somen

Somen is one of typical dish on summer.
( We eat this warm somen as well, but cold summer style somen is common.)

Many people  buy box of somens often for summer gift.

For one person, we use one bundle-1.5bundle for each, so to eat one big box( in this box there are36 bundles) , we must　eat many times for lunch..
Anyway, many Japanease people love to eat  cold somen for summer lunch.
It is almost the same how to cook with dried noodle, soba.


At the restaurant ,  we cannot  find  somen menu easily  compared UDON  and SOBA.
It may because it is too common menu at home.

On summer time. there are event of 'NAGASHI　SOMEN '. It may be fun if you can join that event

myoga

myoga is one of the herb  seasoning for summer noodles.
we cut this and eat  with  cold soba, somen, etc..
shiso, myoga, shiso, are in my yard. I use them.

It is said too much eat of myoga, become forgetful. It is old story.
One of the principle of Buddha, who is very forgetful couldn't memorize his name ,even though he always put  his name-card on himself. After he died, on his tomb, there grew myoga plant.

I cooked hegisoba for today's lunch.

This noodle include buckwheat, and seaweeds.

In summer time, people eat very often  cold soba, somen dishes.

We boil them, for certain minuits (it is written in the package). After that we wash them with cold water. Colder it better.
Attentions , It doesn't need salt  when boil that.

We can choose many toppins. Cold seaweed and salad / Mountain herbs/ Tenpura.....

We can buy easily ' tsuyu' ( soy sause based soup for noodle) at markets.

Mt.FUJI

I don't know why many foreigner want to climb Mt. Fuji. May be this mountain is the symbol of Japan.

Fuji 5th station , of yoshida entrance, were very busy with many hikers.
(Choose another route if you don't like many people.)

I hiked ' oniwa' and 'okuniwa' near 5th station. I could  enjoy mount Fuji, a little.( around there, there are plants. This place is the forest limit　of mount Fuji)

I like Mount Haku. (white mountain)
I recommend there. Many flowers broom  during summer time. (Mount Fuji, there are not so many flowers from 5th station to the summit)

During summer, god master (kan nushi) go the summit of mount haku every morning before sun rise  with hikers. And pray for the mountain god and sun and hikers,  and say  'BANZAI' with all the people there  at the timing of sunrise.


I have been to Mount Tate. It is easy to go as well by bus, train , but need mountain gear.

High Mountain weather is changeable. It is very cold, even in summer.

These three mountains are thought 'Three holy mountains in Japan'

nukazuke

Nukazuke (糠漬け) are a type of Japanese pickle, made by fermenting vegetables in rice bran (nuka).

In summer,  cucumber, white radish, egg plant , kabu, carrot, uri  's  nukazuke are delicious.
 we don't use onion, potato, tomato. ( meat and fish, egg  I found them in the net, but I have never made )

We make this  pickles bed, by rice blan  and salt . I must take care of this bed everyday.

yakitori kamameshi

I went TORIGIN  in Ginza.
We can eat yakitoris and kamameshi there.

Before invented electric rice cooker, we used kama for rice cooking and other cooking.
(most of people stopped using old style kitchen at least  50 years ago)

 Now, the kamameshi is special of some restaurant,  usually personalized, and taste of soy sauce and others.( seafood, veg, chicken,  etc). We feel a little nostalgic to see this shape.
Yakitori were nice. They cook this by chaｒｃole.


This restaurant founded in Ginza, but you can find   this branch restaurant in many places in Japan.

shave ice in honolulu

I went to Hawaii for one week.
I noticed  we can find many Japanese cuininse easily here, almost same.

In this tropical island, shave ice was local sweet icy dessert.

link Hawaiian shave ice.

First , it was introduced by the　Japanese plantation workers.
It is very colorful compared Japanese one. And it has many many flavors.
I think it is because the summer time is longer than Japan.


We can find  colorful tropical cocktail, which is almost kakigori ( shave ice)  used liquor instead of  syrup.

*******************
Kakigori is not special of Japan , may be....

 May be  it is glanita in Italy.

Anyway, it is said people keep ice in the 　mountain ice house  on winter .
And very hot summer day,  they cut the ice, and coverd them by many strows, and take them  to town.　 Kakigori  in Japan is written in the book  more than1000 years ago.