1.) Chopsticks holder-thingy.

2.) Chopsticks to lay on #1.

3.) Cup for soba broth.

4.) Little container of housemade broth, to pour into #3.

5.) Dish of green onions and wasabi. To be added to #3 (only after #4 is poured in).

6.) Pink salt for Exhibit 7.

7.) Maitake tempura. How autumnal! To be dipped into #3 (after you’ve completed #4) OR sprinkled with #6.

8.) Fresh housemade zaru soba. Literal translation: cold buckwheat noodles in a basket. To be dipped into #3, proceeding steps 4 and 5. Then, SLURP.

Is this brilliant, or just plain superfluous?? This meal was eaten at a little soba shop in the backroads of Chiba.

*Kayoko is currently living in Cupertino, CA, where she is working on the Great American Novel. She just needs a plot, a few characters, and an unique authoritative voice.