New Year Party in Ginza: Setting Dates, Numbers and Course…
Settle a New Year party in this order: date, headcount, course. Keeping to that order alone halves the organizer’s load. Chura Shabu-tei in Ginza 8-chome takes private hire for 20-50 guests, seats up to 45, and arranges courses for 2-45. Candidate dates cluster in January, so whoever claims a date first has the advantage.
New Year parties are hard because the dates are unpredictable
For an organizer, a year-end party and a New Year party are entirely different jobs. A year-end party means picking a date within the frame of December. With a New Year party, you cannot even tell who will be back and when. People take the New Year break differently, and the first half of January is crowded with business trips and rounds of New Year greetings.
So the usual procedure of collecting everyone’s availability and then looking for a restaurant does not work for a New Year party. You have to fix the date first and accept that whoever can make it, makes it. It sounds cold, but without it January disappears into scheduling alone.
There is another awkward point: a New Year party is easily dropped altogether. There is a tacit agreement that the year-end party will happen before the year is out, but a New Year party gets skipped when people are busy. So what the organizer needs is less a talent for coordination than the decision to commit and put a date on the calendar. Nobody keeps an evening free for a party with no date.
Where in January to put it
Dates for a New Year party fall into 3 broad periods, each with its own character.
| Period | Character | The kind of party it suits | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Early January | The New Year mood lingers and the occasion feels celebratory | Parties including clients, parties that double as a department kickoff | Clashes with New Year greeting rounds make attendance hard to predict |
| Mid-January | Normal work has resumed and attendance can be forecast | In-house New Year parties, department-level gatherings | Candidate dates tend to bunch together |
| Late January | Things have settled and dates are easy to secure | Large parties, parties that are hard to schedule | The New Year framing starts to fade |
If in doubt, go mid-month. It balances attendance against the occasion. But plenty of organizers think the same, so booking the restaurant is first come, first served.
When you put forward candidate dates, always have a second choice ready. Call with only a first choice and find it taken, and you go back to internal scheduling; that round trip costs a week. With 2 in hand, you can decide on the call. Choose different days of the week and you still have a move left if one is full.
Some conditions are set by the day of the week
Chura Shabu-tei is closed on Sundays and public holidays. January includes Coming of Age Day, so check the days of the week when you propose dates in that week. Saturdays are by reservation only; it may be possible if you call ahead, but contact is needed at least 3 days beforehand. Weekday hours are 17:00-23:30, with last order at 22:30 for food and 23:00 for drinks.
Book without waiting for the final headcount
The most common mistake with a New Year party is putting off the booking while you wait for the headcount to firm up. Guests do not reply as quickly as organizers expect.
The fix is simple: give the headcount as a range. Show the top and bottom, such as 25 at the least and 35 at the most, and the restaurant can judge what to prepare. Chura Shabu-tei takes private hire for 20-50 guests and seats up to 45, so a range of that size is easily absorbed. Get back in touch once the number is final.
On top of that, put a reply deadline in the announcement to your guests. Adding a line at the outset that anyone cancelling after the deadline will still be charged visibly reduces last-minute drop-outs. That one line is what stops the organizer paying out of pocket.
Announce the cost before you take names
Ask for RSVPs while keeping the price to yourself and guests will hold off deciding. It is hard to say yes to a party when you do not know what it costs. As soon as you know the course price, write the cost into the announcement. The budget band at Chura Shabu-tei is ¥10,000-14,999, and courses with all-you-can-drink run from ¥9,900 (tax included) to ¥13,750 (tax included). Decide where in that range you sit and the speed of the replies changes noticeably.
Choose the course from the purpose of the party
Once the date and headcount are set, the course narrows down naturally. For a New Year party there are only 2 questions: how many hours it runs, and whether the food is the star.
| What the party is for | Course to choose | Price (tax included) |
|---|---|---|
| Finish early and move on to a second venue | Okinawan Appetizer Course with 90-minute all-you-can-drink | ¥9,900 |
| Make it an evening for proper conversation | Okinawan Appetizer Course with 150-minute all-you-can-drink | ¥11,000 |
| Food at the center, drinks on each guest | Three Selected Okinawan Pork Shabu-shabu Course | ¥9,350 |
| Secure both the food and the time | Three Selected Okinawan Pork Shabu-shabu Course with 90-minute all-you-can-drink | ¥12,650 |
| Everything included, as the party that opens the year | Three Selected Okinawan Pork Shabu-shabu Course with 150-minute all-you-can-drink | ¥13,750 |
A New Year party starts with less distance between guests than a year-end party, because they saw each other once in December. In that state, what works is food that creates a shared topic. A format that lets people compare flavors and give an opinion, such as a 3-cut tasting platter of Okinawan brand pork, gets a conversation going even between guests sitting far apart.
On the Okinawan side the lineup includes rafute (Okinawan braised pork belly), tebichi (stewed pig’s trotters), umibudo (sea grapes), goya champuru (bitter melon stir-fry), mozuku seaweed tempura, Okinawan shima-dofu tofu and jimami peanut tofu. Dishes like jimami peanut tofu, which people have eaten without being able to name, keep the table moving simply because someone has to explain them.
The venue is at Kawabata Building New Wing 3F, 8-5-21 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, a 5-minute walk from Shimbashi Station and a 7-minute walk from Ginza Station. In the New Year some guests join on their way back from client visits, so being walkable from 2 stations gives the meeting point flexibility. Doors open at 17:00, last order is 22:30 for food and 23:00 for drinks, and closing is 23:30. Start some time after 18:00 and even the 150-minute course finishes without anyone watching for the last train.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can we take the place privately for a New Year party?
Private hire covers 20-50 guests. Give your headcount and date on 03-3573-5529 to discuss it. Below 20, it can be arranged as a reservation of seats.
Can we book a Saturday in January?
Saturdays are by reservation only. It may be possible if you call ahead, and contact is needed at least 3 days beforehand. Public holidays are closed, so leave dates falling on a holiday such as Coming of Age Day off your list.
Is it a problem if the headcount ends up higher?
With seating for up to 45, there is room to absorb an increase as long as it stays within the private hire range. The food has to be arranged, though, so get in touch as soon as an increase looks likely.
Can the company pay by expenses?
VISA, Mastercard, JCB, AMEX and Diners cards are accepted. Give the name and description for the receipt when you book and the check will not hold things up on the night.
Can it double as a New Year greeting?
There is a fully private room with a door (2-6 guests), so you can also ask about a separate table for visiting guests or a small group. An English menu is available.
Reservations and inquiries
With a New Year party, the earlier you claim a date, the wider your options. Chura Shabu-tei (Kawabata Building New Wing 3F, 8-5-21 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo; 5 minutes on foot from Shimbashi Station, 7 minutes from Ginza Station). Phone 03-3573-5529, with full details on the official site at https://churashabu.com/
