Wednesday, July 14, 2010

shinshuu soba : 信州そば


nagano is famous for many things, one of them being soba noodles.
soba noodles from nagano are called shinshuu soba (信州そば); shinshuu being the old name for nagano prefecture.
soba noodles which are made from buckwheat flour are definitely my choice of noodle when in japan and i always try to order this healthy meal at least once when i come back to japan.

today i had a zaru soba (笊そば) which are chilled soba noodles served on a flat basket topped off with shredded nori (seaweed).
divine!

feeling totally satisfied i went for a walk around the neighborhood with denko, k-chan's cute (yet huge!!) great dane dog.





on my walk i saw...


a frog in a tree

a heppuri-mushi (a stink bug)
some momo (peaches) delicately wrapped up in paper bags
mountain flowers
the local otera (temple)
some cool retro signs (i want these!)

some playful shougakusei (primary school) kids
lots of tambo (rice fields)
a field of tanpopo (dandelions)
my reflection
a small waterfall
and some funky japanese trees



never a dull moment out here in the inaka (counrtyside)!




10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Zaru soba is my favorite way to eat soba, I think. Was yours 100% soba flour (十割そば)?

I would love to know how to lose 5 kilos in 10 days without the hassles!

gingerbee said...

soba + nori = drool worthy healthy food!

geez, denko is HUGE! reminds me of my friend's neighbor's great dane. at first he was cute, but became scary when he started to play with me.

nice wildlife observations! Especially the frog. let's just hope he (or she) won't jump on any passerbys anytime soon.

and i see that they also have katol! that spiral thingy that repels mosquitoes. what do you call them?

can't wait for more of your walk-around pictures! :D

Make it Easy said...

へええ〜いいな〜!
i like the reflection photo of you!!

reply to your comment on my post:
i too wear some womens clothes. heheh they do fit better! like some pants and shorts, and i have a couple cardigans and wovens shirts. im glad you do too because i am very thin small guy too :-p

Mary said...

loving your posts from japan.. a real look at every day small town life.
i think i ould quite possibly feel at home there!

Lavender Playground said...

It's been fun reading your posts, you live in the two places that I are at the top of my wish list! Kou-chan is such a cute baby. What language do you teach him at home? (just curious, hope you won't mind me asking)

world of sekimachihato said...

* aixxx
mmm, i think it was 十割そば due to the price, but then again i'm not sure. this one wasn't from any fancy restaurant, just one of those 道の駅 joints.

world of sekimachihato said...

* gingerbee
seriously all the food here in japan is drool worthy; i've put on 2 kg so far!
and that denko, she was super cute too when little, but now she is so strong (and cute!). she doesn't listen to me when i say "suware!" (sit) obviously thinks i'm HER pet...

oh wow, you have katol?
in japan it's called katorisenkou. i guess the smell is the same; the smell of summer!

world of sekimachihato said...

* Make it Easy
cool to know we are in the same boat so to speak!
imagine the damage we could do if we both went shopping in japan together!

world of sekimachihato said...

* Mary
i used to never be able to picture myself living out in the wops, but after spending most of my adult life in big cities i really think i could handle the laid back country lifestyle (but i would have to own a car!)

world of sekimachihato said...

* Lavender Playground
thanks for your comment.
at the moment i'm trying to only speak english (my native language) to kou-chan and my wife is only speaking japanese (her native language) to him. it' tricky though as there are many japanese words which are more convenient than the english equivalent!

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