Free Toshikoshi-soba on 12/31. Hours are for lunch 11:00am-2:30pm, dinner 5:00pm-10:00pm. We will serve complimentary Toshikoshi-soba to all our guests with lunch or dinner on 12/31... Enjoy a Japanese Music show on TV at that night. We wish you have a happy, healthy, peaceful New Year 2012!
"Seeing the old year out"
In Japan, we call the last day of the year "Oh-misoka" and typically follow a tradition to eat soba (Japanese noodles made from buckwheat) and listen to the striking bell at the temple to see the old year out. Each custom is called "Toshikoshi soba" and "Joya no kane", respectively.
Toshikoshi-soba
Even people who do not eat soba (Japanese noodles) often are tempted to eat soba during the last days of the year, based on our unique customary thoughts from the ancient times, that we cannot finish the old year without eating soba. There are some reasons why we choose soba and not any other kind of food:
-> It is thought that soba is a bringer of good luck, family fortunes, and longevity because soba is physically long.
-> Since soba is easy to bite, it is also considered to forget and sever any carryover of hardship and disaster that may have happened during the year.
-> The third belief is that soba collects and attracts fortune. During the Edo period, a gold and silver craftsmen used balls made of kneaded buckwheat (soba) to collect splattered gold and silver in the working area, and burned the ball over hibachi (Japanese heating appliance using charcoal as fuel) to catch residue gold and silver pieces.
While soba maybe a Japanese style fast-food, it has additional meaning for the new year period.
