Chairing (チェアリング/Chearingu) is an outdoor activity that became very popular in Japan and was first put into practice by two Japanese writers: Paricco (パリッコ) and Suzuki Nao (スズキナオ), as first proposed in the bar and watering hole-themed magazine Sakaba-Zine 酒場人 (Vol. 2, May 2016).

Paricco is an author, manga, artist, illustrator, DJ, and sake lover, born in Tokyo in 1978.

Suzuki Nao is a freelance writer living in Osaka, writing on websites such as Daily Portal Z.

What is chairing, and how did everything start?

Chairing is an activity where all you need to do is take your foldable chair, go to an isolated place or an area you like, unfold your chair, sit down and simply relax and enjoy the moment.

That is how everything started, too. The two writers would take their chairs outdoors, find a comfortable spot to sit down and relax while having a drink.

It seems that they jokingly named it chairing, and afterward, a lot of people started to imitate it until it became a trend all over Japan.

Now, many people take their chairs, go by the riverside, to a park, mountains, even beach, sit down, and immerse themselves in the tranquility of the moment.

It is a little different from camping and a safe way to enjoy the outdoors in these tough times.

You can find an area with fewer people or no people at all, sit down, gaze at the sky, drink some hot cocoa, and breathe in the fresh air.

However, some areas won’t allow chairing, so you need to be careful of that.

Because chairing has become quite a thing in Japan, stores sell chairs that are perfect for this activity, and here are two of my recommendations:

• 1. The Helinox Chair
  You can also find it on Amazon, and I recommend this one the most. Helinox uses strong materials, it is very comfortable and easy to assemble.

• Here is another one of my favorites.

• 2. Captain Stag
  You can buy the Captain Stag chair here. It is great for chairing, camping, and other outdoor activities. I love it because it also has a space to put in your drink and a place to put your bag/luggage. It is stable and very convenient, too.

You can also buy smaller chairs, that are easier to carry. A lot of Japanese people go for cute designs and easy to carry chairs, so it all comes to your preferences.

I’d rather buy a comfortable one than going for the kawaii factor, therefore my two recommendations above.

However, you can find cute and big, comfy chairs, too.

 

Where to go and relax?

As I mentioned above, riverside, mountains, forests, parks are some of everyone’s favorites. However, some people prefer the beach and seaside.

The rivers and trees are two of my favorites, so I’d probably choose a place that has a lot of greens surrounding it, where I can hear the calming sound of nature, and preferably, the murmur of a peaceful forest river nearby.

I’d probably get some hot cocoa and open my BGM Ghibli Jazz playlist to create an even more perfect atmosphere.

I feel that during the pandemic times when everyone feels a bit stressed, also many of us work from home, and we need to avoid crowded places, too, taking a chair and going somewhere in nature can be healing.

So how about a chair and some quiet time with yourself and a hot drink during the cold season?