that soba noodle video was really cool. Ive been to many soba shops, but very few make them from scratch.  Of course thats why i usually only pay 230yen compared to the 1100yen in this video, but i admit i almost never order the yummy extras like tempura bamboo shoots - yummmmmmm. at the supermarket, i get dried soba noodles like spaghetti 800grams for 185yen. but it is only 20% soba, not 80% like in this video.

yesterday i bot a 150g pack of fresh noodles for16yen! together with a rice ball, cucumber, tofu, and some bread sticks, i had a feast in the park

I bot a new tablet, so can post again, but this tiny keyboard is frustrating.

What i eat in the park is usually just plain.  Whenever people see me eating them plain out of the bag, they gross out.

At my place, i usually add some *ponzu* after they are cooked, along with some tofu.  Usually i cook them with some kind of veggie like spinach, green onion, or something.  The soba noodles in restaurants always come in a broth made of fish flakes, soy sauce, and maybe a touch of something else.  I:m vegetarian, but do eat that once in a while.  I knew one American SDA who came to Japan many years before i did, and he told me a funny story about how he loved ramen noodles until he got inquisitive, and was shown around the kitchen of the restaurant selling them.  He was shocked as they stirred the big pot of soup that the noodles are put in, and a hog:s head came floating up from the bottom!

But i saw that on tv pretty soon after coming to Japan, and have never touched ramen noodles at all.

Soba, Udon, Somen, and Ramen, these are the main noodles in Japan, with a rivalry between the first two.  I really don:t know which is eaten more, but it seems that Japan loves noodles in general.  And like in the video, you are supposed to eat them with slurping noises - sluuuuuuuurp.