Recently, I returned to Tokushima from a 2-night trip to Tokyo in order to ring in the new year in style!  This trip included several events, including a visit to Tokyo’s most famous shrine and temple!  As for Meiji-jingu and Senso-ji in Asakusa, I’ll save that experience for a separate blog and focus on New Year’s Eve for now.  New Year’s was great!  Although counting down to the new year in Japan is not common, there are no shortages of countdown events in a city with over 12 million people, including nearly 400,000 foreigners.  During the day I strolled around Shibuya – known as one of the fashion centers of Japan, particularly for young people, and as a major nightlife area.  Shibuya is often considered the Times Square of Japan and is famous for its hectic intersection crossing.  In the evening I went to an early show at Tokyo Billboard Live, a classy concert hall located in Tokyo Midtown to see Arrested Development.  I like the genre, but not a super big fan of Arrested Development – really just wanted to check out Tokyo Billboard Live regardless of who was performing…  as for the concert, it was great!..  Arrested Development can still rock and every seat in the house was good!..  Afterwards, it was back to Shibuya to count it down at Vuenos Tokyo and onto Rappongi for after-hours!..  Good times!..  Check out all my pics in my Tokyo picture album and also my New Year’s video below!  Happy New Year to all my friends and family back home!