WITLife #10 – Creative Dating
Career, Japan Trends, Translating/Interpreting, WIT Life, Writers 
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WITLife is a periodic series written by professional Interpreter/Translator/Writer Stacy Smith (Kumamoto-ken, 2000-03). In her recent posts, she’s been watching the news in Japanese and sharing some of the interesting tidbits and trends along with her own observations.
This morning’s news profiled how the faltering economy has affected couples and their date courses. They carried out two surveys, one on how date spots have changed and one on how much money is spent per date. For the first survey, the top three answers were:
Stay at home
“Zero yen” spots
Window shopping
Many couples are seeking ways to spend time together without spending a lot of money, and as might be expected relaxing at home is the most popular method. They profiled a couple who hung out in the girl’s room while she surfed the internet and he read manga. The announcer questioned whether this was really a date, but she insisted that it was the fact that they were physically together that was important, not what they were doing.
“Zero yen” spots, or date destinations that don’t cost any money, are another idea. Some of the examples they gave were a Toyota showcase where entrance is free and an observatory where you can go to the 26th floor to enjoy views of the Tokyo skyline. When asked how much they spend on an average date, the top three answers were:
3000-5000 yen
5000-10,000 yen
Less than 3000 yen
One male respondent said that a typical date costs him no more than 1000 yen! Among all young people, 59% said they split the costs of a date evenly (warikan). Those of an older generation were then interviewed and asked to reminisce about their dating lives. In this case, all respondents said the man had paid for everything and that the average cost of a date had been:
More than 10,000 yen
5000-10,000 yen
3000 yen
One male respondent said he used to regularly pay up to $30,000 per outing! As the economy shifts so do social trends, so when things pick up in Japan perhaps couples will return to lavish spending. For the time being, however, they are relying on coupons and creativity to keep themselves entertained!
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