Soba connects people.

My encounter with a soba making video linked up soba and Mitsu Annai.

In 2010, a scene of soba-cutting, in which a dough of 3.03cm wide is cut into 23 slices of noodles, ignited my curiosity of flying to Japan to discover the secret behind.

The soba master who demonstrated in the video was the headmaster of Issaan Handmade Soba and Udon Academy and the grandson of the ‘Saint of Soba’.

Eventhough machine-made soba has long been the mainstream in Japan, Headmaster Katakura still makes his greatest effort to deliver his grandfather’s soba philosophy to everyone who wants to become soba craftsman.

During my visit, my first try of soba making was ended in some noodles as thick as pillars. But while the freshly-made noodles were passing through my throat,an idea floated out from my mind:

Can I act as a coordinator to enable the delicate soba culture more accessible to the Chinese world?

In October, 2010, Issaan made his debut in Hong Kong by delivering 3 classes at city’super. The workshop not only built up the confidence of Issaan’s advance to the world, but also redefined the meaning of work for Mitsu Annai.

Starting from soba, Mitsu Annai created its platform for transnational cultural exchange.

From now on, while continuing our role of connecting soba lovers across borders, we will try to go one step further, positioning ourselves as a platform of facilitating know-how exchange of SMEs between Japan, Hong Kong and China.