Hello!
I am Kasuga, a new employee.

On June 30, we new employees successfully completed our three-month training program and are now working hard in our new assignments with a fresh mindset. During these three months, we trained in various departments and learned a great deal about professional life from our senior colleagues.
Therefore!
to express our gratitude to those who have supported us and to ensure that SUNNY SIDE UP GROUP continues to create many “fun commotions” this term, we planned and held a “Kick-off Party” on Friday, July 4! (SUNNY SIDE UP GROUP entered its 30th term on July 1.)

The themes were the much-talked-about (or perhaps slightly dated?) “Omotenashi” (hospitality) and the “World Cup”!

First, since the Tanabata Star Festival on July 7 was approaching, we decorated bamboo branches and asked employees to write their wishes on “tanzaku” paper strips. The branches were filled with a variety of interesting wishes, ranging from passionate global-scale ambitions to small moments of happiness and even some surprisingly realistic requests!

This was a very serious wish!

At the kick-off party, several employees shared their wishes after the President’s toast.
The venue was filled with excitement as people shared their unique wishes, such as “I want to become the President” or “I hope to meet someone special!”

And the highlight of this kick-off party was… wait for it…!

“Samba”!!!!!

To match the excitement of the World Cup happening on the other side of the world in Brazil, we decided that SUNNY SIDE UP GROUP should be just as lively! To that end, we invited a team of samba dancers as special guests.
Although surprised by the sudden appearance of the dancers, everyone joined in the fun, clapping and dancing along!

During the subsequent photo session, many people—though some were a bit shy—took photos with the samba dancers, smiling as they shouted “One, two, Vamos!” (We were told “Vamos” means “Let’s go” or “Come on” in Portuguese). Some weren’t shy at all and were completely into the spirit of it (lol).

After the excitement of the samba performance, we held a raffle and rock-paper-scissors tournament for items from Hidetoshi Nakata’s personal collection, including T-shirts and sunglasses!
The competition was fierce, with prizes so good that even we organizers wanted them. Here are the winners of the sunglasses striking a pose!

The person on the far right! (lol) And the beer on the ground in the middle! (lol)

The kick-off party concluded with inspiring words for the 30th term from Executive Officer Matsumoto, who has supported SUNNY SIDE UP since its founding.

SUNNY SIDE UP GROUP pursues “fun commotions” even in its internal events!

I wonder what will happen at the next internal event…
Stay tuned!!