We were recently (mid July 2022) invited by our friend Hatsumi (you may know her as the flutist in the Mae Maes) for a special lunch at her friends in the historic town of Kurashiki. This lovely town is often quite busy in the Edo-era style Bikan quarter and also noted for its fantastic museums which I’d likely blabbed on about.
There was also the 200th anniversary (or was it the 400th anniversary?) of a shrine we passed on the endless staircase up to our hosts. Of course, I purchased a commemorative calligraphy card.
In our case, the quest was to enjoy cold somen noodles from a special bamboo water plume chute. This is a sort of a usual tradition in Japan but, because of “everything” hasn’t been publicly done in the last couple years.
The lovely couple put on a really nice spread for us with the water running down the bamboo course and then you catch the noodles with your chopsticks along the way and mix in with a broth, plus tomatoes, eggs, green onions etc.
The husband was quite handy and had some interesting artefacts and projects going around the house.
After the noodles and a bit of a rest for me and Ichiro in a lovely tatami room, we enjoyed fresh shaved ice with a magnificent beast of a machine with ume syrup.
Must remember to send them a gift package of pickles or other treats as thanks.
