Fun Japanese Fact

Noodles flow 2,500 meters down mountain into world record book

MITAKE, Gifu

A sea of noodles flowing down bamboo half-pipes for 2,500 meters into waiting mouths has set a world record.

"Nagashi-somen" (flowing noodles) is a festive way to eat somen noodles in which a person places the noodles on a water slide made of cut bamboo trees, and another person tries to grab the moving noodles from further down the stream with chopsticks.

The event, which took place at the "Mitake no Mori" (Forest of Mitake) here on June 13, went off without a hitch, gaining approval by a Guinness World Records observer as the new world record for longest nagashi-somen. Participants will make a formal application for the record soon.

The nagashi-somen event was held as a side-event to the "Zenkoku Yutakana Umizukuri Taikai" (National Abundant Sea Resource Festival), and was managed by a committee formed of residents and town employees. The committee spent one month preparing for the event. The previous longest recorded nagashi-somen event was 2,345 meters in Fukuoka Prefecture and is currently in the application process with Guinness World Records.

About 500 bamboo trees were cut and attached to each other to form the half-pipe course, on which a serving of somen noodles traveled for 35 minutes before being caught by a town employee at the end.

"Everyone's feelings became like spice for the noodles and they tasted incredible," said the town representative while holding his fist in triumph.

------------------------------

If they were anything like us in Japan (pics above)- they'd use it afterward as a beer chute (pics below)! ;)