An attempt at mental re-alignment 2

Near the end of my time in Kagoshima, Itakura-sensei, one of the teachers at Higashiichiki Middle School, invited me to join her and her family on an outing. We drove off into the countryside around Lake Ikeda and the volcano Kaimondake, south of Kagoshima City.

That's Misato, Itakura-sensei's daughter, enjoying a fine meal...

This was at a restaurant called "Hanamizuki", which means flower-water-trees. Their specialty is nagashi sōmen, cold noodles taken from flowing water and dipped in a light sauce. Traditionally, they are served in a long channel made from bamboo, but in a restaurant like this with many many separate tables, that's impractical. In the center of the table there is a circular basin with water swirling around it. It takes some practice to snare a mouthful of noodles with chopsticks, but it was fun. Yummy.