Toward the 40th anniversary of SUNNY SIDE UP GROUP’s founding! In 2025, the Year of the Snake, we held our first-workday event.

Happy New Year! This is Sunny-chan from PR at SUNNY SIDE UP.

This year as well, SUNNY DAYS will share the appeal of our group and our members from a variety of angles.

Like a snake shedding its skin, we will plan engaging content so that our owned media can take another step forward. We appreciate your continued support of SUNNY DAYS this year.

Now then, this year’s first workday at SUNNY SIDE UP GROUP was January 6. Once again, we held a “First-Workday Event” in a hybrid format—both online and offline—to celebrate the start of the new year.

▼See past events here▼
A leaping start to the Year of the Rabbit! We held the 2023 first-workday event 🐰

Company-wide morning assembly: “40th Anniversary Commemorative Ceremony”

2025 is an anniversary year for our group. Founded in 1985, we are celebrating our 40th anniversary this year. To mark this milestone, we held a special ceremony to reaffirm our unity as a group and kick off the new year together.

First, we heard New Year’s greetings from two leaders: CEO Jihara and Vice President Watanabe of SUNNY SIDE UP GROUP.

Next, the presidents of each company shared their New Year’s greetings and their aspirations for the year ahead.

Next was the main program of the day. To celebrate the arrival of the new year—and our company’s 40-year journey and what lies ahead—we held a kagami-biraki ceremony!

With loud calls of “Yoisho, yoisho, yoisho!!,” the lid of a large sake barrel was broken open.

Kagami-biraki carries the meaning of “opening the sake barrel to open up good fortune for the year.” Just as the lid was opened with the help of Jihara and the presidents of each company, I quietly made a wish that the group will unite and continue to grow even further.

After the highly successful kagami-biraki, we held a mini talk session featuring Jihara and Matsumoto, a director at SUNNY SIDE UP, who have led our group since its founding in 1985. As two people who have watched over our growth, they shared our journey to date.

During the session, members who attended in person were served masu cups filled with sake. By the way, the sake was “Kubota Senju,” which, remarkably, began brewing in 1985—the same year our company was founded.

Once the drinks were handed out, everyone raised a toast led by Matsumoto.
Conversation flowed as well, with remarks like, “Looking forward to working with you again this year!” and “Were you able to rest properly over the holidays?”

And then, a surprise!

To commemorate our 40-year journey, a sushi cake was presented to founding members Jihara and Matsumoto.

The presenter was Kokubo, a director at SUNNY SIDE UP GROUP who joined as a new graduate in the company’s early days. The extra-large, custom-made sushi cake—ordered from No.Sushi in Ginza and made with more than 20 go of rice—featured our signature sunny-side-up egg logo.

The ceremony celebrating the new year, our 40th anniversary, and our founding members concluded to great success.

Recharge for the year ahead with premium food & drinks!

After the ceremony, it was time for the meal everyone had been looking forward to.

To help members recharge for the year ahead, we served a wide variety of food & drinks in the office kitchen on the 8th floor.

From the hugely popular location bento favorite, European-style curry Aubergine: “Cheese Curry” and “Beef Curry.”

A premium fried-food platter featuring, among other items, Maisen’s “Hire-katsu Sandwich” and “Ebi-katsu Sandwich,” made with their signature tender tonkatsu that can be cut with chopsticks.

From Suzukake, a renowned Japanese confectionery shop from Hakata, Fukuoka: “Suzuno Monaka” and “Suzuno Maru Mochi.”

Also from Fukuoka, the ever-popular donut shop with constant lines, i’m donut?: an assorted selection of fresh donuts!

Perfect for the cold winter! Oden from Odenya Takeshi, enjoyed with two broths: “Ago” (flying fish) and “Chicken.”

And since this year is the Year of the Snake, we also had “HABUSH,” a habu-infused liquor produced by the popular female rapper Awich.

As soon as service began, members rushed to the kitchen. We prepared an impressive variety and quantity, but it sold out in no time… It seemed that, along with the delicious food, conversations across company lines were also lively—giving Sunny-chan a moment of relief.

And with that, this year’s “First-Workday Event” came to a close! After filling up on premium food and drinks, members’ expressions shifted to their professional mode, and they returned to work.

This year as well, we will move forward together as a team so that, in our own way, we can create hope for tomorrow and beyond through our signature “fun commotion.”

We appreciate your continued support of SUNNY SIDE UP GROUP in 2025.