Kids' Activities 01-1

Rice in Lunch Box Looks Like
Cameroon Flag

A chef in the village of Nakatsue, Oita Prefecture, where the Cameroon team will be based during the World Cup, has created a "Cameroon lunch box." The chef works at a restaurant in a museum built on the site of the former Taio Gold Mine. He had the idea about a month ago and began selling the lunch boxes on April 1. Each one costs 600 yen (4.62 U.S. dollars at 130 yen to the dollar).

To match the colors of the Cameroon flag, the rice in the lunch boxes is topped with dried laver (green), perilla (red), and egg (yellow). With the rice come portions of spicy fried chicken, curry-flavor stew with beans, and banana tart, so the lunch box is really exotic. However, apart from the spices and bananas, all the ingredients like chicken, beans, and eggs are produced locally.

The tasty and filling lunch box is proving popular. The chef says, "I will continue selling it until the end of June, when the World Cup closes. I hope people will eat these lunch boxes and support the Cameroon team." (Nishinippon Shimbun)