Jimmy Niwa is in for a little numerology, courtesy of Japanese tradition. On the 29th of each month for the rest of 2018, Niwa BBQ will celebrate a meat-eating holiday in Japan known as “niku no hi.” The reason for the date: “Ni” and “kyuu” (“2” and “9”) sounds like niku, the word for “meat.”
As anyone who has tried to study the Japanese language, and torn hair out over it, knows it’s full of homophones, so wordplay is rampant, including a medley of pun holidays. For example, ichi (“1”) and go (“5”) combines to “ichigo” (strawberry), so January 5 is strawberry day. And it goes from there. The four “1s” in November 11 can be seen visually as four lines, which leads to a day that’s celebrated as Noodle Day, Bean Sprouts Day, Chopstick Day, or Pocky Day, depending on whom you ask.
A $29 meat platter of cuts that includes rib-eye, New York strip, sirloin, hanger steak, beef belly, short rib, and outside skirt will be your way to sate the meat cravings. Sides that include edamame, wafu salad, and orders of Sapporo beer will move the decimal point for $2.90 apiece.
Mark your calendars for the first meat-indulgent monthly fest on March 29. Not to be confused with neko no hi, Cat Day. And for more pun-filled holiday fun, check here.
