Nagashi Somen noodles are also known as flowing bamboo noodles. This is a distinctive dish of the Japanese. To make this dish, people need to prepare a kind of clean bamboo pipe to make the water trough for flowing and and cooling Somen noodles.
The noodles are gently released into the flowing water within the bamboo pipe while diners gather around the contraption. Using chopsticks skillfully, they catch the sliding noodles as they pass by. Once captured, diners dip the Somen into a dipping sauce and relish the experience.
It is said that Japanese cold noodles originated in China and were introduced to Japan 1200 years ago. Somen noodles are quite different from popular Japanese noodles, but are smaller in size. The noodles are also made from wheat flour, kneaded and stretched as usual, but are only usable when stored in about 1~2 years.
Today, in addition to using bamboo pipes to make water troughs, the Japanese also create many types with many different materials to suit everyone's needs.
In Japan, the weather is also quite hot in summer, so Japanese people like to eat cool dishes that can cool down but still have enough nutrients. And Nagashi Somen is also a dish often eaten by Japanese people in a hot summer.
