The company’s biggest event, the “2019 SSU Group New Year’s Party,” is here! Can we really make “Let’s Have Fun!” happen?

Hello! I’m K, a new employee.

Time has flown by—since joining the company in April and desperately trying to keep up with my seniors, nearly a year has already passed.

I have finally started to get used to the work, and recently I have been entrusted with more and more tasks by my seniors, with responsibilities growing significantly. And as if to test our growth, we were assigned the biggest project since joining the company…

That is… the “SUNNY SIDE UP GROUP New Year’s Party”!!

This is the company’s biggest internal event, bringing together members from SUNNY’s group companies all at once! Some people look forward to it more than any other annual event. This annual New Year’s Party is traditionally organized by the new employees who joined that fiscal year. Last year, we only helped out as “job offer recipients,” but this year, we—the 2018 new graduates—are the organizers…!

With a “little excitement” at being entrusted with such a major event, and the “huge pressure” of thinking, “Do we have to surpass last year’s seniors!?,” the countdown to the New Year’s Party began!

The first thing we tackled was choosing the venue! This year, we decided on Nankoku Shuka. Then we planned the program for the day from scratch! Relying on the small amount of planning ability we had developed through our daily work, we agonized over what would get everyone excited and what kind of activities they would enjoy. (Perhaps this uncompromising commitment to making sure people have fun is part of SSU’s DNA…?) This time, with the theme of strengthening interdepartmental unity, we planned games in vertically structured teams competing against each other! (But is this plan really okay…? We were nervous right up until the day…)

And before we knew it, the day arrived.

Since the venue was a Chinese restaurant, we organizers dressed up in Chinese-style costumes! (Sometimes a straight pitch is better than a curveball.) A group of pandas that looked especially out of place suddenly appeared in a prime spot in Harajuku (completely standing out). The cold stares from people around us—thinking, “Who are these guys…?”—did not faze our steely hearts, forged through approaching all kinds of people every day.

The hosts were S and N, dressed as a cheongsam-clad character and a jiangshi. They are an odd couple who stand out even among the new employees.

With the hosts’ opening words, the party began. Starting with President Tsugihara’s call of “Cheers!”, the energy in the room gradually rose.

The quiz we planned—a parody of a popular TV show—was a huge hit, with cheers for each team (and a little heckling) flying around!!! Seeing everyone having fun instantly blew away our worries about whether they would enjoy it!

With the excitement exceeding expectations and an impromptu rock-paper-scissors tournament being held, the schedule was running significantly behind at one point. However, using the coordination skills we have developed through daily PR events and press conferences, we managed to finish on time.

From things not going well during preparation to unexpected incidents on the day, there were more challenges than anything else—but that made the sense of accomplishment all the greater. Our bond with our cohort also deepened, and it is to the point that we even feel sad thinking there will be no more weekly New Year’s Party meetings.

Looking back, there are many things we could have done better, but we would like to pass the baton to next year’s new graduate members, who seem to have even stronger personalities than usual. (Seeing them take initiative from the preparation stage made us feel we can rely on them. We have high expectations!)

There were likely many areas where we fell short, but thanks to our seniors who truly helped energize the event and enjoyed it with us, we were able to experience the joy of planning! What we felt strongly this time is that people who want to make “Let’s Have Fun!” happen also “love fun.” (I have never seen adults get that excited over rock-paper-scissors!) As we continue to follow in the footsteps of those “fun” seniors, we would like to create “Let’s Have Fun!” moments both at work and outside of work.

Afterword

Takoyaki that our seniors treated us to after the New Year’s Party. The gentle warmth of the takoyaki—slightly cooled with time—slowly spread through our exhausted hearts. “Was takoyaki always this delicious…?” We will never forget the taste of this takoyaki for the rest of our lives.