.... I'm So Full

So one of the reasons I went to Morioka is because I've heard about a local dish called Wanko Soba. Morioka is in the Nanbu district of Japan in the far north just below Hokkaido. This is a vary harsh place to try to grow grains. The people of this area had to live off barnyard grasses or noodles. So you can imagine how good these noodles are. But you don't just sit down to eat, that would be to easy. There is a game you have to play, you versus the waitress. You put on a special apron before you eat and now your ready. They serve you one bowl at a time, which is about a mouthful. You have to continuously eat the soba and then throw away the soup in a big bucket. If the waitress puts some soba in you bowl before you can place the lid on it, you have to eat that portion, no matter how full you are. A respectable amount is about 50 bowls.... I ate 175. Now before you go thinking WOW that's a lot, let me tell you the record, which is 470 something. There is also heavy betting involved with the other customers. Come to find out I both won and lost. The guy who beat me was a Japanese business man, who ate somewhere around 250 bowls. I walked around a lot and took some pictures. It was cold and raining so not much else happened.