Is studying inside a cafe considered rude?

In America at least, you can comfortably lounge at a cafe or open public establishment such as the cafe inside Barnes & Noble and study there for a good hour or two. This is not considered rude.

I was wondering if the same applied for Japan? I'm talking about places like Mr. Donut, Starbucks and similar cafes, hamburger establishments, etc.
Given they have limited table space and Tokyo is constantly packed, I wonder if it would be rude to ''hog'' the table and stay there for more than just the coffee time / meal time.

How do the *Japanese* view that?

Is it ''not rude'' if the restaurant is practically empty anyway and there are tons of tables?

Well, the Japanese themselves do it during peak hours also.

But, I would consider it to be rude nevertheless. You don't have to be inconsiderate even if others around you are.

I suggest for you to choose some nice park with benches or even use a leisure sheet on a grass field. Fresh air and no angry looks.

I have never felt that it is considered rude. Loads of university and high school students are doing it all the time at places such as Mr Donuts, McDonald's, Starbucks, St. Marc Cafe, etc.
I used to study for 2-3 hours 2 days a week for about a year at an always completely crowded Mr. Donuts without anyone ever looking inapprovingly at me. (other people were usually doing the same thing)
So, I don't think there's any need whatsoever to feel awkward about that.

I just want to respond to the previous comment.

"But, I would consider it to be rude nevertheless. You don't have to be inconsiderate even if others around you are.

I suggest for you to choose some nice park with benches or even use a leisure sheet on a grass field. Fresh air and no angry looks."

Yes, in all fairness, it might be rude, but in many areas of Tokyo it is impossible to find anywhere else to sit, and many times you find yourself in a situation of being stranded in some area.

It all depends on how you look at it. I think people in Tokyo is considering this as natural and a part of what you are paying for. In many "western" countries this practice is not as common as in Tokyo and therefore might be slightly frowned upon.

I feel very comfortable in Tokyo doing this and I think that most people have accepted this situation.

It depends on the area and the time, I guess.

I would never do that at lunch time in business districts of Tokyo (even if I found a seat/stool) - if I did that, I would feel myself inconsiderate. There are some mid-morning or late afternoon time slots when things are relatively quiet, then I might stay somewhat longer. Also some cafes located near colleges/universities "know" that they get those students come and sit/study for a few hours before/during exam seasons, so the staff tend to be tolerant, and the ones who never get any seat and suffer in silence (and leave) are those "occasional" visitors. I would choose McDonalds, St. Marc Cafe, or even family restaurants, instead of Starbucks/Tully's kind of businesspeople-focused places.

If the place is practically empty, no problem.

(From a Japanese living/working in Tokyo)

When in Japan try to refrain to stay in a coffee shop for too long,especially if there are many people around..

I live in North America and quite a few of us adults find it incredibly rude that ''students'' monopolize a table for a couple of hours, buying only one drink or 2 at most, when there are people around that would like to sit down but are too shy to ask a student to tidy up the table and let them sit down...

Sometimes I have to try 3 coffee shop in a row before finding a free table. I now ask total strangers that were looking for a chair to share my table and they all comment that it is getting totally out of hand...

I wish that coffee shops had a time limit.

It's perfectly fine to study or work in a cafe, but the polite thing to do is to buy a new drink every once in awhile - don't just order one drink and then stay there for hours. People using seats to study or work is part of the cafe's business plan.

Starbucks recently started providing free wifi at all their branches in central Tokyo, and lots of other cafes have some sort of wifi arrangement, either free or through some sort of plan. They wouldn't do that if they didn't expect people to park themselves there and work.

I still don't agree. More and more coffee shop in my home town do have free wi-fi as not having it means loosing potential customers.

It doesn't mean that Starbucks, for example want clients to stay there for hours, especially the outlets that do not have many seats. Starbucks is caught between the proverbial rock and a hard place..

I see some people check their computer while drinking coffee..20-30 minutes later and they are gone..

Simple answer for me is no. I found Japan to be very very open for students or anyone wanting to relax for some time. From my experience up to 3 hours is no problem whatsoever. Lots of free teachers teach at Cafes which usually takes 2 hours. I have never seen anyone care for that.
To be honest in my home country it is quiet different, 45 minutes after your last order the waiter/waitress start to eye you, especially on full days. It is not even uncommon to ask politely to leave if you stop ordering for a while.
So even when i personally feel different about it, for japanese it is no problem, so take your time

The thing is, you don't really have to go to a cafe to study when there are libraries, your schools and public spaces that are designed to let people study there, even often with a cup of vending machine beverage.

But if you insist on cafes, I agree with the others who say that it depends. Not only will it annoy customers who are waiting or wish to be seated, it annoys the cafe as you are not spending enough money there for the hours spent. I often see comments on the Japanese internet saying it's annoying.

But I don't see a problem studying for about an hour while you wait for your order and drink it and then wait a bit more while you digest it, unless the place is overly crowded.

It is their business model. Sure they want to have high turn-overs for more profit but some over-stayers have been in the Profit & Loss calculations. If they are wrong and too many of them all the time, then, they go out of business like Borders in US. If you want the shop to stay open many years to come, you may want to order more drinks or move on. lol.

Maybe it's not such a problem elsewhere, but I've seen signs at both Mister Donuts and McDonalds restaurants locally politely asking customers to refrain from using the facilities as a study area.

My two favourite Starbucks in the Tokyo metro area have many people reading or studying. I think if you buy a drink or two and drink it during such study or reading, it is ok. It does seem rude, however, if you do not order anything but use a table to sit and just study.
Of course if the cafe is very crowded, do not expect to sit for a long time studying and taking space. Instead a nice park if weather is good is preferable.

it's not rude but you need to buy something every once in a while

i have seen other students asked to leave by the manager after lingering too long (in takadanobaba) and my group of friends was once asked to leave a saizeriya while studying, but we had been there for 2 or 3 hours.

keep buying food and avoid peak hours and it's fine.

the staff might think you're weird if you're there forever though.

Every cafe/shop/restaurant in every neighborhood is going to be different.

If you're at a Segafredo in Shinjuku or Shibuya, for example, chances are it's busy pretty much all day. Anything over over 45 minutes to 1 hour is really just selfish because you know there aren't enough tables/seats.

But if it's midday at some random McDonalds with 3 customers total, chances are you're not causing a burden to anyone and if you are, the staff will let you know.

This really is a non-issue if you maintain some awareness of your environment and the people around you.

Some school kids stay in McDs most of the afternoon, doing homework/studying. I have seen this in full restaurants, and the staff generally don't say much, though I think they'd like to. I think it's up to you, as mentioned above, to let your conscience be your guide, and if you feel like you might be in the way, you can leave, or grab another order of something :0)

To answer your question on why some people don't study at "designated study areas" such as the library, I'm the type of person that can't study in libraries because it is so quiet, that I'll fall asleep. It's boring and silent. There's no ambiance; it is unnatural. People have been studying before buildings such as libraries were built in centuries past, so cornering them to libraries just because it is a "designated study area" is not always a practical demand. Judging from the responses, it seems appropriate to study in a cafe if it doesn't hinder anyone else. That is, if there are many open spaces available or if the establishment knows that it is a part of business. In general though, I would agree that staying at a place for more than an 1.5 hours is somewhat rude.

There is a somewhat interesting book called Golden Arches East, a comparative study of Mcdonals in HK, Taiwan, Korea, Japan and Beijing. It talks about studying in McDonalds as part of the east asian model of Mcdonald's business.

I was in Starbucks on Sotobori dori at Kagurazaka the other day (which now has free wifi) and the seats are almost all counter style - designed for people to be working or studying and not taking up whole tables to do so. I think it's fine to study, so long as there aren't lots of people waiting.