The cuisine of the western Kansai region, around Osaka, and Kyoto, grew out of Imperial Court cuisine, where light delicates tastes are favoured, pure wheat noodles are popular here. A gift of soba noodles is considered most appropriate when introducing oneself to new neighbours as the Japanese word for ‘next to’ is also pronounced ‘soba’ Soba contains protein, and is particularly high in rutin, which helps to thin in blood, thereby making it valuable in preventing heart attacks and high blood pressure. Vitamins E and C are also found. A variation of soba has green tea powder added creating a green noodle which ia additionally nutritious, containing as it does the antioxidant properties of green tea.