Nagashi Somen
Nagashi Somen is an interesting way of eating Somen noodles in Japan that started in the 50s. Bamboo are cut and arranged so that fresh water flows through to the other end and someone at the top places some noodles 🍜 so it runs down along with the fresh water. People stay at the sides waiting to grab some with their chopsticks 🥢 while their other hand has a bowl filled with sauce, ready to dip and slurp up the noodles they caught.
It was an eventful Sunday down by the riverside, a long time friend of mine in Japan invited the family and I to a Nagashi Somen and bbq 🍗 on a cool brink of summer day. It’s been a while since I’ve hung out with this crowd, as the organizer and I had a little falling out. To make a long story short-ish, he had a band that did covers of popular songs and I was the stage manager for an party event. The organizer was friends with all of us and invited the band to play.
During their performance which was at the start of the event, it was obvious that the band wasn’t a perfect fit for the party goers coming in through the door. A group literally paid money, came to the main event hall and turned right back around and walked out. It is then the event organizer told me to wrap up the bands performance and get the DJ sets started. So I went across to the band leader and told them the situation. They were jamming and enjoying themselves but I asked them to play one to two more songs then wrap it up. They wanted to do more, so in my role as stage manager I told the DJ to unplug them and get his set started. It wasn’t an easy thing. They were pissed of course and that is how the falling out happened.
Forgive and forget
The band is no more and I am not on the party scene. Times have changed, we have grown and we have kids now and it’s good to see them all playing together. I also saw some faces I haven’t seen in a long time and also some new faces.
One thing is for sure though, everyone enjoyed the Nagashi Somen. I was probably the only person who didn’t take part in the activities but I did take a taste of the catch before making my way to grill some chicken I brought ( not jerk this time).
The Location
As I said, the location was by the riverside, more specifically at one of the organizer’s parents’ house. It seems they are trying to organize the place to be rented out to the general public. Though the location is a bit far out from major areas, the scenic view by the river with tall bamboos is worth it. On a very hot summer’s day, the river would have been good to swim in, but not today.
The mosquitoes 🦟 were out, though mosquito repellant was lit all around, one could feel a few bites here and there. The kids also had fun searching for water creatures such as crabs and water praying mantis. They also enjoyed throwing stones into the river and playing smashing the watermelon 🍉 blindfolded.
All in all it was a good event. The Somen was flowing, meat was grilling, liquor was pouring and the vibes were soaring… especially for the kids. I look forward to more outdoor BBQs by the river and taking a dip the next time.