In a recent post (Kura Corporation Begins Selling Whole Sardine Sushi!), I told you about “Setsubun”, the annual celebration that occurs the day before the beginning of Spring in Japan (February 3rd). One of the traditions on this day is the eating of “Eho-Maki”, which are “lucky direction rolls”. You eat them on the night of Setsubun, while facing the “lucky direction”–which is different each year.

Well, it seems that not everyone is excited about the upcoming onslaught of Eho-Maki.

 Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries recently contacted business associations in Japan, such as supermarkets and convenience stores, and pleaded that they only make Eho-Maki to match the actual demand for these rolls. Why? Because they are worried about the mass disposal of all the uneaten Eho-Maki rolls!

Of course, this is tied to the fact that they don’t want to see so much wasted food, but I also like to imagine that they don’t want to see dump trucks full of half-eaten Eho-Maki rolls heading to the disposal centers. In any event, make sure you eat all your Eho-Maki!