In Japan, what is the New Year’s Eve meal of buckwheat noodles called?

In Japan, the New Year’s Eve meal of buckwheat noodles is called toshikoshi soba.

The Japanese name means “year-crossing soba.” People commonly eat the noodles on Ōmisoka, the final day of the year. Their long, thin shape is associated with longevity, while the ease with which soba can be bitten is linked in popular explanations with leaving the hardships of the old year behind.

The dish has no single compulsory recipe. Restaurants and households serve soba with different broths and toppings, including green onions, tempura, fish cake, or other regional ingredients. The exact timing also varies: some people eat it before midnight, while others have it later in the evening.

Toshikoshi soba is distinct from osechi ryōri, the assortment of foods prepared for the first days of the new year. Both are Japanese New Year foods, but only the former is specifically associated with crossing from one year to the next.