text: Rail travel in Japan boomed after the Second World War, and with it the popularity of ekiben. Sales of ekiben was further spurred on in the 1970s by Ekiben Hitoritabi, a drama based on a manga about a person who travelled round Japan to taste the ekiben in different parts of the country. At its height in the mid 1980s, it was estimated that twelve million boxes were consumed daily. This "Golden Age" of ekiben, however, ended in the 1980s when air travel became popular and the introduction of faster trains became more widespread. Prior to the 1980s, air travel was expensive and travelers tended to use trains which were then much slower, therefore ekiben were necessary during their long train journeys. Faster trains such as the Shinkansen also eliminated many stops along a railway journey, which contributed to its decline, and some stations no longer offer ekiben. From 1987 to 2008, there was a 50% decline in the number of ekiben makers. However, the popularity of the ekiben increased when the dining car was discontinued in the 1990s, eventually gaining popularity on the Shinkansen aside from remaining popular on the slower but cheaper commuter trains.
  Ekiben are now also available outside of railway station in department stores and airports. Annual ekiben fairs are held at various department stores, the first of which was held in 1966. The largest of these are the ones at the Keio Department Store in Shinjuku Station, Tokyo, and Hanshin Department Store in Osaka. Japanese railfans who have a particular enthusiasm for ekiben are known as ekiben-tetsu.
  Types
  There many types of different ekiben available. The standard ekiben available throughout Japan is known as makunouchi-bento, which typically features rice, grilled fish, fish cakes, pickles, and other standard elements. There are also regional varieties of ekiben that incorporate elements of the local cuisine. For example, masuzushi is a variety of ekiben from Toyama Prefecture that features trout oshizushi (pressed sushi) wrapped in bamboo leaves.
  A similar style of meal is also popular in Taiwan, known as  Taiwan Railway Mealbox.