Japan’s Old Art of Soba Noodle Delivery on Bicycles


In March 1961, new cycling traffic laws added restrictions. Officials of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department said “To ride on a bicycle with piles of ‘soba’ bowls on your shoulder is dangerous. It must be prohibited from the viewpoint of road traffic safety. But we will not place any stricter curb as they will lose more than half their customers”.They added, “With this police assurance to overlook the illegal traffic practice, ‘soba’ delivery boys will continue to race through the streets of Tokyo,”. This method of soba delivery is not practiced anymore.