Japanese Culture: Afternoon Snack My morning starts with coffee. I usually go to work by subway which are very crowded during commuting time, thus I go to our office about 30 minutes earlier than the starting time of work. I always start from checking my email with a cup of coffee which I buy at a coffee shop on the way to work. I usually have a staring contest with my computer screen in the morning and then I attend a couple of meetings. Although I often miss lunch since I have to prepare for the meetings, I take a coffee break after the meetings. Even if I don’t have enough time to go to a coffee shop, I buy a coffee and some snacks in a convenience store. The following picture shows a cafe latte and strawberry cookies which are sold in a convenience store. Japanese people have a custom of eating snacks at three o’clock. Everyone from adults to children can take a break if they want. If anything, it has an implication of children who get a snack from their mother rather than adults who enjoy a cup of coffee. It seems like Japanese children eat snacks such as potato chips, cookies, rice crackers, fruits, chocolates, cakes and Japanese sweets. However, actually, Japanese sweets which contain sweet red bean paste are not so popular for children. At the first place, the custom to eat snacks at three o’clock comes from Japanese sweets brand’s TV commercial which was broadcast for many years from several decades. The commercial always reminded people that they have a snack at three o’clock to promote sales of its Japanese sweets. What time, what kind of drinks, what kind of snacks do you take for your break?