Company cafeterias making comeback

By Hidenobu Arai

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Latest 15 of 24 Total Comments Show All

shayouzoku at 12:57 PM JST - 9th July

We don't have a company cafeteria, but we sneak into the university one that's just across the street (haven't gotten caught yet). It's cheap, about 600 yen, but you get what you pay for. Still a nice break from konbini bentos or the 1500 yen restaurants in the area.
electric2004 at 01:00 PM JST - 9th July

600 Yen is not cheap. For this you can get a decent meal at Matsuya.
KyouNoNippon at 02:12 PM JST - 9th July

Does buffet style mean all-you-can-eat? If so I fail to see the potential health benefits!

Not about -only- the cafeterias, but about a Big Brother-style Company where the employees are sequestered and assimilated like drones into a second-plane society created in behalf of the Company. Work all day, shop in Company shops, eat at the multi-layered cafeteria on top of the glass building, mark a card-key at the dorm letting the company know you only slept the mandatory hours and go back to work again. Then there's this natural disaster that causes malfunctions in the environment-simulator machine that keeps all the Company complex and its own day/night and seasons cycle. The Company does not want to allow the employees to go to the "outside world" and simulates a doomsday, sending the employees to Company bunkers below the building complex, till the environment-simulator is fixed. However this one HERO rises from the masses of employees and makes a groundbreaking discovery - the way to the Outside World! Then they must escape in a brave, epic struggle... only to discover a second Ice Age killed the planet. They find themselves in a deserted beach of tetrapods with the Tokyo Tower upside down, halfway into the sand... END.

Now that is what I call a doomsday movie u.u;;;.

Isn't this Logan's Run? ;o)
Azrael at 02:50 PM JST - 9th July

Logan's run is completely different c.c;. Plus it has nothing to do with cafeterias, companies sequestering employees and simulated doomsdays! XD!
DenshaDeGO at 02:59 PM JST - 9th July

I ate in a Toyota cafeteria years ago (at the headquarters.) Their cars may be great but their food was the pits.
romulus3 at 07:45 PM JST - 9th July

I reckon I could eat cheap and healthy in a company lunch room and make new friends, gain new ideas and increase harmony without feeling paranoid about big brother...damn, in this heat, I don't wana go outside. I think its a good thing. cannot see any bad because I am an individual. If I wana eat KFC, I can. there is no control mechanism to stop me. same with the salarymen. 3 days a week in the lunchroom hurts none but gains a lot.
shayouzoku at 08:03 PM JST - 9th July

600 Yen is not cheap. For this you can get a decent meal at Matsuya.

Unfortunately there are no cheap places in Shirokanedai. Nice office, quiet neighborhood, but jack in terms of restaurants. 600 yen is half of anything else in the area without needing to walk 15+ min.
romulus3 at 08:20 PM JST - 9th July

man, if 600 is not cheap, stop teaching English. Honestly, 600 is chicken feed.
RepublicofTexas at 11:59 PM JST - 9th July

I think revamping company cafeterias is a good idea, and it's not like you have to eat there or anything, so for the people who have read 1984 to many times or whatever take a deep breath.
usaexpat at 12:15 AM JST - 10th July

A good trend I would say, the company taking care of its workers. My uncle is food service director for a large insurance company back home and the fare they serve is gourmet quality. They focus on fresh healthy food choices along with providing a gym and child care facilities. The company has learned that these expenses result in retaining quality employees and making workers happier, healthier and more productive.
electric2004 at 01:10 PM JST - 10th July

Romulus3, we are talking about lunch and set menus. And there is no relation to teaching. If "shayouzoku" works in an area, where only expensive restaurants can be found, zannen. I am living and working in Ibaraki, not so far from Mito. Salary is high enough for me and my family including 2 children and 2 cars. Of course, meal prices are different when going out eating with the family. The topic of this discussion is company cafeterias, and this relates to lunchtime. The company where I work really takes care of the workers, and this can be seen by the quality of the lunch meal. Still at a reasonable price of 300 Yen for company members (and a little bit higher price for co-workers from other research institutes). Well, in Tokyo this might be different, I understand.
Badsey at 07:17 AM JST - 11th July

people will always complain when they are being babysat and forced-fed it seems. But fighting the hand that feeds you can only get you so far. Appeasement is sometimes necessary = appreciate it when you are being appeased!
flammenwerfer at 02:29 PM JST - 11th July

600 is cheap for a restaurant but expensive for company cafeteria as these places are usually subsidized ( well they are if it's a decent company). It would be nice to work with for Google - they have a proper chef cooking all organic food in their cafeteria - and all totally free....
Zen_Builder at 02:42 PM JST - 11th July

I have worked for companies that had a cafeteria.

Option of 2 differently priced meals $1.2 and $2.5 both were good and saved us a ton. Heck, we even had shark-steak and meals were NOT repeated for 3-months. That included salad/soup/dessert. We even were allowed 1 pint a day.

Granted way different from what I had in japan.

But 600yen for lunch is still cheap. Can't get a lunch-set below 800yen and the norm is 1000yen+.
ca1ic0cat at 02:25 AM JST - 15th July

in Ebina we have the same 1st floor / 2nd floor setup as electric. If you want a cheap but decent meal hit the 1st floor. You could pay Y1000 on the second floor if you're not careful but it's pretty good stuff.

Thank heaven they are open for an evening meal as there is nothing withing walking distance....