Vacation diary (Part 5)

Jan 15, 2011

On the new year's eve, we went back to the hotel early. We initially thought we might have a chance to get tickets to the new years countdown either at DisneySea or Disneyland, but nope, we weren't too lucky. Then we tried our luck at Disneyland hotel...whether any room was available for the new years eve, so that we could watch the new years countdown from the hotel window. Again, we were left disappointed. The hotel rooms remained to be fully booked. So, we had no choice but to check-in to our hotel as planned for the next two days, Sheraton Grande Tokyo Bay.

Sheraton Grande Tokyo Bay is an equally excellent hotel. It's located not far from Tokyo Disneyland or DisneySea. To get to the hotel, we just had to hop on the monorail and get down at the next station. Sheraton Grande Tokyo Bay is just 2 minutes away from the monorail station. If you are too worn out to walk, you can always take their "Mickey shuttle" which leaves every 10~20 minutes.

Sheraton Grande Tokyo Bay

The entrance

We were quite delighted with the room at Sheraton. Though it may not have Mickeys or any Disneyland decorations, it was quite nice with its different kind of touch. The room looked spacious too.

Spacious room

Coffee maker, I love it!

Sya and ayah having fun with the mirrors...:)

It also had a nice balcony and since we were given the park view (nice surprise!!), we could see both the Disneyland and DisneySea from here.

View from the balcony

We had a peaceful new year's eve. We ate instant soba just before midnight to end the old year and enter the new year, celebrating it the Japanese way. As long as it's soba, it doesn't matter whether it's instant or fresh, it still fits in. ;)

Instant soba

We ate the toshikoshi soba while watching the famous Japanese Kouhaku utagassen

Beautiful night view from our balcony

Just before midnight, we sat facing the Disneyland and waited for the fireworks display.

Happy New year 2011!





Some videos of Tokyo Disneyland countdown parade from youtube

We were too tired to go to Disneyland at 2 am in the morning though it would be a great chance for us to take all the rides while most of the people were still asleep. We made the decision to sleep and try wake up as early as we could the next morning. I woke up at at 6am. Preparing for our trip to Disneyland as soon as possible. While waiting for Sya to wake up, I went to the balcony and savoring the new year morning just before the sunrise.

While staring at the sea, I realized the sky was beginning to get brighter and brighter....


So I brought along my camera, just in case I would be able to witness the first sun rise of the year 2011.



And to my delight, I was able to capture the first sunrise of the year!

It was one of the highlights of our trips. An unexpected surprise! I guess God must have had a better plan for me. I am very thankful. I don't actually feel bad that I didn't get to stay another night at the Tokyo Disneyland hotel. Gone was any feeling of disappointment that I had, the fact that I didn't get to join the countdown party at Disneyland or DisneySea. Would I give away this opportunity for the new year countdown parade at Disneyland? Definitely not! This was by far the most beautiful sunrise I have ever witnessed! The best experience ever!

8 comments:

i amsterdam said...

You are lucky!! Able to catch & capture the most beautiful sunrise ever!! And on new year too!! Isn't that great!! Hope the coming year will be as bright and as beautiful for you as the sun.

TK said...

It's nice to capture the first sunrise of a new year. I would love to do it one day. I have never seen the sunrise at the nearest beach to my house pun! padahal dekat umah je..
The firework display are really awesome.I can imagine the excitement..celebrating new year at a wonderful place!! Bestnya kan...

Nana said...

Hi i amsterdam!
Yeah, I was very lucky! Sunrise on new year, it was a great experience. May this year be a great year for all us!

Nana said...

Hi TK! I am sure sunrise from pantai timur is awesome! Bestnya dapat tengok beautiful sunrise everyday kan? Next year, you can plan for a shot on new year day...;). I can't wait!

i amsterdam said...

teringat masa muda dulu2, masa tu pergi holiday kat langkawi ngan kawan2... sanggup bangun awal & drive hanya nak tengok sunrise!!

Nana said...

Dear i amsterdam,
You know what, I tak pernah pergi Langkawi lagi! Teruk tak? Pernah stopover beberapa kali tapi tak menjejak kaki lagi kat sana. Will do when I go back. Nak tour seluruh Malaysia. Malaysia banyak lagi tempat2 cantik I tak tengok. huhuhu...:)

Dr Sofea J.Ann Tan said...

WOW.. nice experience thr..1st sunrise of the new year ... may de new year brings u lots of joy and full of nice surprises for u too ~~!!

Nana said...

Hi Sofea,
I was lucky. Actually I had no intention to wait for the sunrise until I saw the sun was about to come out. Although I knew it would be nice to capture the first sunrise of the year. It was a pleasant surprise! I hope this year would be a great year for you and your family too! You can take your putri jalan2 since she's one year old already. It would be fun to expose her to the outside world! :)

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