Every year
there was a trip on the first three-day weekend of November. The staff really looked forward to it. My first year, the trip was to Fukushima and featured:
-Eat at a ramen buffet
-Tour of a sake factory; tastings included
-Visit an old castle and a nearby five-color pond
-Sleep at a ryokan and bathe at its attached onsen fed by natural hot springs
1) I’m a crafter…knitting, sewing, paper craft…you name it. I have projects at home I can work on. No need to pay money to paint red cows with
bobbly heads. 2) Ramen is fine, but nothing to rave
about. (3) I don’t drink alcohol. The tour might be interesting from a
scientific standpoint, but, ultimately, a waste of time. 4) The castle and pond did interest me, but I’d
prefer to make a leisurely day trip of it.
(5) While I love going to public baths, I prefer to do so alone or with
friends. There is zero appeal for me to
get naked with co-workers. Zero. The total cost for the two-day trip, including
the five-hour bus ride, was ¥50000. Not. Worth. The. Money.
The next year they sent around questionnaires asking staff to vote
for their preferred outing. Almost
nothing was interesting to me.
Especially since it would come with a ridiculous price tag. It was amusing to learn that whenever they go
on staff trips, they give the hotel or ryokan a fake group name (which will be
on signs such as “Welcome to ABC Widgets, Ltd.” Or “Reserved for XYZ Company.”)
so that they can get drunk and behave as badly as they want without besmirching
our village’s good name. Each year they
choose a different name, so that’s also part of the discussion. I forgot what the options were and what they
decided on. I did not go.
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