研究者指出，日本snack酒吧在2013年统计开始时约有10万家，12年间总量下滑55%，预估2025年降至4.5万家；若趋势不变，2050年将再少60%，总数不到2万家。主因包括店主高龄（许多在70多岁）与接班人不足，另有年轻族群饮酒减少，以及店面低调、帐单不透明等进入门槛。
尽管整体衰退，仍出现复兴尝试：例如27岁店主接手经营，并在两年内获得1,000万日圆研究资金与管理支援，计划于2026年6月在东京再开第二家；数位工具也介入，相关新创希望把合作店家从目前6家扩至2026年的300家。更深层背景是孤独与高龄化：单人户预估2050年达44.3%，而2024年独居者在家死亡76,020人，其中65岁以上58,044人（超过四分之三），使snack被视为非正式的社区安全网。
Japan’s “snack” bars center on counter conversation among strangers, guided by a female proprietor known as “Mama,” functioning as late-night, neighborhood social space. In Tokyo’s Sugamo area, one Mama says the count fell from about seven bars to two, and a proprietor who opened in 1990 describes a long, slow local decline.
A researcher estimates Japan had about 100,000 snack bars when tracking began in 2013; the total has dropped 55% over 12 years, with a forecast of 45,000 in 2025. If the pace continues, the country could have 60% fewer by 2050—under 20,000—driven by mamas aging into their 70s, a lack of successors, lower drinking among younger people, and newcomer friction from discreet storefronts and opaque billing.
Revival efforts include a 27-year-old taking over a bar and receiving 10 million yen in research funding plus management support over two years, with plans for a second Tokyo shop in June 2026. Digital tools also aim to stabilize operations: a startup wants to grow affiliated shops from six today to 300 by 2026. The backdrop is worsening isolation—single-person households are projected to reach 44.3% by 2050, and in 2024, 76,020 people living alone died at home, including 58,044 aged 65+ (just over three-quarters)—making snacks an informal lifeline.
