Noodle Slide

There are so many fun summer event, festivals, experiences, and traditions. I think this is partially due to the general fondness for heat in Japan. Since I love the cold, I don't share their fondness for the warmer months of sweltering, humid, heat, but this noodle slide was one of my favorite ways to cool off. One sultry summer evening after a church meeting, long bamboo poles - cut in half lengthwise - and a skein of hose were transformed into a magical noodle slide. It is called nagashi-somen, like dinner and a show. In theory, the running water keeps the noodles cool. You catch the slipping noodles in your chopsticks, dip them in the bowl of savory broth and slurp them down. 

There  are some great videos about it below, with my favorites first:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2LMsuYPRk4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgW5d4VghzM

http://pogogi.com/catch-your-noodles-flowing-somen-slide

For me, this experience really redefined "You can eat whatever you catch"...

On either side of the slide were lines of people, probably 20 or more people each catching their noodles in turn. There is a trick to catching the noodles...beyond just eating noodles with chopsticks. If the noodles made it past the feasting horde then it was gathered in a straining bowl at the bottom of the slide. I really liked this tradition. It is a great way to gather people together, and have fun and games over a meal.