Japanese restaurant now offering pretend farewell parties for when your coworkers hate you

For a fee, restaurant staff will act like they’ve worked with you for years.

In Japan, March is the time of year for sobetsukai, “farewell parties” for coworkers. Since April is the beginning of the new fiscal year, whenever someone leaves a job or transfers to another area, it often happens in March.

Usually the farewell parties are coordinated by the coworkers of the person who’s leaving, making reservations at a restaurant or renting out a space to have fun together one last time.

But what about when you’re leaving a job that you hated? Or where you were hated? Chances are no one’s going to plan a party for you, but you might still want the fun of having a night all about you. Thankfully the Kansai chain restaurant Gochiso Mura has a plan for that.

▼ They’re offering a Solo Sobetusukai, a farewell party for one!

The Solo Sobetuskai plans vary in the price range from 4,000-5,000 yen (US$36-46), but in addition to a a seven-course meal, it also includes a round of clinking drinks and saying “cheers” with staff at your table, a dessert plate with “thank you for all your hard work!” written on it, and a card with little messages of encouragement for your new stage in life.

Essentially, it is literally a typical farewell party, just without all the people saying farewell to you.

▼ A photo of the full meal, complete with “thank you for all your hard work” written in chocolate on the dessert plate.

Apparently the motivation behind Gochiso Mura starting the Solo Sobetsukai were customers lamenting the fact that they’d left a job, but no one was bothering to hold a farewell party for them.

Now, thankfully, those poor souls can get the celebratory closure that they need at any one of Gochiso Mura’s 20 locations in Osaka and Hyogo Prefectures!

▼ Here’s the card given to the Solo Sobetsukai customers, wishing them well.
(Some translations below.)

“I wanted to work together with you more. Thank you for everything!”
“Thanks for your hard work. I still laugh when I remember our memories of ‘that day,’ hehe. Best of luck in your next job!”
“I’m glad we got to work together. Thank you!”
“You’ll be fine! You can do it!”
“Thanks for always helping me when I got in a pinch!”

Most of the messages are pretty cute and generic, though it does feel a bit strange to hear an anonymous card talk about memories of “that day” and all those “pinches” we helped them out with… which never actually happened.

▼ The restaurant also says that if you want to receive “farewell flowers,” to please bring them yourself. Cold, but fair.

If you’re in the mood for your own Solo Sobetsukai, then be sure to act soon. Gochiso Mura is only offering the plan until the end of March. Starting in April, the party is over, and it’s time to just hunker down at the new job.

Although we have to wonder just how popular the Solo Sobetsukai are going to be, considering so many Japanese people are eager to get out of other obligatory work parties.

Source, images: Press release
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