Lunch Cars in Japan

Vehicles selling obento (boxed lunches) appear around noon on the streets of the business district. But they are prohibited from illegal parking. The vehicles park in spaces with parking meters. In the past, many of these vendors sold their goods from wheeled carts set up on sidewalks, but these were discouraged by stricter regulation. Shops were allowed to sell the lunches from tables set up in front of their stores, but vendors without their own nearby shops can do business just by feeding the parking meters.