For many years the Tokyo branch of the Arribas company threw holiday parties for their employees. In a rare meeting of upper management and makers, artists and their handlers were welcome to join the managerial staff in an evening out together sponsored by the bosses. This was the first, and last, holiday party I attended with the company in my three winters with them, as the tradition seemed to die shortly after.
Oh well. The times, they are a'changin.
I'd covered this evening in a previous post, but now I can go a bit more into detail and provide more photos.
For two and a half long years I worked my tail off at Tokyo Disney Sea.
Despite working in the park, I was never allowed to explore beyond my area and I most certainly never got free entry into the park. There are strict regulations about costumes and the regions they inhabit so you'll never see a Mermaid Lagoon employee in full costume hanging out in the Mediterranean Harbor.
Because I worked for Arribas and not Disney directly, I couldn't even use the Disney employee parking lot for my bike. I got an awkward warning from a guard one night and a note I couldn't read.
Bummer.
But it was still worth taking the time to visit the place I worked at, at least once!
So one overcast spring day my friend Yuka & I met up at the guest entrance of the park we worked in.
After dutifully (albeit grumpily) paying our $45-50 some odd bucks (with a local discount), we entered for a day of fun. Our friends Noriko & Naoko were both working, but promised to meet up with us when their shifts ended.
By the way, did you know that the Japanese Disney parks are cheaper than their U.S. counterparts? Now you do! Not everything is more expensive in Japan. ^_^
Halloween isn't typically celebrated in Japan. It's not a traditional part of the culture, though dressing in costume is obviously a much loved hobby for many Japanese. It's not really surprising that after appropriating Christmas (it ain't about Jeebus in Japan, I can tell you that much) the next holiday to gain momentum would be Halloween. Who doesn't love an excuse to dress up and have fun?!
While I encountered some festively dressed folks on my way to work, the real Halloween hijinks were to be had at a party with coworkers afterwords.
Several of my coworkers were Americans as well, so we had our own version…which involved watching Nightmare before Christmas in Japanese. My favorite Japanese version song was "What's This?!", though, as Jyakku shouting "NANDA?! Nani-?!" repeatedly amuses me.
The company I worked for had been in Japan for well over 20 years by the time I showed up, and many of the artists who had started working there in the beginning were reaching a point in their career where they were preparing to step down and return home or retire. As such, when one of the longest-working professionals was reaching the end of his time working with us, the manager arranged a farewell party in his honor.
