世論 What Japan Thinks

This is the first survey I have picked up from Ponta Research, a look at summer holiday travel plans for this year.

Demographics

Between the 7th and 11th of June 2013 2,523 members of the Ponta Research monitor group completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 51.4% of the sample were female, 18.7% were in their twenties, 19.1% in their thirties, 19.7% in their forties, 21.1% in their fifties, and 21.3% in their sixties. Furthermore, all lived in either Tokyo and the surrounding six prefectures, or Osaka and the surrounding four prefectures.

Ponta is a point card offered by the convenience store chain Lawson and supported by many other major companies.

If you’re planning to climb Mount Fuji this summer, be prepared for double if not triple the traffic in this photo, since it got awarded World Heritage status this year:

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goo Ranking published a survey on what behaviour by Japanese people abroad that they have seen and thought “I really shouldn’t do that sort of thing myself…”.

Demographics

Over the 6th and 7th of March 2013 1,083 members of the goo Research online monitor group completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 56.7% of the sample were female, 11.6% in their teens, 15.0% in their twenties, 24.9% in their thirties, 24.7% in their forties, 12.7% in their fifties, and 11.1% 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.

As pictured above, as a foreigner who has participated in Japanese tours abroad, that sort of group photo behaviour is quite embarrassing from my point of view. Another behaviour that I witnessed that I would certainly never think of trying myself was when our tour was waiting by our bus, which happened to be a brightly-painted old-fashioned bus, when a young couple came along and asked one of our party if they could take their photo. After this was done, four of the middle-aged ladies in the group one after another asked if they could get their photo taken with the boyfriend, handing their camera to the girlfriend to make sure she was out of the picture.
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goo Research recently conducted a survey into overseas travel and language learning, the highlights of which japan.internet.com published.

Demographics

Between the 7th and 9th of November 2012 1,094 members of the goo Research online monitor group completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 53.2% of the sample were male, 16.3% in their teens, 18.3% in their twenties, 21.5% in their thirties, 16.4% in their forties, 15.6% in their fifties, and 12.0% aged sixty or older.

I too much specify a preference for real books and real language schools, which leads me to think that perhaps there is an age bias in this survey. The figures were not reported, but older people tend to travel overseas more (I think…), thus older people would tend to be more wedded to 20th century technology, thus the bias away from virtual learning?

Since I’m mentioning online learning, I’ll put in a good word for Tofugu; he offers online Japanese courses along with his rather entertaining blog.
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goo Ranking took a look at causes of arguments when on holiday with one’s girlfriend or boyfriend.

Demographics

Between the 7th and 8th of February 2012 just over 1,000 members of the goo Research online monitor group completed a private internet-based questionnaire. Unfortunately, the link to the demographics is broken, so I cannot report the numbers in any detail. Note that the score in the results refers to the relative number of votes for each option, not a percentage of the total sample.

I hope I’m training my wife to be more lackadaisical about travel plans! She does insist on making up a timetable of where to visit, but with recent holidays it’s become less and less detailed. However, on group tours she still gets annoyed with the staff, but I’m on holiday so it’s all water off a duck’s back to me. About the only real cause of arguments has been her getting exchange rates wrong by a factor of ten and doing a touch too much shopping…
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This seems a rather appropriate survey to translate right now, as I’m on holiday and will be soon arriving at my hotel which according to its web page has free internet; and indeed it does, although you have to phone the front desk to get a password. This seems to be the favourite location for people to connect, according to this survey from goo Research and reported on by japan.internet.com into travel and the internet.

Demographics

Between the 18th and 20th of October 2011 1,095 members of the goo Research online monitor panel completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 52.7% of the sample were male, 16.4% in their teens, 18.0% in their twenties, 21.4% in their thirties, 16.3% in their forties, 15.6% in their fifties, and 12.3% aged sixty or older.

My usual way of connecting is of course at the hotel room, but others include coffee shops, as fortunately most countries other than Japan offer free wireless. Furthermore, as my overseas travel is to conferences, I of course use the conference wireless too. Last time I was in Hong Kong I even tried to use the wifi on the airport express train, but the only way to get an access code was to dial a special number for an SNS passcode, but my phone didn’t seem to work…

The article also notes that there was not a distinction made between whether people were connecting to the internet from the hotel via their own mobile phones or from computers set up in the hotel, and they thought that might make a good survey. I would add that they also ought to ask about who brings a netbook, notebook or a tablet with them on holiday.
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Continuing the foreign holiday theme, this time goo Ranking looked at when Japanese feel they are back home after overseas travel. The actual title contains one of these Japanese words that I always find difficult to translate; it’s the feeling of being able to relax after something stressful or challenging, the sigh after the first mouthful of cold beer that lets out all the stress of a hard day’s work, for instance. If any of my readers wish to chip in with a good translation for ?????, please comment!

Demographics

Over the 6th and 7th of June 2011 1,148 members of the goo Research online monitor group completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 50.6% of the sample were male, 12.1% in their teens, 16.9% in their twenties, 28.0% in their thirties, 25.4% in their forties, 9.7% in their fifties, and 7.9% 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.

My feeling of being back home is going to Starbucks in Kansai Airport arrivals lounge; it’s a combination of trying to make myself understood in Japanese through a faceful of stubble and hangover-enhanced jetlag, the staff trying their hardest with English, and when it comes to pay, my triumphant I’m-not-just-another-bloody-tourist moment as I wave my Kabibara-san-encased electronic cash and declare “PiTaPa onegaishimasu!”

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Since it’s just the end of the Japan summer holiday season, let’s have a look at this timely survey from goo Ranking into what uses Japanese would like to make of their mobile phones overseas.

Demographics

Over the 6th and 7th of June 2011 1,148 members of the goo Research online monitor group completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 50.6% of the sample were male, 12.1% in their teens, 16.9% in their twenties, 28.0% in their thirties, 25.4% in their forties, 9.7% in their fifties, and 7.9% 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.

The one time I used my mobile phone overseas all I used was SMS as proper email and all other uses involving data packets are horrendously expensive; one SMS in itself was 100 yen, and although email data packets would be cheaper for the equivalent 140 SMS characters, email would encourage my wife to start pasting in decomail icons or attaching photos…

Talking of photos, searching Flickr gives me absolutely nothing useful, sorry…
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Another quick survey from goo Ranking to finish off Sunday, this time looking at what rules people follow to have an enjoyable solo holiday.

Demographics

Between the 23rd and 25th of March 2010 1,128 members of the goo Research monitor group completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 50.5% of the sample were female, 15.1% in their teens, 16.9% in their twenties, 28.8% in their thirties, 21.1% in their forties, 9.4% in their fifties, and 8.7% 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.

B-grade delicacies have been getting a lot of coverage on the television over the last couple of years – they are the soul food, I suppose, of the region; Osaka would be okonomiyaki or takoyaki, or for a reference from my home country, Glasgow would be deep-fried Mars Bar washed down with Irn Bru.

I don’t know if I have any particular rules when I’ve been on solo holidays; before I got married I did travel a bit around the Kansai region and didn’t often ask the way, but that was as much due to not knowing the language and being an anti-social git!
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goo Ranking recently took a look at when people think their tour guide on an overseas holiday is terrible – the foreign in the title refers to the location, as the guides may either be Japanese or local.

Demographics

Between the 20th and 22nd of January 2010 1,071 members of the goo Research monitor group completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 51.1% of the sample were female, 19.9% in their teens, 29.5% in their twenties, 30.5% in their thirties, and 20.1% in their forties. Note that the score in the results refers to the relative number of votes for each option, not a percentage of the total sample.

My worst experience was with a local guide in Prague who must have been a closet communist as he spent a lot of time complaining when taking us round one site how the British and Americans had shot up the place during the Second World War, but I thought that was the Eastern Front so would have been the Soviets, and indeed we walked past a photo display captioned to indicate that it was as I suspected the Soviets. Later he spent some time moaning how the Austrian tour guides get double his pay…
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Japanese make lousy travellers, on the whole, I feel, and this survey from goo Ranking into worried before foreign travel backs up my opinions.

Demographics

Between the 20th and 22nd of January 2010 1,071 members of the goo Research monitor group completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 51.1% of the sample were female, 19.9% in their teens, 29.5% in their twenties, 30.5% in their thirties, and 20.1% in their forties. Note that the score in the results refers to the relative number of votes for each option, not a percentage of the total sample.

My wife is a hopeless worrier about foreign travel, especially in contrast to me, as I go with just a vague idea of where might be nice to visit, yet she tries to draw up a detailed itinery. My main worry is whether or not I’ll get a chance to sit in an open cafe on a sunny afternoon having a hot coffee or a cool beer!

Number 13 is due to the fact that a lot of tours feature souvenir shops rather highly. I remember seeing a report about a cheap Hong Kong tour where you had to pay extra if you didn’t want to go to the Duty Free shopping centre.

Photo from slworking2 on flickr – I think his main worry is forgetting his battery charger…
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