B Anderson <bne@qld.com> wrote:
> So now we have a glorious repeat of Golden Week coming up September, 
> whereby the day between two holidays has been declared another holiday.

> But it is not glorious. Why must the Japanese have these elongated 
> sessions of national holidays? It is disruptive, bad for productivity, 
> and everyone pours into holiday destinations, crams onto planes and 
> shinkansens that are near empty most of the year.

> My office deals with many overseas clients and they basically freak out, 
> thinking we are ignoring their calls and e-mails.

> And I can answer my own question: the Japs need to be forced at gunpoint 
> to take a holiday. Their office has to actually be closed to convince 
> them to take days off.

I found one of the advantages of being a furriner was that I could work 
through those periods, keeping the office open for clients, and enjoy
a MUCH less crowded Tokyo, and take comp time when all the vacation spots
were far less crowded, and the prices lower.

Mike