East Japan Railway Company (JR East) has announced that it will accelerate the expansion of its business operations in Europe.
It will build on the business foundation established by its UK subsidiary, JRE Business Development UK (JRUK), and its Paris office, expanding from vending machines, onigiri rice balls, and ekiben railway bento meals.
In its vending machine business, JR East introduced three machines in the United Kingdom in 2019 that support cashless payments and remote management, and acquired Decorum Vending as a wholly owned subsidiary in 2024. It currently operates approximately 1,800 machines across around 95% of the UK’s major rail routes and at major airports. Going forward, it will use the business foundation built in the UK as a foothold to consider expansion into continental Europe. The company also operates vending machines selling regional products from across Japan, which it will utilize as new sales channels and customer touchpoints.
For its onigiri business, JRUK and JR East Cross Station aim to establish a permanent location for “TOKYO ONIGIRI Produced by Omusubi Dokoro Honnoriya,” a pop-up store opened at the Japan Centre flagship store in London in December 2025. The pop-up store serves authentic onigiri made in front of customers, while also selling regional products such as hammered copper sake cups from Tsubame-Sanjo and “Oyatsu TIMES” snacks, as well as railway merchandise. It also introduces tourism information from regions throughout Japan. In the future, the company is considering opening stores in UK railway stations and food courts, as well as expanding into other parts of Europe.
For ekiben, a pop-up store called “EKIBEN TOKYO” will open at Paris Gare de Lyon in France for approximately one year from this winter. In addition to selling ekiben supervised by JR East Cross Station, it will export and sell frozen bento meals supervised by Bondish. The company is considering making the store permanent, developing ekiben using regional ingredients, and expanding its product lineup to include onigiri and other items.
For these businesses, JR East plans to export Iwate Prefecture-grown “Hitomebore” rice—harvested for the first time in 2027 after JR East Tohsato Sosei succeeds the business of Hanamaki Nousan—through Hyakusho Ichiba, for use in onigiri and ekiben.
JR East will also collaborate with Ito En to offer “Oi Ocha” green tea. It will be sold through vending machines inside TOKYO ONIGIRI stores and served as a companion beverage for ekiben at EKIBEN TOKYO.
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This article was generated using automatic translation by GPT-4 API. The translation may not be accurate.
