世論 What Japan Thinks

Eating alone is something I do quite a bit myself, and I do find it relaxing to have peace and quiet for a few minutes every day. To see what image Japanese people have of this, MyVoice recently conducted a survey into this topic of eating alone.

Demographics

Over the first five days of April 2008 14,878 members of the MyVoice internet community successfully completed a private online questionnaire. 54% of the sample were female, 1% in their teens, 14% in their twenties, 38% in their thirties, 30% in their forties, and 17% in their fifties.

I have two meals a day during the week alone; for breakfast I’m up too early (I’m surprised that wasn’t an offered answer for Q5), and at lunch, as I can’t be bothered eating with my colleagues and the eating noises in the dining hall put me off anyway, so I pop out myself for some bread to eat at my desk. Evening meals alone at restaurants are depressing on the whole, although when I was single there was a nice okonomiyaki shop to while away the hours after work in.

Research results

Q1: Do you like eating alone? (Sample size=14,878)

Love it	7.0%
Like it	45.9%
Dislike it	40.6%
Hate it	6.5%

Q2: How often do you eat alone? (Sample size=14,878)

Three meals almost every day	7.8%
One or two meals almost every day	32.8%
Three to six times a week	20.8%
Once or twice a week	14.8%
Once or twice a month	10.5%
Number of times a year	8.4%
Never (to Q6)	5.0%

Q3: Which of the following meals have you eaten by yourself? (Sample size=lone eaters, multiple answer)

Weekday breakfast	36.2%
Weekday lunch	66.4%
Weekday evening meal	37.6%
Weekend breakfast	22.5%
Weekend lunch	26.4%
Weekend evening meal	15.9%
No answer	0.4%

Q4: Where do you eat alone? (Sample size=lone eaters, multiple answer)

Make and eat food at home	60.9%
Buy at supermarket, convenience store, fast food shop and eat at home	39.6%
Family, etc make for me, eat at home	23.7%
Fast food restaurant (burger, beef bowl, etc)	21.1%
Ramen shop	14.9%
Soba, udon noodle shop	13.2%
Coffee house, cafe	12.2%
Own desk, meeting room, etc at school, work	12.1%
Set menu restaurant	9.7%
Family restaurant	7.9%
Curry house	6.8%
School, work dining hall	6.3%
Chinese restaurant	3.7%
Conveyor-belt sushi restaurant	3.6%
Western-style restaurant	2.9%
Home delivery	2.7%
Italian restaurant	2.5%
Park, other outside location	2.3%
Izakaya	2.1%
Japanese restaurant	1.4%
Grilled beef restaurant	1.0%
Ethnic restaurant	0.9%
Bar, pub, club	0.8%
French restaurant	0.7%
Korean restaurant	0.6%
Other	3.2%
No answer	0.2%

Q5: In what situations or for what reasons do you eat alone? (Sample size=lone eaters, multiple answer)

When I cannot schedule time with friends, family	48.6%
When I’m alone at home	32.5%
When I’m busy and want to eat quickly	25.2%
Because I live alone	11.6%
When I bring my own lunchbox	7.8%
When I don’t want to eat with other people	7.5%
Just like eating alone	7.4%
Because I work alone	6.2%
When I want to eat while watching television or a DVD	5.6%
When I want to eat while studying or working	4.3%
When what I want to eat differs from friends or family	4.0%
Because no-one asks me to eat with them	2.7%
When someone I planned to eat with cancels	1.8%
Other	8.7%
No answer	0.6%

Q6: What sort of image does eating alone hold for you? (Sample size=14,878, multiple answer)

Free	50.3%
Quiet	45.5%
Dull	30.9%
Lonely	28.6%
Comforting	19.2%
Dark	7.5%
Impoverished	6.9%
Bland	5.2%
Fun	4.3%
Delicious	3.9%
Uneasy	3.8%
Good	3.6%
Bad	2.4%
Rich	1.3%
Constrained	1.0%
New	0.9%
Bright	0.5%
Lively	0.2%
Old	0.1%
Noisy	0.1%
None of the above	8.4%
No answer	0.2%

Q7: What type of restaurant is one that you think people can enter even by themselves? (Sample size=14,878, multiple answer)

Fast food restaurant	78.2%
Coffee shop, cafe	67.1%
Soba, udon noodle shop	56.5%
Ramen shop	56.0%
Curry house	45.3%
Set menu restaurant	45.3%
Family restaurant	37.1%
Conveyor-belt sushi restaurant	24.6%
Western-style restaurant	16.4%
Chinese restaurant	13.8%
Bar, pub, club	12.0%
Italian restaurant	10.5%
Izakaya	10.0%
Japanese restaurant	7.9%
Grilled beef	6.8%
Ethnic	6.5%
Korean restaurant	5.6%
French restaurant	5.3%
None of the above	7.2%
No answer	0.2%