Fall is officially here, and so it’s time to get excited about colorful leaves, cozy sweaters and sipping hot drinks again. The temperature outside is cooler than summer without being too cold, making it perfect for outdoor get-togethers and neighborhood strolls. And while the season can often invite a pensive, reflective mood, it also has its own fun and unique holidays to bump up the excitement.
Fall is also a great time for team building. In fact, it is usually one of our busiest times of the year. Teams are often coming back from their summer vacation lulls and need an activity that brings everyone together and focused again. It’s also a great time to motivate teams for the last big push of the year, before the crazy-busy end of the year holidays begin.
So fall is the perfect time of year in which to fit in a big team building event, or even a bunch of small ones. Below, we’ve come up with a list of fun team building activities that are suited for the fall season, many of which are quick, easy-to-plan, and can even be done online.
We’ve separated the list into outdoor and online activities. While fall has nice weather, you never know when there could be rain. Also, with travel and event restrictions, as well remote and hybrid teams becoming more common, it may not be feasible for your whole team to meet in person.
We hope you enjoy as many of these activities as you can, and remember that having fun is what’s most important!
Outdoor Activities
1. Outdoor picnic in the park
If the weather is nice out, why not have a picnic in a park? This can either be a small team-based activity or a larger, company-wide event. It doesn’t even have to be that complicated, either. Order some food or bento, maybe bring a ball to play sports, or even plan some fun ice breaker games. Spending some time outside and getting fresh air will be a good way to revive your team and away from the usual routine for a little while.
2. Nature walk
This is another fun way to get your team outside and active. It’s also fall, which means the leaves will be changing colors. There are a lot of great hiking trails that are within train distance of Tokyo, such as Takaosan. You can add an extra element of team building to the walk or hike by mixing up groups so that team members get to walk with people they don’t interact with. Combine this with a picnic at the end (see above) and you have yourself an easy-to-plan team building day.
3. Outdoor scavenger hunt (Hidden Secrets Journey)
Continuing with the outdoor theme, our corporate scavenger hunt is a fantastic way to get your team outside and exploring. Scavenger hunts add an extra layer of mental stimulation in the form of challenges and puzzles that teams need to accomplish. This makes it easier for teams to grow closer and bond. Invite Japan has a robust lineup of outdoor scavenger hunts in areas like Asakusa, Nihonbashi, and Yokohama that are sure to make for an unforgettable fall team building experience.
Online Activities
4. Virtual Oktoberfest
Even though Oktoberfest started in Germany, it’s now known and celebrated throughout the world as a festival celebrating beer and everything that goes with it. So it might be fun to host your own virtual Oktoberfest online. Think of it as a regular drinking party–but fall themed. Your team can agree to try different beers together, team members can present the beer that they are drinking to the rest of the group. Dressing up in Bavarian costumes is of course completely optional.
5. Virtual Halloween costume party
Speaking of dressing up, fall has become synonymous with Halloween, especially here in Japan. Have a little spooky fun and unleash your team’s creativity by hosting a virtual costume party. Hosting an event like this online might even encourage normally reticent team members to dress up. You can also include competitions for the best outfits and prizes to provide extra incentive and fun.
6. Puzzle-solving online team building game (Tabitantei Puzzle Tour)
Similar to the outdoor scavenger hunt mentioned above, Invite Japan’s online team building game adds puzzle-solving challenges to online team building activities. Our game, called Tabitantei, takes players on a journey across Japan, where they get to virtually explore different locations in Japan like Sendai, Karuizawa, and Yokohama. It gives teams the sense of traveling together, all from the safety of their PCs, while making their teamwork and communication skills stronger.
7. Online Cooking
Fall has a lot of different foods and drinks associated with it too. And because the weather is cooler, cooking isn’t as uncomfortable as in the summer. So why not host some cooking lessons with your team. You can have different members teach each other recipes related to fall, or all try to make the same recipe together. Afterward, you can all eat or drink together as part of an online drinking party.
8. Improv Acting Workshop
Sometimes the combination of gloomy weather and falling leaves can make people feel a bit melancholic during fall. If that’s the case, an improv workshop can provide the perfect pick-me-up. Improv acting is a method to get teams to open up to each other and release their creativity. It’s also extremely fun and usually ends in laughter. During the workshop teams play different improvisation games that are based on reacting to other members spontaneously and in the moment (don’t worry, no acting skills are actually required). Members learn more about each other while enjoying their time together–what better way to chase those fall blues away and get your team motivated and energized?
Photo by Autumn Mott Rodeheaver on Unsplash
