世論 What Japan Thinks

So you go, and you stand on your own
And you leave on your own
And you go home, and you cry
And you want to die

So sung The Smiths, in what was voted the second-best lyric of all time in Britain a few years back. Interestingly enough, that which caused so much Morrissey-inflicted student angst was voted in a recent survey conducted by goo Ranking as the thing Japanese find most unexpectedly enjoyable for one. Well, almost; a concert could be at a club, but let’s not nit-pick!

Demographics

Between the 21st and 24th of December 2007 1,094 members of the goo Research monitor panel completed a private online questionnaire. 45.6% of the sample was male, 8.8% were in their teens, 15.6% in their twenties, 29.1% in their thirties, 26.8% in their forties, 10.7% in their fifties, and 9.0% aged sixty or older. Note that the score in the results refers to the relative number of votes for each option, not a percentage of the total sample.

Don’t ask me why cat’s cradle comes in at number 18 as I only know it as a solo activity. At 19 is “The Game of Life”, which is I believe the most popular or recognisable board game in Japan, much like Monopoly is the representative game in the UK and the USA.

Ranking results

Q: What would be unexpectedly fun to do even on your own? (Sample size=1,094)

Rank		Score
1	Concert	100
2	Karaoke	74.5
3	Go to see a night view	47.9
4	Mountain climbing	44.8
5	Nabe hot pot	43.3
6	Drinking until dawn	42.2
7	Overseas holiday to a resort	41.4
8	Bus tour	38.8
9	Cherry blossom viewing	37.4
10	Yakiniku grilled beef	36.0
11	All you can eat restaurant	33.1
12	Ski, snowboarding	32.9
13	Go to a summer festival, comic convention, other event	31.4
14	Bowling	23.5
15	View fireworks festival	22.7
16	Go to Disneyland	18.1
17	Card game	15.0
18	Cat’s cradle	14.7
19	Game of Life	11.0
20	Go camping	9.3