雨が多い春の晴れ間に、浜松の北に位置する引佐町で蕎麦打ち体験をして来ました。素敵なご夫婦が笑顔で迎えてくださり、「楽しんで蕎麦を打ちましょう」と言って始まりました。のんびりした山の中で、川のせせらぎと鳥の鳴き声しか聞こえない。素敵な場所に感動しながら蕎麦打ちがスタート！

During a break in the rainy spring weather, I had the opportunity to experience making soba noodles in Inasa-cho, located north of Hamamatsu. A lovely couple welcomed me with smiles and said, “Let’s enjoy making soba noodles.” I started in a relaxed mountain setting, where all I could hear was the murmuring of the river and the chirping of birds. Inspired by the beautiful surroundings, I began making soba noodles.

オーナーに手伝ってもらいながら、蕎麦粉に水を加えながら混ぜ合わせる。途中粉を細かくしてから、少し圧を加えながら混ぜると小さな玉が出来て来た。玉を混ぜ続けると玉が大きくなって来て、ここからが練りの開始。思ったより順調に進んだのはオーナーさんのサポートのお陰だろう。全くストレスがなく、練りを終えて棒を使って生地を伸ばして行く作業に入った。

With the owner’s help, I added water to the buckwheat flour and mixed it together. After grinding the flour finely along the way, I applied some pressure while mixing, and small balls started to form. As I continued to mix the balls, they grew larger, signaling the start of the kneading process. The smooth progress was likely thanks to the owner’s support. With no stress at all, I finished kneading and moved on to the task of stretching the dough with a rolling pin.

オーナーさんが丁寧に教えてくださることで、蕎麦生地を切るのも楽しかった。もちろん最初から太さを均等に切るのは難しかったが、オーナーさんが、「蕎麦には乱切りと言って、わざと太さを変えて切る方法もあるんだよ」と笑顔で話してくれた。それからリラックスして蕎麦切り始めると均一に切ることができた。出来た蕎麦はおかみさんが茹でてくれました。話によると、茹でるのも難しいそうです。いよいよ蕎麦が茹で上がり実食。「うまい！」何より自分で打った蕎麦を食べるなんて最高な経験だし、緑あふれる自然に加えて桜の季節。そんな所で蕎麦を食べられるなんてこれ以上ない贅沢だと思った。それに加えてオーナーさん夫婦との会話が楽しかった。商売っ気のないお2人がとても素敵だった。蕎麦もご夫婦との会話も最高でした。そして私は蕎麦倶楽部に入会することになり、来週から蕎麦打ちを始めます(笑)

Thanks to the owner’s careful guidance, even cutting the soba dough was enjoyable. Of course, it was challenging to cut it evenly at first, but the owner explained with a smile, “There’s a method called ‘random cutting’ in soba-making where you intentionally vary the thickness of the cuts.” After relaxing and starting to cut the soba, I was able to achieve uniform slices. The finished soba noodles were cooked by the owner’s wife. I heard that boiling them properly is also difficult. Finally, the soba noodles were cooked and ready to eat. “Delicious!” It was the best experience to eat soba noodles that I made myself, especially in a place surrounded by green nature and during cherry blossom season. I thought it was the ultimate luxury to be able to eat soba noodles in such a beautiful setting. In addition, the conversations with the owner couple were enjoyable. They were a lovely couple without any businesslike attitude. The soba noodles and the conversations with the couple were fantastic. And so, I decided to join the soba club and will start making soba noodles from next week (laughs).