[Fun For Solo Adults] How to Enjoy Your Time at Home
It’s been quite a while since the term “at-home time” became commonplace—are you starting to run out of things to do? If you’re thinking, “With all these repeated calls to stay home, I don’t even know what to do anymore…,” here you’ll find a list of ways to enjoy your time at home, even by yourself.
We’re introducing everything from the classics to slightly unusual ideas.
You might even discover a new hobby you can really get absorbed in.
Of course, there are options you can enjoy with someone else too, so keep them in mind for the future!
- For adult women: solo activities you can enjoy, and a chance to discover new hobbies
- [Solo Time] A roundup of ways to kill time without using your smartphone
- Recommended ways for girls to spend their free time
- Solitaire card games you can play alone [single-player]
- [For Adults] Make the Most of Your Free Time! Ideas to Kill Time
- Recommended ways to kill time that you can do alone at home
- Simple and easy! Crafts perfect for killing time
- [Grown-up Cute] Easy Handmade Ideas for Miscellaneous Goods and Interior Accessories
- [For Adults] Fun Activities and Hobby Ideas for Rainy Days
- [At-Home Time] Games Couples Can Enjoy Together
- [For Adults] Fun Craft Ideas Perfect for Killing Time
- [For Men] A Collection of Hobby Ideas You Can Get Absorbed in on Your Own
- Christmas crafts for adults: stylish project ideas you'll want to display
[For adults to enjoy alone] Ways to enjoy time at home (11–20)
online travel
I heard that major travel agency HIS released an online round-the-world tour and it was very well received.
Everyone seems to be enjoying their time at home since they can’t go out.
If you’re a bit skeptical and thinking, “Is traveling online really fun…?” seeing is believing—why not try joining once and enjoy your time at home! If you look, you’ll find more options than you’d expect, like trips that stay at local guesthouses or tours of World Heritage sites within Japan.
Online camping and online scuba diving—there’s no limit to what future travel can be.
Making LINE stickers
If you did well in art back in school, why not try creating LINE stickers? If you pass LINE’s review, you can even sell them widely.
That buzzworthy story—“Elementary schooler’s LINE stickers make millions of yen!”—might not be just a dream! The review is strict about violence, sexual content, plagiarism, and portrait rights, so be sure to aim for a truly one-of-a-kind original.
A LINE sticker project you start during your time at home could turn into an unexpected Japanese dream—the bigger the dream, the more fun it sounds!
balcony glamping
With the recent outdoor boom and increase in time spent at home, “veranping” (balcony camping) has become popular too.
Veranping means camping on your balcony.
You often see people enjoying it on TV and online.
Still, many people probably think, “Our balcony isn’t that big…” There’s no need for lots of space to veranp! Even if you don’t have camping gear, just cooking indoors and eating on the balcony counts as proper veranping—it lifts your mood and even makes the food taste better! However, if you live in an apartment building, please be mindful of noise and smells.
haiku
Many people probably look forward to watching the variety show “Pre-Battle!!” hosted by Downtown’s Hamada.
I especially like the haiku segment.
The exchanges between haiku poet Ms.
Natsui and the guests—especially her banter with Tomio Umezawa—are as funny as a manzai comedy duo, and I end up laughing out loud every time.
Haiku may seem difficult, but basically, as long as you include a seasonal word (kigo) and stick to the 5-7-5 syllable pattern, you’re good! There are also free-verse haiku like those by Santoka Taneda, so you don’t necessarily have to follow the 5-7-5 form.
Many municipalities hold haiku gatherings at community centers, so once you’ve written some haiku, it can be fun to head to a place like that and put your skills to the test!
Adult coloring book
Coloring books tend to be associated with young children, but adult coloring books have been popular for the past few years.
There are many types available, from extremely detailed illustrations to landscapes and geometric patterns.
If you’ve heard of them but never tried, why not give them a go during your time at home? These days you can even buy them at 100-yen shops, so it’s easy to get started.
While many think of coloring as a children’s activity, it can stimulate the brain and help relieve stress, so it’s highly recommended.
Big cleanup and redecorating
If you think, “Rearranging a room is such a hassle…,” just try it once—you might be surprised.
Simply changing the placement of your furniture can make it feel like you’ve moved to a new place.
Now, when many of us have more time at home, is the perfect chance.
Worried that rearranging everything by yourself is too hard? Good news: some moving companies offer services that help with rearranging only.
That way, even if you’re on your own, you can feel at ease.
There are also apps that simulate “what your room will look like after rearranging,” and they’re fun to play with even just to look at!
Try starting an instrument
Not all professional musicians started playing instruments in childhood.
For example, Naruse, the bassist of the fusion group Casiopea, reportedly first picked up the bass in college.
Yui-P from the comedy duo Okazu Club also revealed that she started playing the harp as a hobby when she had more time alone, and she actually performed the harp on a TV show.
If you love music, using your time at home to start an instrument could be a great idea.
You can buy a guitar or an ocarina for just a few thousand yen.
I often see people practicing in large parks, too! How about giving it a try yourself?
beauty care
Everyone, are you taking proper care of your skin on a regular basis? For most people, skincare just means patting on some toner and serum as part of a routine, right? Unless it’s a hobby, it can feel like such a hassle that it’s hard to keep up with thorough care every day…
How about spending a little of your time at home on more focused skincare? Try the things you usually skip because they’re a pain—like exfoliation—or take your time with a face mask, the kind of care you can’t manage on a busy morning.
You’ll likely notice a difference in your skin the next day.
And of course, men should try masks and moisturizing too!
pencil drawing
Have you ever seen a video where a pencil rolls over an apple? The twist is that it’s not a real apple—it’s a drawing done with colored pencils! I often see these on Twitter and TikTok, and I’m always amazed by works that make me think, “I can’t believe this was done with just pencils.” For those who don’t usually draw and say, “I don’t have any artistic talent…,” why not try drawing at home during your free time? You might discover an unexpected talent, and even if the result isn’t spectacular, it can still be a refreshing change of pace!
The Way of Incense
Kodo—it may be an unfamiliar word.
Like the tea ceremony, Kodo is one of the traditional arts devoted to enjoying fragrance.
While we usually say we “smell” scents, in Kodo one expresses it as “listening to fragrance.” There are two main forms: Monkō, in which one enjoys the aroma of agarwood (jinko), and Kumikō, in which one discerns differences between fragrances.
As with other traditional arts, Kodo has schools and great depth, so it isn’t something you can truly begin in a single day.
Still, quietly savoring fragrances on your own can make for a refined at-home pastime suited to adults.