Japanese corporations tend to regard their employees as quasi-family members. Senior employees may treat junior employees like little brothers and sisters, or sons and daughters. Junior employees, acting as humble students, are expected to learn things from their seniors. Accordingly, it is important for employees to interact with each other in a variety of situations. For example, it is very common for workers to drink and dine with coworkers after work. In addition, corporations set up official events for employee socialization. One of these events is the so-called recreational trip or ian ryoko, when employees take an annual trip together, at their company’s expense. It is said that fall is the best season for ian ryoko. During typical trips, both managers and staff of a particular department in a corporation may sightsee, stay at a nice hotel, and have a banquet at the hotel in the evening. A relatively small company may invite all of its employees to attend these trips together. In that case, even executives take part in the activities with managers and staff. Though many employees enjoy ian ryoko, regarding it as a free sightseeing trip, others feel these kinds of quasi-family trips are old-fashioned.