551 Horai Pork Buns: Japanese Riders Beg You Not to Open Them on the Train, and Carry Them On Board Anyway
551蓬莱の豚まん —— 日本人が「電車で開けるな」と言いながら全員買っているアレ
By Rakutaro · Tokyo, Japan
In 2023, when a ranking of foods you shouldn't eat on trains put Osaka's beloved 551 Horai pork buns near the top, 713 comments turned it into a love letter: the top reply (1,552 likes) rules that 551 isn't offensive — it's meshi-tero, "food terrorism," the smell that makes everyone else hungry. The consensus is a running Kansai joke with real etiquette inside it: catch a whiff of pork bun on an Osaka train and someone is carrying the red-and-white 551 bag, one hundred percent of the time (439 likes), you don't even have to open it for the whole car to know, and the homebound Shinkansen hisses with beer cans and steam anyway. The comments also spell out where the line actually sits.
These comments are from a video published in 2023. Prices, rules and crowds may have moved since; anything we checked ourselves is marked with a source.
“That overseas ranking was beyond parody lol. 551 isn't unpleasant — it's food terrorism.”
海外のランキングがツッコミどころ満載すぎた笑 551は不快では無く飯テロ
Where Japanese visitors go instead
My rule: if it's sold inside the station, it's fine on a limited express or the Shinkansen.
駅で売ってるものは特急とか新幹線ならOKだと思ってる
— @ああ-n8v9e51 likesAs the video says — they sell shumai bento at the station, so aside from something like kusaya, it's all fair game. If you truly can't stand it, the trains other than the Shinkansen are right there.
指摘の通り焼売駅弁売ってる以上はくさやとか以外はありだろ派 どうしても無理なら新幹線以外使ってくれとは思います。
— @あきかん-p4p28 likes
Places named in this article
- 551 Horai (Main Store)Namba, Osaka
The pork bun institution itself — the main store sits in Namba, and stands dot Kansai stations including Shin-Osaka.
- 551 Horai (Shin-Osaka Station)Shin-Osaka Station
Where travelers grab the hot, steamed omiyage box right before boarding the Shinkansen.
Named in the source comments. Where a note gives a price, opening status or rule, we checked it against the linked source on the date shown — everything else is what the comments said. All of it can change; check the map listing before you go.
FAQ
- What is 551 Horai?
- Osaka's iconic pork bun (butaman) maker, sold hot and steamed at stations and department stores around Kansai. Its scent is a regional in-joke: per a 439-like comment, smell pork buns on a Kansai train and someone is carrying the red-and-white 551 bag, one hundred percent of the time.
- Can you eat on trains in Japan?
- The comments draw the actual line: on commuter and local trains, opening hot food like 551 is the classic faux pas (lovingly called "food terrorism"). On the Shinkansen and limited expresses, station-bento culture applies — "if it's sold inside the station, it's fine on board" (51 likes).
- Can I take 551 pork buns on the Shinkansen?
- Yes — they're a classic Osaka omiyage and the buns are handed over hot and steamed, so expect the whole car to know (one 171-like commenter calls it mortifying and ate them all anyway). The homebound Shinkansen, riders note, is already hissing with beer cans.
- Where can I buy 551 Horai?
- Around Osaka and Kansai only — stations like Shin-Osaka and Umeda and department-store food halls. Commenters from other regions treat it as a Kansai-exclusive treasure worth queuing an hour for when a regional fair brings it to town.
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What Japanese visitors said — picked from the top 60 of 713 comments
551 is delicious when I'm the one eating it, but smells terrible when I'm just riding the train next to it. Mysterious phenomenon, that.
551って自分が食べる時はめっちゃ美味しいけど、電車の中にいると悪臭に感じる。アレ不思議な現象よね。。
On a Kansai train, the moment you think "oh! I smell pork buns lol" — one hundred percent of the time, without fail, someone nearby is holding a 551 paper bag www
関西の電車内で『あ！豚まんのにおいするw』と思ったら百発百中絶対551の紙袋持ってる人いてるwww
You don't even have to eat 551 — just carrying it is enough to perfume the car 😂
551は食べなくても持ってるだけで匂う😂
The homebound Shinkansen is hissing with beer cans opening in every direction anyway.
帰宅時間の新幹線はそこらじゅうでﾌﾟｼｭって音してるぞ
I buy 551 in Umeda and ride the Osaka Metro to Kyocera Dome with it every time. I'm fully aware I'm the terrorist.
551を梅田で買って大阪メトロで京セラドームまで毎回行ってるけど、テロリストである自覚はある笑
I bought some as Osaka omiyage and didn't realize they'd hand them over hot and steamed — got on the Shinkansen and broadcast the smell to the whole car, mortifying 😂 But then I remembered elementary school debate class, where someone deployed the invincible "but station bento is allowed" argument about eating on trains… and I ate every last one.
大阪土産で買った時まさか蒸された状態で渡されると思わなくて、そのまま新幹線乗ったらいい匂い撒き散らして恥ずかしかった😂 でも小学生の時のディベート議題で電車の中の飲食はOKかってやつで無敵の「駅弁はいいじゃん」理論を出されたこと思い出して全部食べました。
I'm from the provinces so 551 was always that famous thing you only hear about. Then a Kansai fair came to our local department store, 551 was there, and I queued an hour after school for buns made fresh at the venue. And my god — the best pork bun I have ever eaten in my life. So yes: on the Shinkansen or anywhere else, I will be eating 551.
551といえば地方民には馴染みのないものの、「うまい！」と評判は聞くお馴染みのアレですね。 数年前地元の百貨店で関西の物産展があった時、551が参戦していると聞き学校帰りに1時間並んで会場で作ってくれた出来立てを買い家族で食べるとこれがまぁ…べらぼうに美味い！なんて美味いんだ！肉まんをこんなに美味いと思ったことはないぞ！ってくらい美味かった。 ので、新幹線でもどこでも551は食べたい。
551 gets old if you have it too often — but I haven't had it in a year and now I'm craving it. What are you going to do about this!!
551が続くと飽きるけど、もう、1年食ってねーから食べたくなった どうしてくれるぅ！！
Honestly? They should just sell 551 on board.
どうせなら551を車内で売って欲しい
I get that coffee smell can turn your stomach when you're unwell — but "no coffee on trains" is a step too far.
体調悪いとコーヒーの匂いで気持ち悪くなるからコーヒーが不快っていう人の気持ちもわからんでもないがコーヒー飲むなはさすがに暴論すぎるな