Some men go out to buy that flaming red sportscar. Others embark on a messy but absorbing divorce process. Then there is of course, nirvana: the gorufujō (ゴルフ場, golf course). But in Japan, when men hit a certain age they have another option to turn to. The authentic mark of a honmono (本物, genuine) older man is that he foregoes material luxuries for the ibara no michi (いばらの道, path strewn with thorns) of soba-dō (そば道, the way of soba).