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Cultural immersion: Japan’s flowing somen noodles

By on May 20, 2017

Eating nagashi or flowing somen noodles in summer from a long bamboo gutter is a popular outdoor activity for Japanese kids.

Somen noodles made from wheat flour are thin and have a girth of 1.3 mm. Customarily eaten in summer to help beat the heat, they are first soaked in chilled water and dipped in tsuyu sauce made from katsuboshi dashi (bonito fish extract), onion and myoga, a type of ginger and mirin that gives a flavor unique to Japanese cuisine. The noodles are then placed in a long bamboo gutter cut in half with cold and clear running water. The idea is for you to do the catching.

The longest distance to flow noodles down a line of bamboo gutters ever made measures 3,317.7 m (10,871 ft 8 in) which broke Guinness world records in August 2016. It is located in Gose, Nara, Japan.

 

Tuna-Gose Executive Committee beams with pride for their achievement.

If you’re looking for some unique experience for the kids, this is a must-try.  Pack up, hop on the train one weekend and take the family out to these nagashi somen spots for some cultural immersion. The longer the bamboo, the more fun can be had.

Here are two of the kid-friendly nagashi somen spots worthy of a cultural day trip this summer. But before we forget, catching noodles from flowing water takes some degree of chopstick skills. And, by the way, slurping is also part of the Japanese culture so join in the fun.

Never seen one?  Check out the youtube clip below.

昇仙峡流しそうめん円右衛門   Shosenkyo nagashi somen En-e-mon

Address/Tel:  Inokari cho Kofu, Yamanashi Prefecture 423    Tel. 055-287-2120
Hours:     10: 30 ~ 17: 00 (last order 16: 30)
※ Hours may change depending on the season and the weather.
Open         7 days a week (weather permitting)
Fees:          1 serving (with sauce) 700 yen
500 yen for additional noodles, 100 yen additional sauce
Nearest station:   Kofu station by JR Chuo Line.  From the station, take a bus bound for Shosenkyo. Get off at Ken en chuusha jo stop. The somen spot is on your left.

夕やけ小やけふれあい里   Yuuyake Koyake Fureai Sato
Free flowing somen noodles in 60 m-long bamboo
Address: Kami ongata-cho, Hachioji-shi, Tokyo 192-0156
Hours: 10:30 am – 12 noon
Open: Everyday
Fees: ¥300 (just for the noodles)
¥200 for admission
¥100 (middle school aged children and below)
Nearest stations: Takao station by Keio line or Takao station by JR line. Take the Kitaguchi exit. Take the Nishi Tokyo bus bound for Jinbakogen (30 mins ride) and get off at Yuyake Koyake stop.

 

 

 

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