Tabina's Story

Work finished, and as always, I walked down Kappabashi Main Street toward Ginza Line Tawaramachi Station. The kappa painted on the signboard of “Kappabashi Hondōri Kōnishikai Shopping Street” saw me off with its usual round, vacant eyes.

Tabina looked over the itinerary she had just finished for the “Tokyo Sakura Tour” and praised herself quietly in her heart. “It turned out well,” she thought. “I’ll ask Heidi to check it.” She suddenly remembered: When she had first come to this company, the cherry blossoms along the Sumida River were in bloom. It had been six months since she joined. She had assisted with tour planning and tour guiding, and had even obtained her Domestic Travel Services Manager certifica

Right after the president finished introducing everyone, Sensei immediately began explaining the laptop on my desk. Although he was about the same height as me, standing next to him felt strangely intimidating—perhaps because of his solid build. With his round, adorable fingers tapping the keys, he explained each screen carefully as one after another appeared before me. After that, Heidi taught me where the supplies were kept, how to use the copier, and other basics. Before

When I leapt into the office, everything was pitch black and I couldn’t see anything. Cold air from the air conditioner poured down on me from above. In the next moment, the office lit up brightly, and when I narrowed my eyes, I saw the president at the back of the room, looking at me and pointing to the sofa in front of me. “I’ll bring something cold to drink, so have a seat and wait,” he said, disappearing into the back room. I felt I shouldn’t sit before he returned, so I

I had heard that Asakusa was full of inbound travelers. Sure enough, once I passed through the ticket gate, I found myself surrounded on all sides by foreign tourists heading toward Kaminarimon and the Asakusa district. Climbing the stairs, I stepped into an arcade filled with a heat unimaginable for June. I decided to walk toward Sensō-ji Temple. There were still about forty minutes before my interview. Everyone walking through the arcade looked like a tourist— soon, everyo

I didn’t have a dream job. There wasn’t even a company I particularly wanted to join. Still, I had to start job hunting, so I decided to take the recruitment exam for a travel agency. My reason was simple: “I like traveling.” The major companies were surely out of reach, so I looked into several mid-sized travel agencies instead. Even the mid-sized ones were all respectable companies. Would any of them really hire someone like me? Where were my dreams and hopes in life supp