Hotter Than Code Was Lunch — A System Engineer’s ‘Strategic Lunch Theory’ in Koto City

Whoa—what kind of workplace is this where chopsticks move before keyboards!?

■ Year 7: The Day I Had a Team

By my seventh year as a working professional, I suddenly realized that more and more juniors had joined.
And one day, they became part of “my team”—my subordinates.

At first, honestly, I didn’t know how to engage with them.
Code reviews, progress management, incident handling—those alone weren’t enough.
System development isn’t an individual sport; it’s a complete team game.

That’s when something naturally started to increase: lunches and team dinners.

■ Koto City: The Overwhelming Power of Choice

Our workplace was in Koto City.
And this is where things got tricky—there were simply too many good places to eat.

Famous ramen shops, cost-effective Chinese restaurants, and even hotel lunches within walking distance.
Having too many options is, in itself, a test of decision-making ability.

Some team members would leave early and rush straight to their favorite Chinese spot without hesitation.
Meanwhile, when going as a team, it always started with a small meeting: “Where should we go?”

Before I knew it, I had become the one designing that “space.”

■ System Engineers Bet on Lunch

As system engineers, we spend most of our time talking to computers.
Because we constantly face emotionless screens, human interaction becomes incredibly valuable.

That’s why we “bet on lunch.”
This isn’t just a meal.

• Reading the team’s atmosphere
• Drawing out juniors’ true thoughts
• Building relationships with other teams

All of this is condensed into a single hour at noon.

■ Lunch as the Smallest Unit of Organizational Development

I consciously started having lunch with other teams as well.
Because development depends entirely on cross-functional collaboration.

At key milestones, we would treat ourselves to hotel lunches.
On normal days, we’d go for cost-effective Chinese food.
On sunny days, we’d grab bento boxes and head to the park.

During busy times, we’d finish in five minutes with onigiri and ramen.

It may look inconsistent, but there’s one shared purpose behind all of it:
to create conversation.

■ The Contradiction: “We Don’t Care About Food”

System engineers often say,
“We don’t really care about food.”

But that’s only half true.

In reality, we don’t care about the taste—we care about who we eat with.
It’s not the meal itself, but the communication enabled by the meal that matters.

In other words, we are “designing meals.”

■ The Best Meal Back Then

Looking back, we went to many places.
There were high-end hotel lunches and ultra-cheap Chinese spots.

But what stayed with me the most?

It was the ramen I had with a junior after work.

Exhausted, we silently slurped noodles.
Then, a casual remark sparked laughter.

At that moment, I thought, “This team is going to work.”

■ A Question That Sparks Debate

Let me pose a question:

“Is lunch work, a chore, or an investment?”

If efficiency is everything, everyone can just eat alone.
But will that make the team stronger?

In the age of DX,
shouldn’t we redefine the value of time that appears “inefficient”?

An organization that neglects lunch versus one that uses it strategically—
which will perform better in the long run?

The answer lies in the field.

I can do it! I’ll take the first step starting tomorrow.

• Field experience conveyed: Real team building through lunch
• DX insight: Redefining the value of seemingly inefficient time
• Message to readers: Clues to strengthening organizations lie in everyday moments
• Next action: Intentionally design one lunch per week