Single salarymen making their own lunches
The Yomiuri reports that the economy is so bad that single salarymen are starting to make their own boxed lunches’
A 34-year-old company employee rises at 6 a.m. in his apartment in Hachioji, western Tokyo. He shuffles to the kitchen in his pajamas and opens the refrigerator to reveal a number of Tupperware-style containers containing such items as grilled salmon, rolled omelets and other dishes.
Using these ingredients, it takes him about 15 minutes to prepare his lunch for the office. The man says he cooks all the food for the coming week in one go and stores it in the fridge.
He started making his own lunches last spring. After his bonus plateaued, his drinking sessions with colleagues and friends and trips to hot springs became a luxury he could no longer afford.
You might expect that this situation would hurt convenience stores, but it hasn’t. Reuters reports that conbinis are reporting high growth as many consumers are choosing cheap bentos over meals at restaurants.
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