![]() ![]() ½ – 1 cup cold (iced) water (if you use concentrated Men-tsuyu) Toppings: your choice of grated fresh ginger, chopped scallions, julienned cucumber, thinly sliced shiso leaves, etcĭipping Sauce: ¼ cup Bottled Men-tsuyu (Noodle Soup Base) Noodles: 4 bundles dried sōmen noodles (look for そうめん on the packaging) As the noodles pass by, diners fetch them out with chopsticks and dip them into their men-tsuyu. Dexterity is key, however, because the noodles are out of commission once they hit the end of the flume. For a more relaxing sōmen experience, try the quick and simple recipe, adapted from Just One Cookbook, below! No bamboo river required.Īnd maybe between all the mint candies, ghost stories, watermelon violence, and cold noodles, your AC unit might just get a break. The bamboo “river” carries the sōmen in a matrix of ice cold water. The noodles are placed in long bamboo flume across the restaurant. Some restaurants, especially venues in a southern Japanese town called Tōsenkyō, offer nagashi-sōmen, or flowing noodles, in the summer. Sōmen is served cold, sometimes even on ice, with a lightly flavored dipping sauce, men-tsuyu, and fresh toppings like cucumber, ginger, scallions, or myoga. At less than 1.3mm in diameter, they are the angel hair pasta of the Japanese noodle family. Sōm en (そうめん, 素麺) are very thin noodles made of wheat flour. If smashed watermelon isn’t appealing, refreshing sōmen can act as the perfect summer meal. ![]() Other details: Judges should have eaten at least 10 watermelons in the current year.Players who cleave the watermelon in equal halves achieve a perfect score, while players who break the watermelon into unequal parts will receive lower marks. Judging: Judges should rate the player on how clean a break between halves he or she manages to make.Watermelon: a well-ripened domestic melon.Stick: Circumference of 5cm length equal to or less than 1m and 20cm.Distance between player and watermelon: over 5m, but within 7m.If you are really fastidious about your watermelon destruction, feel free to read these rules and regulations from the, now defunct, Japan Suika-Wari Association (JSWA): The first to break the watermelon open is the winner! Then the watermelon is consumed. Played on beaches around Japan, Suikawari is a refreshing twist on the traditional piñata game. A watermelon is laid out (on cardboard, to prevent mess), and blindfolded participants are spun around three times before taking turns hitting the watermelon with a wooden stick or a bokken ( ぼっけん, 木剣), a wooden practice sword. The game is called Suikawari (スイカ 割り ), or Watermelon Splitting. ![]() You may be thinking, “But, Ali, watermelon is a summer fruit in America too!” To this I say, “Yes, but do you destroy it on a beach like some sort of fruit piñata?” Then you back down and let me continue with my explanation. The s uika (スイカ), or watermelon, plays an especially exciting role. The last two traditions, the titular Suika and Sōmen, are unique to the Japanese Summer Experience. The Japanese tradition of swapping summer ghost stories was popularized in the Edo era (1600-1868), in the hopes that the chills from a good story could keep you cool on a hot summer night. This type of ghost is actually the inspiration for Sadako, the freighting waif from The Ring. Some of the less desirable attendees are o nryō (おんりょう, 怨霊), vengeful ghosts wronged during their lifetimes who pop up in August for some summertime revenge. ![]() This barrier is the most permeable in August, the month of the Buddhist Obon festival.ĭuring Obo n, ancestral spirits are said to leave the netherworld and visit their hometowns, while their more living descendants dance to celebrate their relatives’ (temporary) return. As the heat and humidity rises, the veil between the world of the living and the world of the dead thins. While we may associate all that is spooky and scary with Halloween, Summer is Japan’s yuurei, (ゆうれい, 幽霊) or ghost, season. Ghost story swapping is also pushed up by a few months. But, I’m glad mint showed up eventually, since I was very confused (and hungry) in December. Maybe the season switch makes more sense, due to mint’s cooling effects. For example, mint fla vored treats, associated with Winter/Christmas time in the US, are a staple of the Japanese summer experience. Some traditions we recognize, but appear out-of-season. Many of them are indistinguishable from American past-times: BBQs, beach trips, and fireworks, to name a few. Ah, Summer! As school hallways grow quieter and the cicadas buzz louder, now is the time to reflect on a selection of Japan’s summer traditions. ![]()
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