Our family normally follows a gluten-free diet, avoiding wheat-based foods like ramen, pasta, and bread as much as possible.
…But we love all of them, so we indulge every now and then. (Ha!)
Recently, a friend invited me to a ramen shop in Fujioka, saying, “You HAVE to try this place!”
We arrived before opening — and the parking lot was already full! We barely squeezed in.
If it’s this packed before the doors even open… expectations were sky-high!
We ordered the recommended dish, waited eagerly, and…
It was a sea bream (tai) broth ramen! The soup was made from sea bream bones — absolutely incredible! Rich, clean, no fishiness at all, with perfectly chewy noodles.
Hands down the best ramen I’ve had in a long time. Just looking at the photo makes me drool again! (Ha!)
I definitely need to bring my daughter — she’s a huge ramen fan!
The restaurant: Chuka Soba GO.TO.KU ~Jin~ in Fujioka.
Summer Purification at the Shrine
After lunch, we noticed a Suwa Shrine nearby and decided to stop in.
It was the season of Nagoshi no Oharae — the traditional mid-year purification ritual. We walked through the chinowa (a large ring of woven reeds) to cleanse ourselves of the first half of the year’s impurities. (Apparently it’s still fine to do this in July!)
With that, we’re ready to work hard through the rest of the year!
Today’s post was just my day-off report. (Ha!)
By the way, if you’re ever in the area when there’s a local festival, watch out for road closures!
Before You Visit…
Fair warning: our English is a work in progress! (Ha!)
But thanks to the magic of translation apps, we communicate just fine with patients from around the world.
Your body speaks a universal language — and that’s the one we’re fluent in.
