Keeping Tradition Alive

Trying a black and white post today because I thought it matched with the topic. Japanese are known to spend years honing a certain skill to perfection and it saddens me to see that many of the people who insist on doing things the traditional way are from the older generation. However, I was still thankful to have the opportunity to see the traditional way of making soba noodles. I've seen the process on T.V, but never in person and have always been intrigued with the precision that is required. 

While walking along Omotesando in Uji, I passed by a small restaurant with a large glass window, enabling me to watch the man behind it as he meticulously rolled the matcha dough to a specific size before folding it over a couple of times to create layers. A type of buckwheat flour called uchiko was generously used throughout the entire process to prevent the dough from sticking. He then placed a wooden board over the dough and began to cut it into thin soba noodles (all the same size, of course). He managed to make it look effortless, but I'm sure he spent years practicing and that he's been doing this for a long time. I didn't want to interrupt him to ask if I could take some photos, but he seemed to know what my question was because he looked up and nodded with a smile. I even got a wave from him as I passed by the window while walking past again! :) Definitely my highlight from my day trip to Uji. 

Thank you so much for reading and I hope you all have a wonderful week ^^