Japan solo dining chain surges in popularity in China; hours-long wait times lead to scalpers

A new solo dining trend among Chinese people is boosting the success of Japanese diner brands such as Sushiro. The conveyor belt sushi chain opened its first mainland shop in Guangzhou in southern China’s Guangdong province in 2021. Its popularity boomed when the brand opened its first shop in Beijing in 2024. It was reported that there was a queue of up to 1,500 tables. When Sushiro entered Shanghai in December 2025, there were already 700 groups of people waiting before its first opening. Some reportedly queued for 14 hours and spots in the queue were scalped for up to 300 yuan (US$45). Some people said online that they would even pay for a special trip to Sushiro while travelling abroad, just to save the trouble of queuing. The brand had 171 outlets in the Greater China area by the end of 2025. What distinguishes Sushiro from other conveyor belt sushi restaurants was its playful ordering system. People do not need to wait for sushi plates to parade past them, but can order on a table-side tablet and the sushi will arrive shortly via the belt. This automatic serving mode is increasingly favoured by those who want to avoid the hassle of communicating with strangers. On Dazhong Dianping, a customer review site operated by Meituan, many people described Sushiro as the “best choice for solo dining”. Some also branded Sushiro as “heaven for I-person”. ‘I-person’ and ‘e-person’ are popular Chinese online slang terms for introverts and extroverts. China’s first and second-tier cities have seen solo dining thrive in recent years. Many solo dining restaurants are drawing lessons from their counterparts in Japan. Eating alone used to be a bold gesture to overcome the gazes of other people and the stereotype was that it meant being lonely. Now more people see solo as a norm. “I cannot describe how cool solo dining feels. No more need to compromise with other people’s tastes or dietary habits and no unnecessary food waste,” a young woman told the China Economic Weekly. “I am the kind of person who even fears eye contact with strangers. Solo dining is perfect for me,” another person said on a social media platform. Some even went further to share the best seat at solo dining restaurants, one with side walls, ensuring almost complete isolation. One such post that introduces the perfect seat in a Sushiro Beijing branch amassed over 2,000 likes and 1,100 comments. On a lifestyle social media platform, the hashtag #solodining has 4.9 billion views and 13 million discussions. According to official statistics, China has a population of 240 million single people above age 15. China’s single economy is reaching eight trillion yuan (US$1.2 trillion) in 2025, according to Caixin. Online grocery shops sell food ingredients for one. Household appliance brands are also redesigning their products into mini sizes. Restaurants have begun to provide solo set menus and group dining options such as hotpot and grilled meat, are all going solo. Recently, a Beijing noodle restaurant called 23 Seats went viral online. It was hailed by some as “the ultimate solo-dining place in Beijing”. The restaurant has just 23 solo seats, which are divided by grey panels. The front portion of the seat also has a curtain that can be fully drawn to the bottom. In the ideal case, the curtain is only opened when the waiter delivers the food. However, a person who visited the restaurant said its all-grey design “feels like a prison”. Staff still greeted diners enthusiastically, which is seen as a downside by solo diners. A person noted that the mode is a replica of Japan’s ramen restaurant Ichiran: “If China’s solo dining restaurants want to copy Ichiran, please make sure to copy it 100 per cent.” “The restaurants should know that solo dining is not just about eating alone, but more about enjoying a private moment securely and freely,” said another.

Japan solo dining chain surges in popularity in China; hours-long wait times lead to scalpers

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Mainland diners seek out eating outlets which block the prying eyes of strangers; offer complete isolation to enjoy ‘private moments’

Mainland diners seek out eating outlets which block the prying eyes of strangers; offer complete isolation to enjoy ‘private moments’