Not really true. It depends on the restaurant. Many soba restaurants use vertical text written right to left because it gives a sense of old times. Higher end

Not really true. It depends on the restaurant. Many soba restaurants use vertical text written right to left because it gives a sense of old times. Higher end traditional-style restaurants do this too. Family restaurants and anything with western food is pretty much always written left to right. It's also very common to see street signs (notably "construction ahead" and "beware of __" signs) using vertical right to left text.