Tuesday, November 3, 2020

Japan extending the Winter Break

I came across this article recently.

Naturally there are pros and cons for this. One of the pros being long break time during Christmas and New Year instead of the usual few days most people get during that time. Also, the theory is that by extending the holiday period, the crowds will be smaller and scattered around all the major locations associated with the New Year festivities (such as shrines and temples) over a longer period of time, reducing the spread of the virus.
However, the con for this is that while in theory the scattered crowds could work, the flip side is that there could possibly be big crowds but rather than being scattered, it will be big crowds everyday, increasing the risk of spreading the virus (not to mention the flu during this period). Another con is that for many people who are on contracts and only get paid for days they work (people like me), it means we get less pay than normal. This especially irks me, because I get paid a handsome amount, as any unused paid leave days at the end of the year will be added to my December paycheck. 

I am torn on this, as I would like a little more time off, as I only got two weeks off during the summer break (though I did like getting paid for August for once), so two weeks in December/January would be a nice change. On the other hand, I also like getting paid more than normal during this time. Admittedly though, due to this pandemic, my options on where to go and what to do are limited. I am still hesitant to go to Tokyo during this time, even if my girlfriend goes there once a week for work. Though it would be a good opportunity to check out some of the shrines around my city, especially one that is literally right next to one of my junior high schools.

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