To Osaka

This is the final day of the Arne and Carlos Tour. We began with a visit to an establishment up in the mountains to try our hand at making soba noodles. We had to split the group into two, in order to take smaller buses capable of negotiating the narrow winding roads. There was a steep drop down into the gorge below. We once met a rubbish truck coming in the opposite direction, a hair-raising moment, till we realised that these are expert drivers who are used to these mountain roads.

The “noodle experience” was run by 2 old ladies: my teacher was 71. She was very nimble, wielding the long rolling pins and demonstrating how to get the dough really thin. Then it was folded over and chopped up into thin strips, before being boiled in large cauldrons for a few minutes. The dough was simply a mixture of buckwheat flour and water. This is a big area for growing buckwheat. We saw how it was ground on a millstone.

Thin strips of noodle dough ready for boiling 

After that , it was time for lunch at a local restaurant overlooking the river. Of course, soba noodles were on the menu - plus a lot more delicacies from the region.

Maple tree at its best near the restaurant