Awa Soba Restaurant

It is still September 15, 2012 and in typical Japanese fashion we are on a whirlwind tour. As usual Kenji-San and Etsuko-San have brought along food and drink which we enjoyed at a SA (service area) on the drive to Aizu. But in the afternoon the six of us stopped in at a fascinating roadside restaurant. The tables and chairs were made of single pieces of heavy timbers. The tables were cross sections of tree trunks and were probably at least 15cm thick and maintained the asymmetrical shape of the original tree. The supporting structures of the building were a variety of heavy timbers of non-uniform sizes. These timbers are not uniform in diameter and are anything but straight. The more obnoxious the shape the more fun the builder has fitting it into the grand scheme.
But of course we came here to eat. This place specializes in "awa soba". Normally "soba" is buckwheat noodles, but this place makes ten servings of "awa soba" each day. Come early if you want to taste it. "Awa soba" is noodles made from spray millet. Spray millet is one of the favourite foods of birds such as our lovebirds back in Winnipeg.
There happened to be one serving left which Kenji-San ordered. He might as well have ordered something else, because by the time most of his 'friends' had helped themselves to his noodles there was not much left. The rest of us had regular buckwheat noodles, some of us in a 'set' with tempura. "Oishi" delicious!
And trust the "gaikokojin" foreigner to cause trouble. The little old lady thought she had to treat us extra well. She kept bringing out extra treats we had not ordered such as "nashi" apple pear slices, "ringo" apple slices and "tsukemono" or pickles made from "kiuri" or Japanese cucumbers.

Click on Awa Soba Restaurant to see photographs on Picasa.