2021 New Year’s Osechi pre-orders begin, revealing pandemic-adapted offerings

If you happen to be in Japan over this New Year's holiday season, one of the things you may be interested in trying is traditional Osechi ryori お節料理 (Osechi cuisine). These are special dishes, usually served in a square box, often a lacquered jubako tray, which are intended to celebrate the New Year. These dishes are either made with luxury ingredients (top-tier seafood items such as shrimp, crab or lobster) or are considered auspicious because they symbolize long life, family happiness and bountiful harvest.

Osechi switching to individual portions

The end of August and beginning of September is usually the time of year when pre-orders begin for professionally prepared Osechi ryori sets. But 2021 is not going to be the same as previous years.

Unlike ordering home-delivered sushi from a restaurant, which usually arrives in separate round lacquer trays, with Osechi, the trays may be divided into tiers, but there are usually no individual portions. With the whole family gathered, everyone partakes of the delicious ingredients from the same tray.

For 2021, however, some of the Osechi ryori sets available for pre-order have changed to individual portions in order to reduce the risk of infection.