In Japan's New Year's Eve food tradition, what noodle dish is eaten to symbolize longevity?

Japan's New Year's Eve longevity dish is toshikoshi soba, or buckwheat noodles eaten while crossing from one year into the next.

The Japanese name means roughly “year-crossing soba.” Families commonly eat the noodles on December 31, often in a simple hot broth, although regional recipes differ. The noodles are associated with a long life because of their length.

Their ease of cutting also carries symbolic meaning: some interpretations connect the noodles with leaving behind the hardships or debts of the old year. Buckwheat itself is sturdy, so another popular association links it with resilience and strength.

Toshikoshi soba is different from osechi ryori, the assortment of specially prepared New Year's foods served during the first days of January. It is also distinct from ordinary soba eaten at other times of year; the New Year's Eve timing gives this dish its special name and symbolism.