The significance of a new decade cannot be understated, and the Royal Park Hotel is pulling out all the stops to ring in the New Year — and 2020s — with a series of events and meals.
Offering a focus on family-friendly food and fun; mochi (glutinous rice cake) pounding; traditional osechi (celebratory New Year's food); a New Year's buffet featuring Western, Japanese and Chinese cuisines; a fair with activities that harken back to the days of old; and fukubukuro (lucky bags) are some events on offer on Jan. 1, 2 and 3.
Visit the hotel on Jan. 1 and partake in a traditional osechi meal (7 to 10:30 a.m., last order 10 a.m; ¥6,655 per person, taxes and charges included), where carefully curated dishes signify elements such as wishing for good health, prosperity and happiness. Follow the celebratory meal with a visit to a free mochi pounding display at the hotel's first floor lobby (11 to 11:30 a.m., 2 to 2:30 p.m.), before rounding out the day with a visit to the ennichi fair (10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Jan. 1 and 2) where visitors can play various games and watch a lion dance and other performances (11:30 a.m to 12:15 p.m.; 5 to 5:45 p.m.) make for vibrant start to the new decade.