If you’ve ever glimpsed a photo of a whole squid, glossy and dark with soy-sweet glaze, packed full of rice and sliced into rounds, you’ve seen ikameshi. It’s one of Japan’s most recognizable ekiben (駅弁, “station bento”), born on a small-town platform in Hokkaido and now sold as far away as Tokyo department store food fairs. This guide covers what it actually is, where it comes from, how to get to the source, and the mistakes that trip up first-time buyers.
What Is Ikameshi, Exactly?
Ikameshi (いかめし) is a whole squid body stuffed with uncooked glutinous and regular rice, then simmered slowly in a soy sauce, sugar, and mirin broth until the squid turns deep brown and the rice inside cooks through, absorbing all that savory-sweet liquid. It’s typically sold as a pair of squid per box, pre-sliced into thick rounds so you can eat it cold or at room temperature with disposable chopsticks — no reheating needed, which is exactly why it works as a grab-and-go bento for train travelers.
The texture is part of the appeal: a slightly chewy, almost rubbery squid “wrapper” giving way to soft, richly flavored rice. It’s sweeter and more savory than most ekiben, closer to a teriyaki glaze than a plain soy marinade, and it travels well without refrigeration for several hours, which is why it became a train-platform staple in the first place.
The Birthplace: Mori Station and Abekawa Shoten
Ikameshi was invented in the early 1940s in Mori, a small fishing town on Hokkaido’s Oshima Peninsula, between Hakodate and Sapporo on the Hakodate Main Line. Squid was abundant and cheap locally, while rice was rationed and scarce during the war years, so a local shop owner came up with the idea of stretching a small amount of rice by stuffing it into squid bodies. The recipe stuck, and it eventually won national ekiben competitions, turning Mori Station into a pilgrimage stop for ekiben fans.
The originator, Abekawa Shoten, still operates near Mori Station and sells ikameshi directly on the platform and from its shop a short walk away. A second long-running maker, Minatoya, also sells its own version right at the station, so you’ll often see two competing ikameshi stalls side by side — both worth trying, since the glaze and rice-to-squid ratio differ slightly between them.
How to Get to Mori Station
Mori Station sits on the Hakodate Main Line. From Hakodate Station, take a limited express (Hokuto or Super Hokuto series trains run this route, though names and schedules shift periodically — check the current JR Hokkaido timetable before you go) toward Sapporo; the ride to Mori takes roughly 40–50 minutes. If you’re arriving via the Hokkaido Shinkansen, get off at Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto and transfer to a local or limited express bound for Mori or Sapporo.
Mori is a quiet town, and the station itself is small — this isn’t a tourist complex, just a platform with a couple of ikameshi counters and a view of Uchiura Bay. Many visitors treat it as a short stop on the way between Hakodate and Lake Onuma Quasi-National Park rather than a standalone destination, buying a box through the train window or during a brief platform stop and eating it on the next leg of the journey, which is the classic ekiben experience.
Where Else to Buy Ikameshi in Hokkaido
You don’t have to go all the way to Mori to try it. Ikameshi from Abekawa Shoten and other Hokkaido makers is widely stocked at:
- Hakodate Station — the ekiben counter inside the station regularly carries ikameshi alongside other Hokkaido specialties.
- New Chitose Airport — the departure-level gift shops near the domestic terminal sell vacuum-sealed, shelf-stable ikameshi meant for travel, so you can bring it home rather than eat it on the spot.
- Sapporo Station — larger ekiben shops inside the station concourse carry it as one of the “greatest hits” of Hokkaido bento.
- Department store ekiben fairs in Tokyo and Osaka — major stores run periodic “ekiben matsuri” events where regional specialties, including ikameshi, are flown in and sold for a limited run; timing varies by store and year, so check locally if you’re hoping to catch one outside Hokkaido.
Best Time to Go and Common Mistakes
Ikameshi is sold year-round, since the squid used is typically frozen or preserved rather than tied to a fresh catch at the moment of sale, but Hokkaido’s prime squid season (roughly summer through early winter, strongest around August to November) is when local squid dishes generally taste best across the region. If you’re combining a Mori Station stop with squid-focused food elsewhere in Hokkaido — Hakodate’s squid-jigging boat tours, for instance — aim for that window.
The most common mistake is assuming you can buy ikameshi any time of day: platform stalls at small stations like Mori keep limited hours tied to train schedules and can sell out of the freshly made version, especially around lunch on weekends. If you’re set on the fresh, same-day version rather than the vacuum-packed souvenir kind, try to arrive mid-morning. The second mistake is expecting a hot meal — it’s served cold or room temperature by design, so don’t go looking for a microwave. And bring cash: small station kiosks and local shops like this are exactly the kind of spot where foreign credit cards get declined, so have coins and small bills ready.
Budget to Splurge: Price Guide
Ikameshi is budget-friendly by ekiben standards:
- Budget (~¥850–950): A standard two-squid box from the Mori Station platform stalls or Hakodate Station — the baseline, classic version.
- Mid-range (~¥1,000–1,500): Gift-boxed sets of three or four squid, often found at airport shops or department store ekiben fairs, aimed at travelers taking some home.
- Splurge (~¥2,000+): Premium versions using larger squid or mixed-seafood variations sold at specialty Hokkaido gift shops, sometimes packaged for shipping as a souvenir.
Prices creep up gradually year to year, so treat these as a guide rather than a guarantee, and expect slightly higher prices at airports than at the source in Mori.
Bringing It Home or Making It Yourself
The vacuum-sealed, unrefrigerated packs sold at airports are designed for travel and generally keep for weeks at room temperature, making them one of the more practical Hokkaido food souvenirs — easier to pack than fresh seafood and far less fragile than ceramics or lacquerware like Kiso shikki. Just double-check your destination country’s customs rules on packaged seafood before you fly.
If you’d rather recreate it at home, ikameshi is a classic candidate for a Japanese pressure cooker, since the stuffed squid and rice can go from raw to fully simmered and tender in a fraction of the stovetop time — worth a look if a trip to Hokkaido leaves you wanting to cook the dish yourself, and our guide to Japanese pressure cookers covers which models handle simmered dishes like this well. And if ikameshi gets you curious about other regional specialties worth seeking out on a Japan itinerary, dishes like Uwajima’s jakoten and Okinawa’s chinsuko follow the same pattern: a humble local food, tied to one specific place, that’s worth detouring for.