Japan is experiencing a rise in the “super solo society” trend, where people live alone and enjoy activities alone. Retailers are adapting to this trend by offering solo booths, single-serving items, and separate seats for solo moviegoers. This trend is a response to a changing society where marriage is less common and social media is overwhelming. Japan has more McDonald’s restaurants than any other country except the US and is an archipelago of over 6,800 islands.
Singing karaoke, going out to eat, going on vacation and visiting theme parks are typically considered social activities, but if you live alone in Japan – or just want some me time – you’ll find plenty of opportunities to do these things (and more) all by myself. In what is being described as a “super solo society,” Japan is seeing a growing trend towards ohtorisama: people not only live alone but also enjoy a range of activities alone. This should come as no surprise, since more than a third of Japanese households are made up of just one person. And retailers and others are taking a cue. A karaoke company has added solo booths to its premises, grocery stores are packing more items for single diners, movie theaters are offering separate seats for solo moviegoers, and theme parks are giving solo visitors a chance to jump into front row for some rides. The trend is part of a changing society where marriage is becoming less common and social media is so overwhelming and ubiquitous that getting rid of all the constant contact is something to enjoy. One popular ramen chain lets customers walk in, order from a vending machine, and then find a stand where they can enjoy their noodles, all without dealing with other customers or even servers.
A virtual trip to Japan:
Japan has more McDonald’s restaurants than any other country in the world except the United States.
Japan is an archipelago of more than 6,800 islands, but four of them contain 97 percent of the nation’s total land mass.
In Japanese, the country is known as Nippon or Nihon, meaning “origin of the sun,” hence the country’s nickname as the “Land of the Rising Sun.”
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