The summer 'must do' list: nagashi somen

I have been sharing some of my family's 'must do' annual summer activities the past few weeks. This one 'nagashi somen' we deeply missed during the pandemic. Normally agricultural centers and campsites around the country have a nagashi somen event each summer. But during the pandemic, and even in 2023, they cancelled the vast majority of them. If you know what nagashi somen is, you'll understand that it falls under the 'high risk of spreading the virus' category!

For those who don't know what nagashi somen is: its noodles shot down a bamboo shoot. You try and pick the noodles up as they pass by you in a little stream of water. It is a whole lot of fun. For my Japan born and bred, used chopsticks since they were one year old, children its relatively easy to catch the noodles with their chopsticks. For me - not so much! But don't worry if like me you are not adept at catching them - there is a bamboo plate on the end that catches the noodles for you! Pictured below.

This year many of the agriculture centers had a nagashi somen event for the first time in five years. Including our local one in Kawagoe. However, their events were on while we were in Ireland. So we actually went to a restaurant in Joso, Ibaraki, this year for nagashi somen. But unfortunately, it didn't have the traditional nagashi somen. It was just a basin like contraption that swished the noodles around. It was on our way home from the airport when we were all over tired, so I forgot to take photos. But to be honest it wasn't particularly photogenic. The traditional type with the bamboo shoots is far more photogenic and much more fun.

Have you ever done nagashi somen before? Did you have fun!?