Soba
By
Tomoko Ikegami
Soba,
or buckwheat noodles, is a traditional food in Japan and is a very
delicate food.
The
history of soba dates from the Edo period. But it seems that the
emperor recommended wheat and buckwheat instead of rice in the 8th
century.
The
areas in Japan famous for soba are Izumo and Tokyo. Soba restaurants
in Tokyo before the war were very busy because every day soba restaurants
were open until 2:00 o'clock in the morning.
There
are different kinds of soba, such as are "kakesoba" and
"morisoba." Kakesoba is simply boiled soba in hot soup
served in a bowl. Morisoba is soba washed in cold water then chilled
and dipped in a thick sauce and served on a bamboo tray.
Toshikaoshi
soba is buckwheat noodles eaten on New Year's eve. People eat them
wishing for a long and simple life symbolized by the noodles.
There
are some soba restaurants in Omote Cho: Sobabokoro Hanano and Datesoba.
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