A young woman sits alone in a café sipping¹ tea and reading a book. She pauses briefly² to scribble³ in a nearby notepad before showing her words to a passing café worker: "Where are the toilets please?"

一位年轻的女士独坐在咖啡馆里，正一边小口喝着茶一边看书。她停了一小下，在旁边的便签本上草草写上几个字，拿给路过的服务员看，上面写着：“请问洗手间在哪儿？”

This is a familiar scenario⁴ in Tokyo’s so-called "silent cafés", spaces which appear at first glance to be conventional cafes but where customers are not allowed to speak, communicating instead by writing in notepads.

在东京所谓的“沉默咖啡馆”里，这是司空见惯的情景。这些咖啡馆粗看与普通咖啡馆无异，但进店的顾客不可讲话，只能通过在便签本上写字来交流。

A growing number of "silent cafés" - with self-imposed chat bans - are opening across the capital, attracting a steady stream of solo Tokyoites keen to swap⁵ the pressure-cooker pace of urban life for solitary⁶ silence.

顾客自愿闭口不言的“沉默咖啡馆”越来越多，在东京各处开张，吸引了一批稳定的东京独居人群，他们急需这样的地方逃离城市生活的高压节奏，换取片刻独处的宁静。

The concept taps into a rising desire among young Japanese to be alone, a situation fuelled by economic uncertainty⁷, a shift in traditional family support structures and growing social isolation⁸.

“沉默咖啡馆”的概念利用了年轻日本人日益强烈的独处欲望，经济不稳定、传统家庭支持模式的转型以及日益严重的社会隔离更是加剧了这种情况。

The phenomenon⁹ is not confined to coffee shops but covers everything from silent discos, where participants dance alone wearing wireless¹⁰ headphones connected to the DJ, to products such as small desk tents designed for conversation-free privacy in the office.

这种现象不只限于咖啡馆，而是覆盖了多个领域，在沉默迪斯科里，参与者头戴无线耳机连接DJ，独自跳舞，还有类似小型办公桌帐篷的商品，用来在办公室里避免和他人交谈。

At the more unusual end of the spectrum¹¹, one Kyoto company offers single women the opportunity to have a "one woman wedding" - a full bridal affair, complete with white dress and ceremony, the only thing missing being the groom¹².

在这些寻常的商品服务之外，京都一家公司还为单身女性提供举办“女性单人婚礼”的机会——顾客可享受全套婚礼服务，身着白婚纱完成婚礼仪式，唯独没有新郎参与。

The trend has its own media buzzword "botchi-zoku", referring to individuals who consciously choose to do things completely on their own.

这种趋势还有专属的媒体流行词：botchi-zoku，指那些有意识地选择自己单独行事的人。

One recent weekday afternoon, Chihiro Higashikokubaru, a 23-year-old nurse, travelled 90 minutes from her home in Odawara, Kanagawa prefecture, to Tokyo on her day off in order to indulge in some solo time.

最近一个工作日的下午，23岁的护士东国原千寻从神奈川县小田原的家出发，经过90分钟的行程来到东京，只为了在休假的时候享受一些独处的时间。

Her destination was R-za Dokushokan, a silent café on a narrow street near Koenji station, where she planned to drink tea, draw some illustrations in a sketchbook and savour the silence.

她的目的地是R-za Dokushokan，一家位于高圆寺车站附近一条狭窄的街道上的沉默咖啡馆。她打算在那儿喝喝茶，在速写簿上画画图，尽情享受宁静的氛围。

Speaking quietly at the entrance of the cafe, Miss Higashikokubaru said: "I heard about this place in magazines and via Twitter and I liked the idea of coming here.

在咖啡馆门口，东国原小姐低声说：“我在杂志和推特上看到了这个地方，很想来这看看。”

"I work as a nurse and it's always very busy. There are very few quiet places in Tokyo, it's a big busy city.

“我的工作是护士，总是很忙碌。东京是个繁忙的大都市，安静的地方很少。”

"I just wanted to come and sit somewhere quietly on my own. I’m going to drink a cup of tea and maybe do some drawings. I like the idea of a quiet, calm atmosphere – they’re difficult to find."

“我只想找个地方自己一个人安静地坐坐。我打算喝杯茶，也许会随手画点画。我喜欢这个安静平和的氛围的创意，这种气氛很难得。”

Miss Higashikokubaru is one of more than 200 visitors who pass through the doors and sit in silence at the café every week, according to Taiki Watanabe, its 45-year-old owner.

45岁的店主渡边大辉说，每周有超过200位顾客到这家咖啡馆来静静地坐着，东国原小姐是其中之一。

Tucked away at the top of a small staircase, the first floor café, which opened seven years ago, is a serene¹³ haven¹⁴ of one-person seats, antique wooden tables, forest-like green plants and a wall of books complete with the soothing¹⁵ sound of flowing water from an aquarium¹⁶.

这家位于二楼的咖啡馆藏在一个小楼梯的上面，七年前开张，对顾客来说它就像一个安宁的港湾：单人椅子、仿古木桌、浓密的绿植、一壁的书籍，水族箱传出轻缓的水流声。

"I used to work in another café before opening this place,” said Mr Watanabe. “It was very different, busy and loud. I really liked the idea of opening my own calm and quiet space. Some silent time is very important for people living in cities.”

渡边先生说：“开这家店之前我曾在别的咖啡馆工作过。那里跟这儿很不一样，店里繁忙又吵闹。开一家属于自己的平和宁静的店，这个想法很令我心动。对在城市里生活的人来说，能拥有一些安静的时光很重要。”

While visitors may be banned from talking, electronic devices such as phones (without speaking) are generally permitted, reflecting how the concept is as much about avoiding the stresses of human interaction as switching off.

虽然不许顾客讲话，但一般允许使用手机等电子设备（只要不讲话），反映出这种概念既关乎忘记工作、放松心情，同样意在避免人际交往的压力。

Mr Watanabe added: "The rules are: you cannot speak, you must order a drink, and a drink should last no longer than two hours. If you need to communicate, there are notepads to write in.

渡边先生补充道：“店规就是：不许讲话，必须点一杯饮料，限时两小时。如果你需要交流，就写在便签本上。

"Most people come on their own and read a book, work, write or draw or enjoy a hobby. A few do nothing. It’s a way for people to forget their daily tasks and give their brain some silent time.”

“大多数人独身一人前来，看看书，做点工作，写写画画或是享受自己的兴趣爱好。少部分人什么也不干。对人们来说这是个忘记日常工作、让大脑休息片刻的方法。”

Another example of the rise of solo activities in Japan is the one-woman wedding: Cerca Travel offers single women the opportunity to enjoy a wedding, minus a husband, with a two-day wedding package in Kyoto.

另一个在日本兴起的单独活动是女性一人婚礼：Cerca Travel公司让单身女性也有了享受婚礼的机会，这是为期两天的婚礼包办服务，在京都举行，没有新郎。

A special wedding dress, beauty treatments, dinner, hairstyle, limousine¹⁷ service, a hotel stay and photo album are among the treats the “bride” can enjoy as part of their packages starting from around £1,666.

“新娘”能享受的套餐内服务包括：特别的婚礼礼服、美容护理、晚宴、发型、豪华轿车服务、酒店住宿和影集等，套餐起价约1666英镑。

More than 100 women have enjoyed the solo wedding experience since it launched last year, according to Akai Natsumi of Cerca Travel.

据Cerca Travel公司的夏美赤井介绍，自从去年推出此项服务以来，有逾百名女性体验了这种单人婚礼。

"Women want to have solo weddings to make their dreams come true,” she said. “It is something they do for themselves.

她说：“女性希望以单人婚礼来实现她们的梦想，这是她们为自己而做的事。”

"Nowadays women have many different ways to live their lives. Not everyone wants to get married. But many women still want to wear the wedding dress that they dreamt about as a child.

“现在的女性有许多不同的生活方式。不是每个人都想结婚。但许多女性依旧想要穿上自己小时候梦想的婚纱。

"It's becoming very popular. Many women feel very gratified and impressed by the experience, they often shed tears."

“单人婚礼越来越流行。许多女性都对这样的体验感到满意并且受到触动，时常会落泪。”

The desire to be solitary is not a new concept in Japan, a nation famously home to an estimated 3.6 million "hikikomori" - a more extreme example of social recluses¹⁸ who withdraw completely from society.

在日本，对独处的向往已经不是新鲜事了，日本的“蛰居族”人尽皆知，据估计其人数达360万。“蛰居族”是一种更为极端的隐居遁世群体，完全与世隔绝。