Post #618395 by Michelle66 on Fri, Dec 23, 2011 6:15 AM

Well....'tis the season for Trader Vic's Tokyo to get gussied up in its holiday finery!

And today was the first of three special Christmas brunches which feature live Hawaiian music and dancing - in addition to all of the delicious food and drink.

The nicest thing was being able to get some sense of the holiday spirit that is usually missing from the way Christmas is celebrated here.

Christmas Day (December 25th) is not a national holiday in Japan. (But, December 23rd - the current emperor's birthday - is.)

Japan is not a Christian country, so Christmas is celebrated quite differently than in other countries. Stores have seasonal decorations and play Christmas music. But come December 26th, all of it will be gone as the Japanese gear up for New Year's, which is the most important holiday here (and it lasts for a few days).

The usual customs Japanese folks have adopted for Christmas (actually Christmas Eve) are eating "Christmas Cake" (often white Cake with strawberries on top), eating chicken (with LONG lines going out the door at KFC), and even couples taking in special dinner shows at fancy hotels on the 24th.

So, even though the image of Christmas is here in Japan, it's often hard to catch any true feeling of Christmas spirit.

But, you can get that feeling at TV's, and here's a report.

As you step out of the elevator, a big Christmas Tree greets you at the entrance:

This is the poster advertising today's festivities:

Here's a poster for the upcoming New Year's special. (The tiki is now sans the witch's hat he had on for Halloween!):

A bigger shot of the tree:

Today being a national holiday, the restaurant was PACKED! It was busier than I'd ever seen it before. You even had to wait in line at the different buffet tables.

The staff had warned me long ago that the 23rd would be crowded, so I was able to reserve a nice U-shaped booth in a small alcove. It gave me a different vantage point than what I was used to, but with the scent of the Chinese oven in the air, it sure was cozy. :)

The counter above my booth's sofa had some thin Santas:

..and this too:

Tried a Honi-Honi for the first time today. (Nice, but I think I prefer rum to bourbon.):

Today's special live Hawaiian music soon started, with the musicians standing next to the alcove my table was in (hence the less-than-ideal pics).

If you'd like to hear how it sounded, I switched on my iPhone's voice recorder and captured about six minutes of the performance. You can download the audio file here: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=R739MYKW (It's not the highest fidelity, but it will give you a taste of the nice atmosphere TV's had today! :))

Some of the seasonal decorations:

Well, all good things must eventually end, and the end of my most wonderful meal were these cute and yummy Christmas cookies! (Yes, COOKIES! [I've never been able to get into Christmas cake...]):

Here are some Christmas Menehunes wishing everyone the most happiest of holidays!