The central city still has important functions in the Keihanshin Metropolitan area, although it is often argued that metropolitan suburbs are no longer merely residential places but have become more self-supporting with the suburbanization of retail and other activities. For example, although restaurants have been substantially suburbanized, the location quotients of restaurants in the suburbs are still not so high as those of retail businesses.
This article is a case study of Fujiidera City in the suburbs of Osaka, to examine how suburban inhab-itants choose restaurants in the CBD and the suburbs. The results are as follows:
1) Among the inhabitants in Fujiidera City, there are mainly two types in terms of ways of choos-ing where to eat in restaurants. One is the type who use restaurants only in the suburbs for various purposes (type A). The other is those who change the place according to their purpose (type B).
2) The inhabitants of type B use restaurants near the large stations in the suburbs when they go shopping. When they want to eat at restaurants with their families, they use roadside restaurants in the suburbs with ease of parking. When they want to use restaurants for leisure with their friends, they use restaurants in the CBD, especially near the railway terminals.
3) Although most of the inhabitants do not commute to the CBD, they appreciate restaurants in the CBD for their food and atmosphere of higher quality. Judging from these comments, we can say that restaurants in the suburbs do not yet have as much variety as restaurants in the CBD.
