A lunch bar in Tokyo’s futuristic Shinjuku district serves as a beacon for elderly individuals living alone who crave companionship and conversation.

It operates under a program called Senior Shokudo that kicked off in December.

The venue allows senior citizens without families to share meals just as children enjoy free or cheap dishes at specialized restaurants that cater to underprivileged households.

It also helps them to stay engaged with others and, more importantly, stop them from retreating from society and becoming social recluses.

The staff of Senior Shokudo consists primarily of elderly volunteers who have lost their spouses.

One lunchtime in mid-December, more than 10 older folks were locked in an animated conversation at Senior Shokudo. The group included people working there.

One of the attendees at the lunch session stated, “I am wondering what to do with my family grave.” Another explained that he scattered his wife’s ashes in commemoration “at our memorial place in Thailand” and had asked his children to do the same for him after his death.

The Senior Shokudo program is held twice a month during lunch hours. The time is aimed at making it easier for those aged 65 and over to attend.

The menu that day featured steamed Chinese cabbage with pork, “kinpira” vegetables, simmered taro, vegetable soup and apple cake. All the dishes were prepared by the members of staff.

Midori Kotani, the director of a research institute on senior life and culture, set up the initiative at her own expense. Surrounded by many elderly people who live alone, Kotani was well aware of how isolated they can feel.

“I hoped those people would turn out to eat and enjoy cups of tea together while chatting,” said Kotani, retracing how she hit upon the idea.

Another advantage of the program is that visitors can seek advice from Kotani on how to prepare for their deaths, as she specializes in “end-of-life” issues.

The cooking staff of Senior Shokudo are members of a club that Kotani formed because their spouses had died. The meeting offers the volunteers emotional relief, too, since they often have take lunch without companions.

A recently bereaved chief priest of a temple in Kanagawa Prefecture, outside the capital, was invited by Kotani to the gathering as his wife died in November.

The 62-year-old priest used to leave all the household chores to his spouse. Now, he struggles to make his own meals at home. He had never even purchased a pair of socks by himself before.

He manages to get by on his own but finds eating alone deeply painful. With tears in his eyes, the priest recounted his overwhelming sense of loneliness during the lunch session.

Staffers there nodded to each other when listening to his story. They acknowledged that eating alone at home “feels tasteless for me as well.”

Hearing the response, the Buddhist priest looked relieved and called Senior Shokudo “a place for grief counseling” at the same time.

Tapping Kotani’s extensive connections in the Buddhist community, Senior Shokudo now holds gatherings at Buddhist-themed Vowz Bar in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.

“They actively talk with one another to squarely face death in a warm and cozy atmosphere,” said Yoshinobu Fujioka, 48, a monk and owner of Vowz Bar, in reference to Senior Shokudo.

A 2023 survey on living conditions by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare revealed that 26.9 million households have at least one member aged 65 or older. Of this figure, 8.5 million are single-person households.

Elderly single-person households are projected to rise in number.

Kotani expressed her hope that Senior Shokudo will someday serve like its counterparts for needy children. The number of charity eateries for children recently topped 10,000 across Japan. They are broadly recognized as local hubs for intergenerational communication.

“My facility creates a space where visitors can exchange experiences and expertise with senior citizens,” she said. “Our staff find the initiative rewarding. My hope is to present tips on approaches to avoiding isolation among elderly individuals.”

Admission for Senior Shokudo is 300 yen ($1.90). Its fliers are available at community halls and consultation centers for elderly residents to attract more participants.