ellen's BLOG

There is a lot of nature in Iwate (Japan )

  The area of Iwate Prefecture is 15.278km square meters. The biggest prefecture in Japan is Hokkaido. The second biggest is Iwate. The population of Iwate is 1,408,000. There is a lot of wonderful nature in Iwate. For instance, Koiwai farm is a private general farm which is the biggest in Japan. Appi plateau skiing is a famous skiing area in Japan. Genbikei is a ravine, and it is very beautiful there. Thus, a lot of tourists visit there. I’d really like you to come to Iwate.   Also, Iwate has a lot of special products, for example, Wanko soba. Soba is Japanese noodle, and wanko is a bowl. The table manner to eat wanko soba is interesting because we have to eat it at a bite again and again. Maesawa beef is a high-quality Japanese beef. “Morioka reimen” is a special product of Morioka. Reimen is noodles made from green beans. It was originally noodles of Korea. “Nanbu tekki” is a traditional craft of Iwate. It is a pot made of iron that iron is native to Iwate. If you come to Iwate, You can eat a lot of delicious foods, and you can buy special products of Iwate, too.

 

 

Morioka is the region(Iwate-ken)'s prefecture, but clearly there's nothing to do there and it's definitely not a town I'd like to live in. It is renowned for its craft though, but also for its culinary specialty: wanko-soba...which are basically noodles, it's the way they're eaten that makes them so specific. It follows a ritual that looks like a game, and here are the rules...First, you have to wear an apron. Why? Aren't people able to eat properly? I wondered exactly the same thing, but I quickly understood! The explanation comes below...

 

 

You MUST wear a special apron and take a seat on the tatami mat and sit at a low table.

1.	Side dishes of food will be served and the GAME is started.
2.	You must eat continuously - one spoomful of soba at a time.
3.	Throw the soup away into the bowl placed in front of you. You eannot eat much if you drink the soup too.
4.	You can eat side-dish food too but don't eat too much or you can't eat a lot of soba
5.	They won't stop serving you -even if you say "MAITTA" (enough) YOU MUST put the lid on the bowl or cup when you want to stop. ★You cannot put the lid on if there is still some soba left to eat.
6.	Soba-soup or tea will be served and the GAME IS OVER! How many cups did you eat ??? 25 - 50 - 100 ??? More? 　　　　　　　　　Thank you.

Are you ready? Its only a mouthful. You can eat it plain as it is tasty. I will serve you one after the other.

The special apron ...Choose your favorite side-dishes. You can eat more if you don't chew soba. Just swallow it. Throw the soup away here.   15 cups of Wanko-Soba is equal amount of an ordinary full bowl of Soba .... You cannot STOP until you have put on this lid. They will keep serving you even when you say. "I'M FULL. I can't eat anymore You can buy an apron for 1,200 Yen ...