About Work and Holidays -Holidays and Leisure Time- From a Indonesian, Chinese and Peru Perspective

I work shifts, so I take my public vacations and paid vacations after discussing them with my supervisor. Usually, I have two days off a week. I think it depends on the profession and company, but in Peru it is almost the same system.

The holidays at my work place are straightforward from a normal calendar, so they are easy to understand. For our business partners in China, I heard that if a holiday falls on a weekend, the next weekday is a vacation for the following week. I think the holidays at my current company are easier to understand.

I get 5 days of summer vacation. My current work place allows me to take summer vacation up to October. When I ask other companies, they say that it is quite difficult to take a long summer vacation, but my work place allows me to use my own vacation time for a longer period anytime I want.
There are six nationally recognized religions in Indonesia. The six are Islam, Protestantism, Catholicism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Confucianism, and special days for each religion are holidays. All of Indonesia is closed on these days.

Is there also a vacation in Ramadan when you fast?

There is no vacation for Ramadan, but after Ramadan is over, there is a holiday called Eid al-Fitr for about 5 to 10 days. Everyone gets time off, not just Muslims. And some places give bonuses. We all think that if Indonesia had more recognized religions, there would be more holidays...

I have recently become addicted to a video game, so I play games all the time on weekends. Since I work from home, I am always at home, so I take a 2-3 hour walk around the neighborhood on weekends, at least one of the days. Since Togoshi Ginza is close by, I enjoy just walking around.

Summer is hot, so I don't leave the house on weekends. I spend time relaxing, watching movies and reading books. I often read books in English. I have a grandfather and grandmother in their 90s in Peru, so I talk to them on the phone once every month or two.

I have 2 small children, so when it is hot, I too go to places where I can spend time comfortably. I also like science museums and museums, so I force my children to go to places that I also want to go! I also go to a hair salon or massage once a month.

When I want to go out to eat or visit a museum, I invite my Japanese friends. I don't have many foreign friends. When I talk to people from the same country, they speak Spanish, so I can't learn. I want to use Japanese that Japanese people use, and since I live in Japan, I want to learn about various places.

My hometown is Medan on the island of Sumatra, the third largest island in Indonesia, which is bigger than Jakarta, but there is not much to do or see there, so everyone spends their vacations in cafes. I don't really like that kind of thing, and I think that's why I decided to go abroad.

In Japan, if you want to do something, you have many options. For example, there are many different kinds of outdoor activities that can be done even on a day trip, and can be enjoyed close at hand. When I was in China, I think it was partly because I was a student there, but even now, I feel that people my age spend the same kind of time going to the movies or karaoke, and so on. There are more choices in Japan. Maybe that is because we are in Tokyo.

When I try to hang out with friends in Indonesia, they usually spend time playing card games. I don't really enjoy it, so I decided I wanted a hobby that I could do on my own, so I started writing a novel. I write in English, but my friends say it's too difficult for them to understand, and it's hard to make progress, so I've been writing for about 10 years now. (Rizky laughs)
Also, recently I have not been getting enough exercise, so I started going to a place near my house that teaches Shorinji Kempo (a type of martial arts). I have only been twice though. I am a foreigner, so the teacher teaches me from the basics like how to sit, and I am learning many things about Japan.

It is nice to learn something that teaches the traditions of the country. Things like tea ceremony and flower arrangements in Japan are colorful dances of the Inca Empire in Peru. Traditional dances are passed on through school club activities and lessons.

I recently started taking a paid day off once a month to go out for coffee with my husband, since we don't have much time alone at all. We go while the children are at school.

It's been too hot to go out much these days, but I like to go to a coffee shop after work too. I like to go there and spend time drinking good coffee and reading books. I used to work out at the gym after work, but now I've been skipping the gym (Diego laughs), so I just read books.

I used to travel before I had children. Now that I have children, I intentionally shift the times to take vacations, so I go to work when the world is on a longer holiday, and do the work that I was usually too busy to do. Then I take paid holidays at other times of the year. During the year-end and New Year's holidays, I relax at home.

I go back to Peru for the long vacations, since it takes me a long time to get back home. I don't travel much within Japan. Sometimes I want to take a week-long vacation in a row, but I usually spread it out. I relax and watch movies or read books.

If it is a long vacation, I would like to go abroad. My goal is to go to a new country every year. 3 or 4 days off would be fine for a domestic vacation, but if it is more than 5 days, I would like to go abroad. I couldn't go during the pandemic, so I am planning to take my revenge! This year I want to go to Taiwan.

In Japan, I like places where I can relax in a different environment, such as Okinawa, Kanazawa in Ishikawa Prefecture, or Karuizawa in Nagano Prefecture.

I like places with history, so I visit Kyoto every year. My graduate school was also in Kyoto, so I feel as if it is my hometown in Japan. Recently, I went to Shimane Prefecture, where there is a place called "Yominokuni" (Land of the Dead). What is interesting is that in kanji, it is written as "yellow spring". I am also interested in the tomb of Christ in Aomori Prefecture.

I really like Kawagoe, Kamakura, and other old Japanese towns and the countryside with nature.

I would like to go back to Yakushima Island in Kagoshima Prefecture. I have been there once, but I have not been able to visit all of it, so I would like to go there again.