Retreating with work...the Yoshino experience

Hello all,

last week's entertainment was provided in the guise of a work retreat to Yoshino, a world heritage site about 90 minutes NE of Osaka and very near Nara. On a public holiday when we were supposed to have had a day off, we were given the choice of attending a work retreat..obviously attendance was compulsory as the Big Man was paying for everything. The Roykan is a very priviledged one in that the Emperor stayed there and so it has a royal seal. The name of the inn/Roykan is called Chikurin-in Gumpoen. It was very basic, tatami rooms etc but the setting was spectacular! The leaves are turning here now so the hills and mountains are breathtaking. The colours range from deep red, bright yellow to rusty red. Amazing. It reminds me of seeing the countryside of New England during the Fall over 10 years ago when I was there on my J1 summer excursion. A very peaceful and soothing location with no noise or pollution, the air was clean and the stars were visible which makes for a pleasant change.



What really got to me was not the fact I was spending my day off with my work colleagues or boss, in fact it was actually a good laugh, it was the precision planning that was staggering. Everything was planned out to a tee such that we were told when and where we could use the onsen and basically when we could pee. In saying that though, we were segragated from the Japanese staff during the afternoon discourse session which some had a problem with but to be honest, why would we want to sit there and not understand a word?? Instead, we had a meeting of our own, with a beer, which was informative, relaxed, a bit of a laugh and I learned some more about Patent Law.



Before dinner started, the Big Man made a speech and then we ate. The food was pretty bland to be honest, but it was a traditional meal and there was LOTS of food. The beer flowed and the conversation was good. As the meal progresses we have to stand up and give a wee speech. The purpose of which is to thank the Big Man for his generosity and tell a wee story from our time in Japan or a story from home. I compared the generosity of the Japanese and Irish people and I think the boss was happy with that...well, he just had a smile on his face and he kept nodding. Nobody listens except when the Gaijin's speak so it's a bit daunting. All part of being a novelty item in the country.



Once the speeches were finished and the food devoured (it was cold in the inn, not much heating and thin walls) bingo was played much to the delight of the Japanese staff. They really get a kick out of anything that involves shouting, screaming, and being generally loud. The bingo was grand, I didn't win but no-one's a loser at work so we all got a consolation prize to choose from at the end of the night. Oh yeah, I was also asked to be one of the three "official" photographers at the event so I spent alot of my time during these activites taking photos...I don't think I'll make it as an events photographer, I end up chatting and drinking too much beer to keep focused...not the camera but me, the camera is automatic focus!!!



And so the night's reveleries continued and into the early hours of the morning. Talk time with the Big Man was from 10pm to 3am! I kid you not, he was up until after 3am talking to everybody and everybody stayed up with him. What killed me the next morning, or rather a couple of hours later, was that breakfast was at 7am and a group photo at 8.45am (board the bus at 8.50am and depart at 9am, get to work at 11am). Dear lord but the head was not present at all until I had a shower and went outside and then I was blinded by the morning sun and frozen by the chilled air. All good though.



From there, we went back to work and for the first time in nearly 7 months, wearing jeans and a t-shirt and it felt ggggoooooddddddddd!!!!!! Stayed at work until 9.45pm and went for a couple of beers with the lads and home to bed. The remainder of the weekend was trying to catch up on lost sleep but then again I've been trying to do that since I got here. Not much doing this weekend, a bit of this and that. Birded on Sunday with Gabor and got drenched so that was not comfortable. Some nice birds folks, I'm sure you're all delighted, and Buff-bellied Pipit was new for me. What's even better is that there are not going to be any photos of birds today (I can hear the crowd go wild from here) eventhough I have some nice shots of an Arctic Warbler from Osaka-jo the morning we were going on the retreat....



Apart from that trip, the week was normal and non-eventful but a plan is being formulated so it's all good. I hope all is good with everyone and on that note, I fare thee well....

Carmo's Diet: this week, I have mostly been eating tofu with ginger and soy sauce