president of JR Kyushu and a railway journalist, selected the Grand Prix, Second Prize, Special Jury Award, and Excellence Award.
The Grand Prix, "Waiting for Flowers at the Station of Kareigawa," was praised for its local cuisine with dipping and a package that conveys the atmosphere of Kakegawa Station (judges' comments).
The runner-up prize is "Yamana Torimeshi" (Shintamana Station) and "Wazze Umaka! (Kagoshima Chuo Station, etc.). The Special Jury Prize was awarded to "Orio Specialty Kashiwameshi" (Orio Station, etc.).
The Excellence Award (6 Ekiben) was awarded to "Kashiwameshi" (Kohoku Station), "Volcano Bento" (Shimabara Station), "Nagasaki Chinese Bento Tsubaki" (Nagasaki Station), "Akagyu Mini Bento" (Aso Station), "Sakurajima Ash Dried Bento" (Kagoshima Chuo Station, etc.), and "One Hundred Years of Travel Story Kareigawa" (Kakegawa Station).
Kaegawa Station, which sells ekiben for the Grand Prix and Excellence Award, is popular as a secret station, but it is a station that is in danger of being abandoned. Mayumi Yamada, the representative of Mori no Bento Yadamaya, said, "With this award, I want to work harder with a new feeling."
