xmzzn123

Hi Everyone
I'm new to Japanese new years and I will be Tokyo alone for new years
I'm thinking of ordering a osechi delivered to my hotel on the 31st.

Would you guys recommend me to order it on Isetan online? Is there any other website that is good for this?
I would like to try something higher quality
I know that I can probably buy it that day but that just seems so exhausting and crowded.

AlwaysAisle

Likely it will be too much for one person. Also osechi will delivered to you on Dec. 30 or Dec. 31 which you need to keep it refrigerated, likly you will not have an accsess. I do doubt will deliver on Jan. 1.

Hotels usually do have New Years meals at their restaurants, although reservation required and not that cheap. But so as osechi from Isetan will not be cheap. Did you check what is going on at your hotel on Jan 1?

Taiwaned

There is NOTHING special about osechi.

Probably too much food for one person.

Isetan is not so great. We tried Isetan a few years ago, it tasted like a production kitchen. Which was very disappointing.

This year, we are getting a local chef to make osechi for us. For four people, the cost is 50,000 yen, four layers. We are hoping that this year, it would be what we hope for.
Thus far the nicest osechi we had tried was the Royal Rihga Hotel but it was very expensive. It didn't feel like we got our price worth.

LapLap

Good reminder as to why we eat noodles and re-tell the story of when MrLapLap’s grandmother’s dogs didn’t come to the door to greet the family when they returned from the New Year Meiji Jingu Shrine visit.

They found the dogs, too stuffed to move, having broken into where the Osechi Ryori delivery had been stored. I suspect fishpaste expands considerably in a canine’s stomach.

Toshikoshi Soba (and the anecdote) has been the seasonal family tradition ever since.

NewbieRunner

With an increase in people living on their own some department and online stores offer osechi for one or two people. Here are some examples mostly from Isetan/Mitsukoshi and Takashimaya (sorry only in Japanese).

https://maminyan.com/shogatsu/osechi.../post-199.html

Or you can try 7-Eleven

https://www.sej.co.jp/products/osechi.html

Osechi is special for me especially since I haven’t had any for a long time. If osechi for one is available I might consider spending New Year in Japan.

freecia

Is there significance to having two or three tiers? It seems like that's a selling feature for this wee one person bento?
https://click.linksynergy.com/link?i...001168420.html

NewbieRunner

My guess is osechi is traditionally served in jyubako (重箱) or a multi-tiered food box and serving it in a single-tiered box does not seem right.

AlwaysAisle

Bit of background of Osechi. Old days (not that old but even just few decades ago) New Years in Japan was four days event, start with December 31 and ends on January 3. New Years in Japan is a family event.

December 31 is a preparation day. Clean home, cooking, getting ready for three days of New Years called Shogatsu Sanganichi (正月三が日, Jan. 1 - Jan. 3)

During Shogatsu Sanganichi (正月三が日, Jan. 1 - Jan. 3) people do is visit a shrine or a temple to make New Year's wish. Then spending three days hosting and visiting family, friends, even some coworkers (close coworkers, including your boss) making New Years greeting.

December 31 is the day people made Osechi or Osechi Ryouri (おせち料理) preparing for Shogatsu Sanganichi (正月三が日, Jan. 1 - Jan. 3) where people will visit you at home for New Year's greeting. Osechi is meant to be served when people visited you during Shogatsu Sanganichi (正月三が日, Jan. 1 - Jan. 3) for New Year's greeting. That is the reason quantity is pretty large, Osechi is supposed to last entire three days during multiple visitors to your home. There are certain ingredients used to represent happiness and luck in Osechi, but used to be content of Osechi was reginal and also represented each household's tradition. It is supposed to last three days so Osechi was used to be made from items which did not spoil easily, would last three days. However, today those department stores and hotel Osechi uses fancy ingredients need to be refrigeration.

I think it is true that more and more people in Japan do not make Osechi at home anymore, but from stores and hotels, which has less reginal flavors and lack uniqueness of individual household.

Don't forget Ozoni (お雑煮) for New Year, which is supposed to be served with Osechi to visitors. Ozoni (お雑煮) also used to be reginal and had individual household taste. Don't forget to stack Omochi (お餅）for New Years. Getting busy for New Years in Japan, it is officially Shiwasu (師走) in Japan!

evergrn

osechi is like holiday fruitcakes. Not my thing.

hijiji

When speaking to people about osechi, I always like to ask about how their family prepare ozoni. Here, I think regional tastes and ties still prevail. Often people will say something like my parents/grandparents are from xxx so we always make our ozoni this way. Great discussions often happen when people compare their ozoni.

LapLap

There you go - London style ozoni prep work.
Leftover turkey, not yet toasted home made mochi, cabbage and spinach rolls, fried nagaimo* flowers, mushrooms and carrots.

* We have nagaimo because bubble and squeak style okonomiyaki is a Boxing Day (26th December) habit for us.

groovbusta

My mother-in-law is going to order osechi for the first time this year. She's decided on going with a Chinese food theme and then making a few of her favorite Japanese dishes on the side. We've been encouraging her to order for a few years now, so she can have more time to relax and spend time with the family. We'll see how it goes!

bigmadden

I never found these worth buying other than for the sake of tradition, they seem to be incredibly overpriced for what you get in them. I'd rather take the money and go to a fancy restaurant or get 3 days worth of food using top-quality ingredients!

xmzzn123

Wow very helpful discussion, thanks everyone! Side note, do you guys know where can I get some great deals on lucky bag on new years day? Which department store is the best?

Thanks! =)

acregal

If you ask a lot of Japanese people, osechi is something that people eat but don't necessarily enjoy.

MiL makes it (even though I always offer to buy), but FiL and wife don't like it. This year we are going to the Hilton's buffet on January 1st, which actually includes osechi (and doesn't have some outrageous January 1st pricing).