Where are all the benches?

Where do the japanese go to eat their food from Lawson or that donut from Mister Donut? I don't get it - there are no places to sit and eat or drink something on the go. Do the japanese not do this? I feel odd sitting on a ledge somewhere eating. Is it okay to do that? There is just no other place to bring food and eat it. I see them all buying drinks and food but never eating it.

They take themback home, back to their office or back to their school to eat it. Some young kids sit on the parking space right in front of the convenience store and eat it, but this is not considered particularly good mannered. If you don't find a park or some public space though, people eat while walking or sitting on a ledge (I've done that) :)

In my years working in Tokyo I never saw anyone eating outside on the street or in the park - at lunchtimes - just not done. Nobody eats outside apart from Hanami in Spring or matsuri in Summer.
But I was surprised last year when on holiday I spotted a bunch of high school kids eating on a regular train one afternoon. The times are a changin...

There are benches in some of the city parks, and during the pleasantly warm seasons, some people are using them to eat their lunch.

People take food to eat in the park all the time- the park near where I worked was always full of office workers eating at lunch time.

Walking and eating isn't good manners here though, and a lot of streets simply don't have space for benches! Outside a lot of suburban stations you will find public areas with benches- I can think of loads off the top of my head. Just because there is a convenience store though doesn't necessarily mean there will be benches nearby.

Keep an eye out for Mini-Stop convenience stores- they have seats and tables to eat at inside.

Rather than the lack of benches, one thing I noted was a severe lack of public trash cans. A park might have them, but there are few places in a city with them. Conbini and vending machines seemed to be the only places I could find them.

A lot of trash bins were taken away since the Toranomon Sarin and NY 9.11 terrorism attacks. But the best manners had always been to take home your own rubbish.

I also agree that park benches are pleasant places to eat. But as it is in any other country I've been to, there just are parks that are fit for eating and those that are more fit for the homeless or other various people and things. There are also places where parks are scarce.

Another option is the roof of department stores. Although not as common as it was in the 70s, you still see people relaxing and eating their lunches there even when it's raining.