In general, the university cafeteria (school cafeteria) is not only an affordable place to eat, but also a place where you can chat with friends to share information or have a sweet to refresh yourself after a long day of classes. Some students bring their own lunch boxes, while others enjoy their meals while working on their reports. The variety of menus offered makes it an enjoyable place to eat. Let us introduce you to the new and old lunch scene of Sophia University.
１．Lunch at Sophia 2025
As mentioned on the official website*1, there are currently a number of student cafeterias on campus. Each cafeteria can accommodate 400-500 people, and there are counter seats for solo diners, group seating, and box seats similar to those in family restaurants. Building 2, completed in 2005, has a rooftop terrace where students can enjoy the cherry blossoms on the bank across the street while having lunch in the spring.
The cafeteria menu includes salads, pasta and set menus, as well as pasta, sandwiches, crepes and more. In addition, since there are many international students at the university, some cafeterias are halal-certified so that students with dietary restrictions due to their religious beliefs can eat without concern. Not only the ingredients, but also the condiments, the kitchen, and the cooking utensils are fully halal certified. The menu consists mainly of curry dishes, but oven-baked naan, gapao rice and other dishes are also available. Everyone can enjoy the service, so visitors can experience different cultures through eating. In addition, there are four*2 food trucks on campus every day, offering a wide variety of menu items.
２．History of our Cafeteria
How long has there been a school cafeteria at Sophia University? The first mention of a cafeteria appears in documents from 1932, 19 years after the founding of Sophia University. The cafeteria and kitchen were located in the basement of the main building at the time of its completion. This was in accordance with our institution’s status defined officially as a university according to national regulations. Unfortunately, there is no record of what kind of meals were served in the cafeteria when it opened with the new building. However, we can imagine that students could enjoy hot meals in the cafeteria, as they had brought their own lunches from home until then. Later, in the early 1950s, when the number of enrolled students exceeded 1,000, the cafeteria became too small to adequately serve all students*3. The situation was improved by using the two-story wooden school building of the Preparatory Military Academy in Asaka, Saitama Prefecture, which had been reclaimed after the war. In 1953, the first floor of the wooden school building was converted into a cafeteria with a capacity of about 800 students. The cafeteria served as a place of recreation and relaxation for the students until 1960, when it was demolished to build the Jesuit Faculty House (now the SJ House). The menu included desserts, and the photo shows that ice cream was also served. It may have been a stylish cafeteria for its time.
The construction of Sophia Kaikan was completed in 1956, with a school cafeteria on the first floor with a seating capacity of 500. It was a self-service cafeteria where students received their meals at a counter. The counter was equipped with a soda fountain*4, coffee maker and tea dispenser*5, which were modern equipment and services for that time. However, the student newspaper of the time reported that as the number of students increased, the cafeteria became so crowded that there were long queues at lunchtime, and the students’ voices calling for the crowding to be eased became more and more prominent. There were also price increases on the menu and some complaints about the quality of the food.
３．Diversification of Dining Areas
In addition to the dining hall, several other campus locations have been added to accommodate dining. This was done not only in response to students’ requests to relieve congestion in the cafeteria or to improve menus and services, but also because of a growing awareness within the university that students need places and spaces that are essential for enriching student life, not just for eating. The number of places and spaces that can be used by students for a variety of purposes is increasing every year: places where students can eat lunch while communicating with each other, spaces for privacy, spaces to eat a light meal while preparing reports, and spaces for meetings during meals.
※1 https://www.sophia.ac.jp/jpn/campuslife/shisetsu/gakunai/
※2 Stalls are opened during class periods.
※3 “The dining hall was occupied by boarding students, and regular students were chased out and lost space even to eat”, a report in the Sophia University Newspaper (No. 34, April 15, 1950).
※4 Equipment used in family restaurants and fast food restaurants to serve various soft drinks.
※5 A large container used to pour a certain amount of tea or water.