Photo/Illutration An eatery in Fukuoka Prefecture offering 'nagashi somen' (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

KANAZAWA—Close to 900 people suffered from food poisoning after eating at a “nagashi somen” restaurant in Tsubata, Ishikawa Prefecture.

Nagashi somen is a practice in which customers use chopsticks to try to scoop up thin somen noodles as they flow down a bamboo chute filled with running water. 

The Ishikawa prefectural government announced on Oct. 6 that 892 people were certified with food poisoning after dining at the restaurant between Aug. 11 and 17, during the Bon holiday season. While none suffered serious symptoms, 22 were hospitalized.

Many complained of diarrhea and a fever, and 611 were treated at hospitals.

The prefectural government said 1,298 customers submitted complaints, of whom the 892 were certified. They came from 18 prefectures around Japan, including Ishikawa, Toyama, Tokyo, Osaka and Aichi.

Customers who ate the nagashi somen, salt-grilled mountain trout or shaved ice came down with the symptoms, leading the prefectural government to check on the springwater the restaurant used. Officials found campylobacter, a type of bacteria that causes diarrhea, in the water.

The prefectural government ordered the restaurant to suspend operations.

The restaurant is normally only open during the summer, but staff were unable to check on the water quality this year due to damage caused by heavy rains in mid-July.

The restaurant plans to go out of business after paying compensation to the victims.

Prefectural government officials said this was the largest number of food poisoning victims in a single case in Ishikawa since the start of the Heisei Era (1989-2019).

Related News