In a tangle!

Ikeda, July 16th, 2007

I thought I'd gotten pretty good at spotting noodle shops, but I missed the mark this morning in Memuro. After I parked my bike, unlaced my shoes, put on the provided slippers, used the toilet and laced my shoes back up, I walked into a pickle store with the most impressive sample table I've ever seen. A woman in a green apron brought me a cup of tea as I entered the door, so I tried on of everything and then bought the cheapest thing in the store. The sales woman got out her dictionary and showed me that I had purchased "tangle".

I eventually found a hot bowl of ramen. As I was paying the bill the man at the counter told me "ramen from China, udon and soba from Japan." I tried to ask him why they were only serving ramen. He looked very confused. Finally I simply said, "the ramen is delicious." He looked happy with this.

The weather continues to be cold and windy. This evening I warmed up at a bath house with hot springs near my camp site. Cycling back all warm and smooth I spotted a fox darting across the road. Better hide the tangle!