Japanese people aren't religious folks but come New Years we put our faith in the auspicious snapper fish, also known as tai. Reason being, "O-me-de-tai" means "happy occasion," and since the tai is in there you're supposed celebrate happy days with a snapper. Umm yeah, it's a stretch; undoubtedly some Tsukiji fishermonger was looking to make a sale.
So there's the real fish and then there's the red bean cake shaped like a fish. It's called a tai-yaki and I found them grilling on a hot plate in San Francisco's J-town over my New Years vacation. It being the first time I'd been to the Norcal neighborhood I found the area charmingly old school with bits of nouveau Japanese flair. Next door was a crepe shop run by husky Japanese men I could've sworn I saw in a yakuza movie. Across the way was a store that sold nothing but car air fresheners.
On New Years eve, Mifune was my best option for carrying out those other deeply ingrained traditions. I had a hot bowl of soba (eat it and you'll live forever, I swear) topped with chicken and egg flower.
I sped back home on New Years day because my grannies were preparing a feast. Without me, it would've been just them and enough food to feed an entire nursing home, so I got there as fast as I could. Here was the menu:
The auspicious inari sushi...
the auspicious seki-han...
the questionably auspicious oden...
the somewhat auspicious but very obligatory plate of kamaboko,sweet egg cake, yokan, shrimp and boiled vegetables...
a hot pot of healthy goodness...
...and the Super highly auspicious and very delicious snapper fish.
