Life in Fukuoka "English"

【Somen】

Somen noodles, if you haven't had them yet this summer, are thin noodles made of wheat flour. In Japan, somen is a pretty common dish and quite often eaten during the hot summer season.
It is said that somen was brought to Japan from China in ancient times.

To prepare somen, you just need to boil them in water, cool them down with ice water and eat them with some cold tsuyu, a kind of dipping sauce.

Another popular dish is stir-frying those cooked somen noodles with some summer vegetables like goya and a little meat. Of course, it is also delicious in hot soup.  I personally like cold somen with some cucumbers, kimchi, a little bit of dashi or tsuyu and sesame seed oil.

You can find somen pretty easily at supermarkets and convenience stores for pretty good prices, especially if you buy in bulk. It's a great thing to have on hand when you don't really have an appetite in the summer due to the heat, but know you need to eat something. It certainly is my go-to dish!

【Information from Fukuoka City】
Eliminating Drunk Driving
Now, I have some important information from Fukuoka City.
If you are a recent resident of Fukuoka you may not know about this incident but for those of you who have been here for awhile....did you hear about the drunk driving accident that occurred in Fukuoka City on August 25, 2006?

This year marks 16 years since that drunk driving accident which killed three children on the Umino-nakamichi-ohashi Bridge in the Higashi Ward.
Since then, Fukuoka City has made various efforts to eliminate drunk driving .
However, drunk driving has not disappeared. In fact, in 2021, there were 23 accidents caused by drunk drivers.

Drunk driving is a crime.
You must not drive a car, motorcycle, or bicycle after drinking alcohol.
You must not lend your car to a person who has been drinking alcohol and never offer alcohol to a person who will be driving.
You must not get into a car knowing that the driver has been drinking.
If you drink alcohol and drive, you increase the risk of a traffic accident.

Your ability to pay attention and make good decisions, which are necessary for safe driving, are impaired. You may drive too fast and your ability to judge a dangerous situation will be slowed. The time it takes to use your brake pedal will increase.
If you see someone driving in the way I'm going to describe, it's possible that person is driving drunk. If you see someone driving like this, please call 110. Signs of a drunk driver include stopping the car well before the stop line when stopping at a stop sign, not starting the car up again when the traffic light turns green, weaving while driving and repeatedly accelerating or accelerating suddenly.
Each and every person needs to take action and say “I will never drink and drive, I will never allow another person to drink and drive and I will never ignore a person who is drunk-driving!”
Let's all work together to eliminate drunk driving!