As a follow-up to the last post, we’re sharing the cute tools you can use to make, prepare, and eat your own bentos!

There are tons of great books to help get you started. Most cookbooks focus on the traditional bento recipes, but you can make anything into a bento lunch. Japanese Meals on the Go: Bento Boxes comes highly recommended. You can purchase it from Amazon or preview it on Google Books.

Now on to the fun stuff - the tools!

I wouldn’t mind a panda day after day! This panda bento is available from Tokyo Jazz Panda for $20.38.

This cute little blue panda bento set includes chopsticks, a chopstick holder, and a bento band to keep the contents secure. It’s available from Jlist for $24.00.

These picks are not only adorable, they’re functional. You can use them to hold a sandwich together or as a spear for your fruit pieces. Any way you use them, they’ll make you smile. Available for only $3.49 from Sugar Charms.

Also from Sugar Charms are these insanely adorable condiment holders. Keep just the perfect amount of soy sauce or lemon juice on hand without worrying about spilling it. I love all of the animals, but the panda is still my favorite. Available for only $4.99

To help mold your rice into something that remotely resembles a panda (trust me, it’s hard to free form!) you can use a Jello mold. This little one is the perfect size for a bento box lunch. These molds seem to be hard to find, so keep an eye out for them. I found this one on eBay for $2.59.

Finally, if you’re eating a bento, why not try to eat it with chopsticks?! Both of these sets are available from China Sprout for $8.95. Set 1, set 2