Will the food conquer our reporters, leaving them smiling as they head home, or is it a disaster-in-the-making?

As each year draws to an end, Japanese companies gear up for one of the most divisive traditions of work life culture in Japan: the end-of-year party. On paper, it doesn’t sound too bad: delicious food and throwing back a few cold ones with your coworkers in a more relaxed setting. For many Japanese people, however, it’s forced socialization using your free time with people you don’t really want to be with. Unsurprisingly, many people try to get out of attending by using a variety of reasons.

Here at SoraNews24, the end-of-year party is sometimes a chance to go to an upscale Tokyo restaurant and eat like a king for a change. The total for the meal at the restaurant pictured below, for example, came to a whopping 335,629 yen (US$2,135)

Last year, everything changed when the regular organizer, Mr. Sato, had to take care of his sick wife. Instead, our boss Yoshio took up the mantle of organizer and caused chaos with his chosen destination of Saizeriya.

With a total of eleven people, the restaurant had trouble putting everyone all together, so we split up into three groups and video chatted with the other tables.

We cover Saizeriya quite frequently, which led to a feeling that it was nothing more than a regular meal, in place of the year-end blowout it was supposed to be. Some of our writers were left looking lifeless.

▼ Last year’s commemorative photo

Fast forward a year, and after finishing the last day of work, all of the staff followed Yoshio once again to the year-end party. He confidently announced that “This year will be different”, but kept everyone in suspense by keeping the location secret. The only thing everyone knew was that he had reserved the entire restaurant.

▼ Our reporters, including crossdressing Go Hatori (女装の羽鳥), follow after Yoshio.

With some hope, and a fair bit of trepidation, our staff headed away from the neon lights and hustle and bustle of Tokyo’s Kabukicho neighborhood, towards the quieter Shinjuku Gyoen area. Expectations plummeted as Yoshio’s footsteps continued on, away from the bright streets, lessening the chance that he was leading the way to a high-class restaurant, with someone muttering their worry that this would be a repeat of last year.

▼ The road away from Kabukicho

Entering into a park, people feared the worst. He didn’t reserve the entire park for everyone to have a picnic on a tarp, did he? After the trauma of the previous year, people started to believe that Yoshio was capable of doing anything.

Turning sharply back out of the park, the group realized that Yoshio was probably toying with their emotions.

The streets got ever darker, passing restaurant after restaurant. Would our reporters be able to eat as happily as the people they saw through the windows?

Suddenly, Yoshio stopped. He stood in front of a store. It seemed that they had finally reached their destination. Everyone looked to the restaurant’s sign, still maintaining that last flicker of hope.

That hope was promptly extinguished…

Ahiruneko: “Huh? Here?”
Ikuna Kamezawa: “Reserved? This place?”
Seiji Nakazawa: “…”

Yoshio: “Yeah! I booked the whole restaurant!”

Yoshio: “For the first time in history, a completely reserved year-end party at Matsuya!”

Everyone was stunned.

Matsuya, one of the three main beef bowl restaurant chains alongside Sukiya and Yoshinoya, is famous for affordable and filling meals. It’s a popular choice for busy workers, students, and travelers, but there aren’t many people who consider Matsuya to be a top location for get-togethers or parties.

Even regular organizer Mr. Sato was kept in the dark until just before the event. Yoshio did everything himself. He contacted the company and, while initially told that due to the season it would prove to be difficult, the company president of Matsuya himself approved the reservation.

Thanks to the generosity of the president for entertaining the request, Yoshio was able to book out the Shinjuku Icchome branch of Matsuya for an hour and half, starting at 8:00 p.m.. Our writers, who knew nothing about the lengths that Yoshio went to in order for this to happen, were still mostly in shock.

Yoshio (to Matsuya’s staff): “Thank you for accommodating us!”

Ahiruneko: “Good evening!”

Seiji: “‘Reserving the place’ means that it’s just us here?”

Masanuki Sunakoma: “Sorry to intrude.”

With everyone at their seats at the counter, Yoshio explained how to order.

Yoshio: “We’ll follow the usual Matsuya ordering system. Buy a meal ticket at the ticket machine and I’ll cover the cost.”

For Mr. Sato, who is quite used to going to Matsuya, seeing all of these familiar faces lined up at the counter was a surreal experience that will most likely never happen again. I mean, how often do you spontaneously meet around ten people you know at the same restaurant?

While the location was a little peculiar, in standard end-of-year party tradition, the first thing to do is naturally a toast. Ordering some bottles of beer, we were given some glasses and, in typical Japanese drinking culture fashion, everyone poured drinks for their neighbors.

Remember folks, you should never be filling up your own glass, as it can be seen as being quite selfish. Rather, you should pour a glass for someone else in the hope that they will return the favor.

Masanuki: “Who would have thought it would turn out like this?”
Takashi: “Right?”

Mariko Ohanabatake: “Here you are.”
Ikuna: “Ah, thank you.”

Glasses poured, everyone followed Yoshio lead in the toast. The first-ever reserved year-end party at Matsuya begins.

Among the many glasses raised, one man stood out from the rest with his yogurt-based drink Mammy held aloft: Seiji. Mammy is a drink that is quite similar to Yakult, popular among children and adults; it has both digestive and overall health benefits.

▼ A man who says “Cheers!” with a carton of Mammy

Everyone started taking turns going up to the ticket machine and ordering whatever food they wanted. Being able to share one dish among many people happened to be one of the merits of renting the place out.

As the food began to be served, smiles gradually began to appear.

This was a time for people to try out some wild combinations, like hamburg steak in brown sauce paired with grilled thick kalbi pork.

This triple salmon roe bowl was also a great choice.

The person who ordered this treat is none other than Mammy Seiji. Going from having such a dark expression upon the arrival at the store, with this dish in front of him he is all smiles.

Seiji: “I’ve actually really been wanting to try this.”

Ikuna chose to have a serving of grilled boneless short ribs and grilled thick kalbi pork. Truly a meat lover’s meal…

But wait! She also ordered seared salmon and miso soup with pork and vegetables. On top of all of that, she also got a serving of green onions. She’s really taking the opportunity to chow down. For today only, such a glorious meal can be forgiven.

P.K. opted for some grilled boneless short ribs and kimchi, seeming to understand how to select a reasonable amount of food.

Then there was the perfect contrast of the beef bowl twins: Takamichi with his radiant smile, relishing every bite, and Yuichiro with an alarmingly serious face.

Even though everyone had dubious expressions when they first arrived, once they started eating they all seemed to be enjoying themselves. Could it be said that this year’s end-of-year party was a great success?

Among this calm atmosphere, one man made his move. Mammy Seiji!

After buying a ticket, he pulled the staff member aside to whisper something.

A short time passed and, with a deluxe beef bowl in hand, stood in front of P.K.

Matsuya Staff: This is from that gentleman over there.

So cool! Doing what everyone wants to do once in their life, Mammy Seiji took this chance to do it. As to be expected, no one but you can pull off beef bowls this stylishly.

P.K.: “I’m so happy. It might be even more delicious than usual.”

Though Matsuya specializes in beef bowls, they’re also famous for their gorogoro nikomi chicken curry, also known as gorochiki. Ahiruneko is especially fond of this dish, so he didn’t fail to order a plate.

Today’s gorochiki looked much more delicious than usual.

Despite having grand plans of eating a variety of dishes, with just the two dishes of hamburg steak in brown sauce and grilled thick kalbi pork, Mr. Sato was completely full. Everyone else also seemed to be done after their first order.

With everyone finished eating, it seemed a waste to continue using the restaurant for the rest of the time, so everyone left after just an hour. However, for a year-end party, there was a surprising lack of alcohol, so it went without saying that there was going to be an after-party.

Only considering the food and drink, the total cost for a 14-person party at Matsuya was 29,800 yen (US$190). Although, some people seemed to have taken their receipts home with them, making the true cost a little higher, but since it’s Matsuya, it wouldn’t be much higher.

All being said, this year’s end-of-year party was a roaring success… probably.

However, the story isn’t over yet. As was mentioned, the writers planned to go to an after-party, but the reservation was still quite some time away. So, they decided to kill time in the only manner they knew how: going back to the office.

At the next venue, they made sure to all drink to make up for what they didn’t get to drink at Matsuya.

Still, the story continues on.

The next day, Go sent Mr. Sato a message.

Go: “Mr. Sato, do you have my wallet?”

What! Go lost his wallet? Once the after-party had finished, Mr. Sato, Go and Takashi all went for another round at a bar, but Mr. Sato didn’t remember ever looking after Go’s wallet. He hadn’t seen it at all yesterday.

Mr. Sato wanted to say that there’s no way that he had it, but the AirTag was indicating a place right next to Mr. Sato’s apartment. There’s no way!

Just to be sure, he checked his bag. It’s not there… no way it could be…

He even checked the pockets that he doesn’t usually use… ah! There’s something there.

Well, well, well. It seems to be a wallet. Now why on earth was it there?

As it turned out, just after leaving the bar, Go drunkenly mistook Mr. Sato’s bag for his own. Mr. Sato quickly realized and took it back, but it seems that within that time Go had managed to put his wallet into the bag.

He sent a quick message to Go telling him that he had found the wallet and Go came hurtling around to Mr. Sato’s apartment on his bicycle, since they live quite close to each other.

Despite the surprises, the year-end party turned out to be a hit for everyone. Just what is going to be in store for next year…

Photos ©SoraNews24
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