Nagashi Somen Flowing Noodles Experience in Akita Homestay
2 min readNagashi Somen Flowing Noodles Experience in Akita Homestay
Japan never stop amazed me. On my recent trip to Japan, I travelled to Akita on the invitation from Tourism Akita and Wendy Tour. During my trip in Akita, I stayed in one of the homestays and it is one of the most memorable experiences.
Staying in traditional Japanese home is more like a dream comes true. Akita Japan offers the “true” Japanese way of living and it is very different than the busy Tokyo, Osaka or Kyoto. Our homestay is located in the farmland of Akita and surrounded by paddy fields and farms. The surprise element is not the beautiful surrounding but the host initiated something different for the guests.
The hosts built a water running bamboo (bamboo slide) for the guests to experience the nagashi somen or the flowing noodle (流しそうめん flowing noodles).
What is Somen?
Somen is thin white Japanese noodles made from wheat flour. It is similar to udon but it is thinner with less than 1.3mm in diameter. It is usually prepared in either cold or hot similar to udon.
The nagashi somen means flowing noodles and it is very popular during summer in Japan. The noodles are placed in a long flume of bamboo with clear water and as the somen pass by, you have to pluck them with chopsticks and dip them in tsuyu (sauce).
The hosts of our homestay creates they own nagashi somen. Instead of using ice cold water, they use the natural water from the stream at the back of their home. This is water from the nearby mountain and it is crystal clear.
It was a fun activity as we take turns to grab the flowing somen. It is the battle of chopstick skills.
Once we pluck the somen, we have to dip into the tsuyu, a light flavoured dipping sauce with chopped spring onion. The taste of the noodle is light and very refreshing.
If you never try nagashi somen, you should try when you are in Japan. It is not just fun but really tasty noodles too. It is once in a lifetime experience.
This is part of the homestay experience part of Wendy Tour’s Akita Homestay Package. Check out their latest tour at 5D AKITA Homestay + School Visit Experience (5天东北学校游 ) Tour Package
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