Time surely flies… Have you decided on what to do on the last day of the year?Most Japanese return to their hometowns over the New Year break and most shops would be closed, but if you pick the right places to go, you could experience a fun and unforgettable last-day-of-the-year!                                         Eating Toshi-koshi Soba
Soba is eaten traditionally on the last day of the year because of the following reasons.(1) It is thought that soba is a symbol of good fortunes and longevity because soba is physically long.(2) Since soba is easy to chew, it is believe to help us forget our hardship and overcome any disaster that may have happened during the year.(3) The third reason is that it’s believed that soba collects fortunes; During the Edo period, a gold and silver craftsmen used balls made of kneaded buckwheat (=soba) to collect splattered gold and silver pieces in the working area, and burned the ball over hibachi (= Japanese heating appliance using charcoal as fuel) to catch residue gold and silver pieces.