I was going to make just one recommendation for New Year's Eve -- the countdown party at Milk, a freestyle club in Ebisu. I have had a couple of great New Year's Eves there -- including one special moment making mochi (traditional rice cakes) as the first tendrils of dawn crept across the sky in the year 2000. I wasn't in the mood for a big party; however, hammering at gooey rice balls was a perfect match.

And thereby hangs the thread that would unravel any attempt to make just one recommendation. New Year's Eve not only means different things to different people, it can also mean different things to the same person -- depending on their mood. And the fact that dance music is fragmenting into an ever-expanding array of categories confirms that one party could never fit all . . .

But as most people (most years) are in the mood to party on New Year's Eve, I've listed a selection of the best parties Tokyo has to offer this Dec. 31. And the winners are . . .

Big bashes:

Crystal Skulls, at Makuhari Messe Event Hall, in Urayasu: If you're in the mood for welcoming the new year with a few thousand trance-heads, this is the party for you. The organizers, Solstice Music and Vision Quest, started throwing parties to promote their independent recordings by their favorite trance artists, and in the process earned global street cred with ravers and a good business rep worldwide. Raja Ram tops a Eurocentric line-up of foreign DJs, while Tsuyoshi (Tokio Drome/Joujouka) flies the flag for Japan. Expect some slick laser effects and lots of licks on the decks.

Gates open at 8 p.m.; tickets are 8,500 yen in advance, 10,000 yen on the day. For details see www.solstice23.com or www.visionquest.com, or call Odyssey (03) 3796-9999.

Galactic Music Festival, at Club Citta, in Kawasaki, and Cube 326, in Kaigan: Two big(gish) venues join forces to parade an eclectic lineup of more than 40 DJs (mostly Japanese) spinning everything from techno (Mayuri, Q-Hey, Yo-C) through hardcore (Uraken) and trance (Funky Gong, Ree-K) to minimal industrial (Rankin Taxi) and back again. Also up live for a freestyle jam session is local band AOA, complete with didgeridoo player and feather-boa toting guitarist. The only common thread in this lineup is a tendency toward the arty edge of dance music. It all sounds a bit complicated though . . .

Club Citta, 6 p.m.-8 a.m.; tel (044) 246-8888. Cube 326, 9 p.m.-3 a.m.; tel. (03) 5439-9199. Tickets are 4,500 yen in advance, 5,000 yen on the day; access to both venues included (and with most trains running all night, you could do it without wheels of your own). Event Web site: www.21c-gmf.com

Honorable mention: New Year's Dance Music Party, at Ebisu Garden Hall's Garden Room, in Ebisu: Another bash featuring an eclectic lineup of Japanese DJs, including some heavyweights like DJ Krush, the UFO crew, Yoda and Yoji Biomehanika. You should hit acid jazz and deep breaks and grooves around midnight and progressive house and electronica through till the new year dawns.

Starts 8 p.m.; tickets are 5,000 yen. Call Garden Hall (03) 5424-0111 or Liquid Room (03) 3200-6831.

Club parties

Final Chapter, at Luners in Azabu Juban: In Action, the organizer of this event, offers a selection of DJs from the stable of turntable talents who spin at their three regular techno-house parties. Up for this year's countdown are Envy (Passion), Nao Nakamura (The Ring), Shinkawa and Monobe (Cross Over), and more. This is where serious clubbers will rally (before heading over to Maniac Love at dawn).

Starts 11 p.m.; 4,000 yen with two drinks, 3,500 yen with two drinks if wearing black and white. www.ciajapan.com

Maniac 02: NYE, at Maniac Love in Aoyama: And speaking of Maniac Love, as I just was, be prepared for some deep house and grooves as the night eases its way toward morning. Then brace yourself for some chronic doof doof as one after another techno-god mounts the pulpit. DJs Yo-C, Shinkawa and Take will be dishing out more bpm than a pacemaker in a microwave by the time the New Year's Day countdown begins at noon (!).

Starts 9 p.m.; entry 4,000 yen, 2,000 yen after 6 a.m. Tel. (03) 3406-1166; www.maniaclove.com

Honorable mention: Countdown to 2002, at Module in Shibuya: This one gets points for reinstating an old venue (Cave) as a worthy new club on the circuit. And for doing so with restraint and insight, by booking one (not 10) crowd-pulling DJ -- the elusive Gomi: resident of New York, cohort of Vasquez, and ably assisted at this event by progressive/hard-house pundit Sodeyama. On the other hand, the organizers of Yellow, who helped Cave/Module limp through near demise, have opted for DJ Emma.

Starts 9 p.m.; 5,000 yen with two drinks and free sake until the barrel runs dry. Tel. (03) 3464-8432.

There is one more party I should mention before finishing this list, and that is, of course, the countdown party at Milk. I add it not because I must, but because, in my mind, it has shown up all the rest by featuring a special edition of Koon, a free-spirited event, with DJs and bands, that gives a voice to Tokyo's emerging art and music scene. It all comes down to your favorite place and favorite pals after all . . . .