Day 5 ~ Ginza ~ New Years Eve Bash! 12.31.2008!!

Well, Kathryn and I made great attempts at waking up at 4:45 AM to go see the fish market. We put on our clothing and we were off. We thankfully stopped by the front desk on our way out the door. The concierge unfortunately said it was closed on New Years Eve. So Kathryn and I went back upstairs to sleep for a few more hours. Once we re-woke up, we went to see the famous Kabuki-za theater along with the fish market! It was an extremely good adventure out! You will be able to see by the pictures below! :)

These pictures were taken in front of the Kabuki-za theater. Isn't it just beautiful. For those of you who do not know what Kabuki is it is a traditional Japanese art form. It is a type of theater that can last all day (8 hours). It is very long and sometimes rather boring. But the costumes are beautiful and it is a fantastic art to go see for 2 hours.
We then went to Tsukiji Fish Market! This is the world's largest fish market. Kathryn and I braved the streets of all the crowds. The website lied that they were closed because indeed they were open for business!! We had so much fun dodging in and out of all the streets. We enjoyed the market for about half an hour and then walked to the Mitsuya Garden Hotel for tea and parfaits! I highly recommend both of these famous and historic places especially since they are in very close proximity to each other. We were able to walk from our hotel in Ginza! It took about 15 minutes.

Here is Kathryn in the fish market! As you can see, it was packed!!
Ha Ha Ha!

This is Kathryn's one shot for the trip! She took my camera held it up and snapped a pic! She claims it could be seen in National Geographic! How fantastic is she?! hee hee.
bargaining at the market

Buying at the market. I love this picture because Kathryn and I truly were the only foreigners there. It was so much fun. I literally felt I had walked onto the scene of some movie!

Ebi - Oishii!!! Shrimp - delicious!
It was then off for our tea and parfaits. Then lunch, napping, and getting ready for the evening! The doors opened at 7:30 and dinner began at 8:00. We enjoyed an amazing 6 course meal, cocktails, and free champagne at midnight! We also indulged in some entertainment! We had so much fun! We had wished others had been able to join us but of course we had so much fun just the 2 of us!!!
Here is their vault of wines! Everything was 30% off but we chose to have cocktails!

I love candle light what can I say. Here is Kathryn looking beautiful at dinner! And my glamorous self! Hee hee. Yes we had 3 forks and 3 knives! It was fun! I had to take a picture of that! :)

Kathryn and I enjoying our cocktails and the chef's special appetizer. They called it his amuse. It was a scallop pudding soup. Sounds disgusting but it was absolutely delicious. Those truffles on top were fantastic! The jazz singers from Chicago and New York! It was really fun listening to them and talking to them afterwards.
After the singers there was a charity auction. All the proceeds went to an environmental foundation. Then to top it off there was a belly dancer! :) She was alright considering I am spoiled and have seen the real deal in the UAE!
Then the desert of a lifetime. White chocolate caramel goodness with earl grey ice cream. It sounds too rich and sweet but let me tell you it is one of the best deserts I have ever eaten. Self-portrait! Sissy and I!

Kathryn with her champagne and poppers right before the strike of midnight! Champagne and poppers!
10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1!!! HAPPY NEW YEAR 2009!!! The band came back out and everyone started dancing it was so much fun! The auction continued and so did the belly dancing! It is definitely a memorable evening!!!

Kathryn ringing in the new year in style!!

At about 1AM we went back to the hotel. Kathryn wanted to change dresses and I didn't mind staying in the dress I was already in! So it was then off to Omoto Sando to go to Velours night club. The club was very chic and trendy. Various D.J.s were playing and we met many cool people. We partied the night away until we decided to get back on the train and go home at about 5:45 AM. We walked into our hotel about 10 after 6 just as the first sunrise was coming up. It is very lucky to watch the first sunrise of the year. We did not watch it but rather were walking as it was happening. It was then sleep for a bit and back to Itako to enjoy New Years Day evening with new friends. The principal from Hinode Elementary school invited Kathryn and I to enjoy NYD with him and his family.

Our new designer friend, hee hee, Haru. He was hilarious! It was definitely an awesome New Years BASH!