Experienced by About 60%! The 'Cardboard Meal' Immediately After Moving
A survey by delivery app 'menu' revealed that 60% of people eat 'cardboard meals' on boxes right after moving. Highlighting the exhaustion of moving, menu positions its review and ranking features as the perfect tool to find reliable, delicious food in unfamiliar towns.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: April 14, 2026 at 19:00
- 🔍 Collected: April 14, 2026 at 10:31
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 19, 2026 at 18:41 (128h 9m after Collected)
The delivery app "menu," operated by menu Inc. (Headquarters: Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Atsuo Shinoda), conducted a survey on the experience of "cardboard meals" to coincide with the moving season. The results showed that about 60% of respondents have experienced eating on the floor or on a cardboard box immediately after moving, gathering sympathetic voices as a common occurrence of starting a new life.
● "Cardboard meals" is a new life "common occurrence" experienced by about 2 out of 3 people
The scene of a "cardboard meal"—eating using a cardboard box as a table on the first day of moving in a room where furniture is not yet arranged—often appears in movies and dramas. This time, menu investigated how often this experience actually occurs.
A survey regarding the experience of cardboard meals was conducted on menu's official X account (1,406 valid responses). As a result, 59.7% (840 people) answered that they "have experienced eating meals on the floor or on cardboard without a table immediately after moving," revealing that about 2 out of 3 people have experienced it.
In the response comments, many sympathetic voices were gathered, such as:
・"I think it's a path everyone takes"
・"A common thing on the day of moving"
・"It's like that every time right after moving"
It seems that cardboard meals are a "common occurrence" when moving.
● Why do cardboard meals happen?
From the survey results, it became clear that the backgrounds leading to cardboard meals can be broadly divided into two types.
① "Cannot use the desk" group
・"Didn't have time to unpack before meals"
・"The day of moving is truly hectic"
On the day of moving, time passes while being chased by carrying in, procedures, and tidying up, leaving the living environment unsettled. As a result, there were many cases where cardboard was used as a table substitute.
② "Don't have a desk yet" group
・"The table didn't arrive on the day of moving"
・"Couldn't find a table I liked, so I used cardboard for a while"
・"The delivery timing didn't match, and it was a cardboard table for about two weeks"
In addition to delays in furniture arrival and delivery timing arrangements, there were also cases where a table could not be prepared because they wanted to be particular about choosing one.
Both arise from situations unique to starting a new life, and cardboard meals can be said to be a temporary dining style until preparations are complete.
Among them, there were voices reflecting back, saying, "The experience of shedding tears from anxiety as my first meal was on a cardboard box has now become a precious memory," showing episodes that reveal the anxiety and tension unique to starting a new life.
● Meals immediately after moving are "above all, easy"
As meals chosen immediately after moving, the center was easy foods that do not involve cooking, such as:
・Convenience store bento
・Fast food like beef bowls
・Take-out deli items
・Cup noodles / Instant foods
・Delivery
In the response comments, voices such as:
・"Cooking is a hassle, so it tends to be take-out deli items or delivery"
・"I was eating cup noodles while doing PC work using a cardboard box as a desk"
・"Because I was tired, convenience store food felt especially delicious"
were received.
Immediately after moving, there is no leeway in terms of both time and physical strength, and while getting it done easily above all, aren't there also many voices saying, "I want to eat something delicious especially at times like this"?
● No getting lost even in an unfamiliar town. The peace of mind of choosing by reviews
Immediately after moving, not only is the self-cooking environment not ready, but there are many situations where "I don't know where and what shops are" and "I don't know the reputation," making it easy to hesitate when choosing a meal in a new town. Especially at the timing of being tired from moving work, quite a few people feel they don't want to fail with a precious meal.
In such situations, reviews from people who have actually used it serve as a reference for choosing meals. In menu, not only star ratings but also item-level reviews are posted, allowing you to check specific comments such as taste and volume in advance, so you can order without hesitation even in a new area.
Furthermore, it is equipped with functions such as "Repeat Ranking" based on the number of repeats within the order area, "Everyone's High Rating" where you can check a list of highly-rated stores, and "Recommended for You" which proposes according to order history and usage trends, allowing you to find the perfect dish for yourself even at a timing when you are likely to hesitate.
menu is
● "Cardboard meals" is a new life "common occurrence" experienced by about 2 out of 3 people
The scene of a "cardboard meal"—eating using a cardboard box as a table on the first day of moving in a room where furniture is not yet arranged—often appears in movies and dramas. This time, menu investigated how often this experience actually occurs.
A survey regarding the experience of cardboard meals was conducted on menu's official X account (1,406 valid responses). As a result, 59.7% (840 people) answered that they "have experienced eating meals on the floor or on cardboard without a table immediately after moving," revealing that about 2 out of 3 people have experienced it.
In the response comments, many sympathetic voices were gathered, such as:
・"I think it's a path everyone takes"
・"A common thing on the day of moving"
・"It's like that every time right after moving"
It seems that cardboard meals are a "common occurrence" when moving.
● Why do cardboard meals happen?
From the survey results, it became clear that the backgrounds leading to cardboard meals can be broadly divided into two types.
① "Cannot use the desk" group
・"Didn't have time to unpack before meals"
・"The day of moving is truly hectic"
On the day of moving, time passes while being chased by carrying in, procedures, and tidying up, leaving the living environment unsettled. As a result, there were many cases where cardboard was used as a table substitute.
② "Don't have a desk yet" group
・"The table didn't arrive on the day of moving"
・"Couldn't find a table I liked, so I used cardboard for a while"
・"The delivery timing didn't match, and it was a cardboard table for about two weeks"
In addition to delays in furniture arrival and delivery timing arrangements, there were also cases where a table could not be prepared because they wanted to be particular about choosing one.
Both arise from situations unique to starting a new life, and cardboard meals can be said to be a temporary dining style until preparations are complete.
Among them, there were voices reflecting back, saying, "The experience of shedding tears from anxiety as my first meal was on a cardboard box has now become a precious memory," showing episodes that reveal the anxiety and tension unique to starting a new life.
● Meals immediately after moving are "above all, easy"
As meals chosen immediately after moving, the center was easy foods that do not involve cooking, such as:
・Convenience store bento
・Fast food like beef bowls
・Take-out deli items
・Cup noodles / Instant foods
・Delivery
In the response comments, voices such as:
・"Cooking is a hassle, so it tends to be take-out deli items or delivery"
・"I was eating cup noodles while doing PC work using a cardboard box as a desk"
・"Because I was tired, convenience store food felt especially delicious"
were received.
Immediately after moving, there is no leeway in terms of both time and physical strength, and while getting it done easily above all, aren't there also many voices saying, "I want to eat something delicious especially at times like this"?
● No getting lost even in an unfamiliar town. The peace of mind of choosing by reviews
Immediately after moving, not only is the self-cooking environment not ready, but there are many situations where "I don't know where and what shops are" and "I don't know the reputation," making it easy to hesitate when choosing a meal in a new town. Especially at the timing of being tired from moving work, quite a few people feel they don't want to fail with a precious meal.
In such situations, reviews from people who have actually used it serve as a reference for choosing meals. In menu, not only star ratings but also item-level reviews are posted, allowing you to check specific comments such as taste and volume in advance, so you can order without hesitation even in a new area.
Furthermore, it is equipped with functions such as "Repeat Ranking" based on the number of repeats within the order area, "Everyone's High Rating" where you can check a list of highly-rated stores, and "Recommended for You" which proposes according to order history and usage trends, allowing you to find the perfect dish for yourself even at a timing when you are likely to hesitate.
menu is