Call us traditional, but when it comes to New Year it is not the Champagne and raucous party streamers we go for; it's the deep, clear fragrance of fine sake and the quiet tolling of ancient temple bells. Add some quality cuisine — Japanese, of course, with plenty of soba noodles — and we are ready to start the year afresh.
But tradition does not mean old fashioned, and nor does it have to be austere. So, for one of our final meals of 2010, we booked ourselves in for a leisurely dinner at Sasuga Bekkan.
As the name suggests, it's a branch of Soba Sasuga, a chic basement restaurant on the furthest edge of Ginza. A favorite of ours for several years now, Sasuga made its name by making soba stylish. It was among the first to match the simple, earthy flavors of the humble noodle with side dishes of kaiseki quality, in a setting that felt traditional but totally up to the minute.