Have you ever wondered what it's like to work as a detective, a pilot, a sushi chef, or a Shinto priest? The Japanese can now give an answer thanks to a travel agency in Tokyo, Shigoto-Ryokou, which specializes in eccentric tours. In fact, the agency offers participants more than one hundred work experiences. Those who participate, explains an organizer, find themselves having a very stimulating experience that also provides them with useful advice for their real work or for their life.
“I want participants to try something new by visiting other workplaces, even when in real life they do something completely different,” says Tsubasa Tanaka, 35, president of the company.
A program offered in August featured a visit to NEC Management Partner who offer training for employees of electronics giant NEC Corp. The tour was designed to show attendees what it takes to "reform corporate culture". Koji Sonobe, 43, an employee of Management Partner, explained what his job is all about to the seven people who joined the tour, including employees of automakers and insurance companies. A 29-year-old sales promotion woman said: “It was a different experience than usual training. I was able to breathe the atmosphere of a different company”.
The tours cover a wide range of jobs: from chef of exotic cuisines, to beautician, to florist. About 250-300 people take the tours each month, ranging from elementary school students to retirees. Most of the attendees are in their twenties and thirties. Some participants decide to change jobs at the end of the experience. For the moment the tours are held in Tokyo, but there are plans to extend them to all of Japan.
