mitake meal

our mt. mitake hike was preceded by several forms of transportation: commuter train, commuter train, local bus, and a cable car. it was also preceded by one of my favorite japanese meals:

tempura soba
天麩羅蕎麦:

soba, a type of thin japanese noodle made from buckwheat flour, is served either chilled with a dipping sauce, or in a bowl of hot tsuyu (broth) as a noodle soup. the hot broth in this instance is thinner than that used as a dipping sauce for chilled soba. sometimes garnished with sliced scallion and shichimi togarashi (mixed chilli powder) tempura soba is also topped with tempura, usually a large shrimp. yum.