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

　　一位年輕的女士獨坐在咖啡館裏，正一邊小口喝着茶一邊看書。她停了一小下，在旁邊的便籤本上草草寫上幾個字，拿給路過的服務員看，上面寫着：“請問洗手間在哪兒?”

　　This is a familiar scenario 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.

　　在東京所謂的“沉默咖啡館”裏，這是司空見慣的情景。這些咖啡館粗看與普通咖啡館無異，但進店的顧客不可講話，只能通過在便籤本上寫字來交流。

　　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 swap the pressure-cooker pace of urban life for solitary silence.

　　顧客自願閉口不言的“沉默咖啡館”越來越多，在東京各處開張，吸引了一批穩定的東京獨居人羣，他們急需這樣的地方逃離城市生活的高壓節奏，換取片刻獨處的寧靜。

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

　　“沉默咖啡館”的概念利用了年輕日本人日益強烈的獨處慾望，經濟不穩定、傳統家庭支持模式的轉型以及日益嚴重的社會隔離更是加劇了這種情況。

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

　　這種現象不只限於咖啡館，而是覆蓋了多個領域，在沉默迪斯科裏，參與者頭戴無線耳機連接DJ，獨自跳舞，還有類似小型辦公桌帳篷的商品，用來在辦公室裏避免和他人交談。

　　At the more unusual end of the spectrum， 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 groom.

　　在這些尋常的商品服務之外，京都一家公司還爲單身女性提供舉辦“女性單人婚禮”的機會——顧客可享受全套婚禮服務，身着白婚紗完成婚禮儀式，唯獨沒有新郎參與。

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

　　這種趨勢還有專屬的媒體流行詞：botchi-zoku，指那些有意識地選擇自己單獨行事的人。

　　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.

　　最近一個工作日的下午，23歲的護士東國原千尋從神奈川縣小田原的家出發，經過90分鐘的行程來到東京，只爲了在休假的時候享受一些獨處的時間。

　　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，一家位於高圓寺車站附近一條狹窄的街道上的沉默咖啡館。她打算在那兒喝喝茶，在速寫簿上畫畫圖，盡情享受寧靜的氛圍。

　　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.

　　在咖啡館門口，東國原小姐低聲說：“我在雜誌和推特上看到了這個地方，很想來這看看。”

　　"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.

　　“我的工作是護士，總是很忙碌。東京是個繁忙的大都市，安靜的地方很少。”

　　"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."

　　“我只想找個地方自己一個人安靜地坐坐。我打算喝杯茶，也許會隨手畫點畫。我喜歡這個安靜平和的氛圍的創意，這種氣氛很難得。”

　　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歲的店主渡邊大輝說，每週有超過200位顧客到這家咖啡館來靜靜地坐着，東國原小姐是其中之一。

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

　　這家位於二樓的咖啡館藏在一個小樓梯的上面，七年前開張，對顧客來說它就像一個安寧的港灣：單人椅子、仿古木桌、濃密的綠植、一壁的書籍，水族箱傳出輕緩的水流聲。

　　"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.”

　　渡邊先生說：“開這家店之前我曾在別的咖啡館工作過。那裏跟這兒很不一樣，店裏繁忙又吵鬧。開一家屬於自己的平和寧靜的店，這個想法很令我心動。對在城市裏生活的人來說，能擁有一些安靜的時光很重要。”

　　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.

　　雖然不許顧客講話，但一般允許使用手機等電子設備(只要不講話)，反映出這種概念既關乎忘記工作、放鬆心情，同樣意在避免人際交往的壓力。

　　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.

　　渡邊先生補充道：“店規就是：不許講話，必須點一杯飲料，限時兩小時。如果你需要交流，就寫在便籤本上。

　　"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.”

　　“大多數人獨身一人前來，看看書，做點工作，寫寫畫畫或是享受自己的興趣愛好。少部分人什麼也不幹。對人們來說這是個忘記日常工作、讓大腦休息片刻的方法。”

　　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.

　　另一個在日本興起的單獨活動是女性一人婚禮：Cerca Travel公司讓單身女性也有了享受婚禮的機會，這是爲期兩天的婚禮包辦服務，在京都舉行，沒有新郎。

　　A special wedding dress， beauty treatments， dinner， hairstyle， limousine 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”能享受的套餐內服務包括：特別的婚禮禮服、美容護理、晚宴、髮型、豪華轎車服務、酒店住宿和影集等，套餐起價約1666英鎊。

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

　　據Cerca Travel公司的夏美赤井介紹，自從去年推出此項服務以來，有逾百名女性體驗了這種單人婚禮。

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

　　她說：“女性希望以單人婚禮來實現她們的夢想，這是她們爲自己而做的事。”

　　"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.

　　“現在的女性有許多不同的生活方式。不是每個人都想結婚。但許多女性依舊想要穿上自己小時候夢想的婚紗。

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

　　“單人婚禮越來越流行。許多女性都對這樣的體驗感到滿意並且受到觸動，時常會落淚。”

　　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 recluses who withdraw completely from society.

　　在日本，對獨處的嚮往已經不是新鮮事了，日本的“蟄居族”人盡皆知，據估計其人數達360萬。“蟄居族”是一種更爲極端的隱居遁世羣體，完全與世隔絕。

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