Noodles
Soba
そば
45 varieties
Soba has two kinds of shape. One is the regional type, tied to a place — Izumo's whole-milled flour, Togakushi's small round bundles. The other is the type of grinding and eating, unbound by geography: the ratio of buckwheat to wheat flour (juwari, nihachi), how the flour is milled (sarashina, inaka), the Edo lineages of Yabu, Sunaba, and Sarashina, and how the noodle is served — mori, zaru, kake. The two overlap: the same juwari noodle carries a different name and plating from region to region, and the same nihachi ratio smells and mills differently depending on which lineage made it. This section follows the second kind of shape — ratio, milling, lineage, and manner of eating.
Dishes tied to a place25
- Baniku Soba馬肉蕎麦Kumamoto Asosoba topped with sweet-simmered horse meat
- Echizen Oroshi Soba越前おろしそばFukui EchizenCold buckwheat noodles topped with grated daikon and bonito
- Edo SobaそばTokyoTokyo's soba noodle houses and their customs
- Hegi SobaへぎそばNiigata OjiyaGlossy noodles bound with seaweed, laid in wave-folded servings
- Ibuki Soba伊吹そばShiga Maibarasmall-grained buckwheat from the slopes of Mount Ibuki
- Ita Soba板そばYamagata MurayamaBuckwheat noodles heaped on a long cedar board for sharing
- Iya Soba祖谷そばTokushima Miyoshi (Higashi-Iya)Short, thick noodles from a steep mountain valley in Shikoku
- Izumo Soba出雲そばShimane IzumoDark, whole-grain buckwheat noodles stacked in round lacquered trays
- Izushi Soba出石そばHyogo Toyooka (Izushi)Small servings on white porcelain plates, eaten five at a time
- Jindaiji Soba深大寺そばTokyo Chofu (Jindaiji)Temple-town noodles once reserved for the shogun's table
- Kanuma Zairai Soba鹿沼在来そばTochigi Kanumaa small-grained heirloom buckwheat from valleys south of Nikko
- Kate SobaかてそばTochigisoba stretched with daikon or garlic chives
- Mikuriya Soba御厨そばShizuoka Gotembasoba in a chicken broth, bound with wild yam
- Niimi Kenchin SobaけんちんそばOkayama Niimihot soba under a vegetable-and-tofu broth
- Nishin Sobaニシン蕎麦Hokkaido Esashiherring simmered sweet, laid over soba
- Sanbe Soba三瓶そばShimane Odabuckwheat from volcanic soil at the foot of Mount Sanbe
- Soba Dojo Nabeそばどじょう鍋Okayama Mimasakabuckwheat dough stretched loach-thin into a hotpot
- Tachi Soba裁ちそばFukushima HinoemataPure buckwheat noodles cut like folded cloth, no binder used
- Taishu Soba対州そばNagasaki Tsushimasmall-grained buckwheat from an isolated island
- Teuchi Soba手打ちそばNaganohand-cut buckwheat noodles from Japan's soba heartland
- Togakushi Soba戸隠そばNagano Nagano (Togakushi)Mountain-shrine noodles bundled into small round nests
- Tomikura Soba富倉そばNagano Iiyama (Tomikura)Rare mountain noodles bound with wild thistle-leaf fiber
- Tsugaru Soba津軽そばAomori HirosakiSoybean-bound noodles revived after decades out of kitchens
- Wanko SobaわんこそばIwate HanamakiBite-sized noodles refilled bowl after bowl until you signal stop
- Yamato Soba山都そばFukushima Kitakata (Yamato)100%-buckwheat noodles from a mountain hamlet in Aizu
No single place of origin20
- Cha SobaCha-soba — soba noodles kneaded with powdered green tea
- Hikigurumisoba flour milled from the whole grain, husk and all
- Inaka Sobathick, dark buckwheat noodles carrying a strong, rustic flavor
- Juwari Sobasoba noodles made from 100% buckwheat flour, with no wheat binder
- Kake Sobahot soba served directly in a bowl of broth
- Kamo Nanbanhot soba topped with duck meat and scallion
- Kawari SobaKawari-soba — soba dough flavored or colored with a second ingredient kneaded in
- Mori Soba and Zaru Sobacold soba dipped in sauce, plain or crowned with nori
- Nihachi Sobasoba noodles mixed at a roughly 8:2 ratio of buckwheat to wheat flour
- Sarashina-keiThe Sarashina lineage — the Edo soba school built on pale, refined sarashina flour
- Sarashina Sobapale, refined noodles milled from the buckwheat grain's innermost starch
- Sobagakia thick paste of buckwheat flour and hot water, eaten by the spoonful
- Sobayuthe hot water soba is boiled in, drunk with leftover dipping sauce after the meal
- Sotonia way of counting the nihachi ratio by adding wheat flour on top of a full measure of buckwheat
- Sunaba-keiThe Sunaba lineage — an Edo soba school whose roots are said to trace back to Osaka
- Tenpura Sobahot soba topped with deep-fried shrimp or other tempura
- Tororo Sobacold soba topped with grated mountain yam
- Toshikoshi Sobasoba eaten on New Year's Eve, a custom tied to the turning year
- Yabu-keiThe Yabu lineage — one of Edo's three great soba schools, known for a sharp, aromatic bite
- Yuzukirisoba noodles kneaded with grated yuzu peel for a citrus aroma
Before you go
- How to read a ticket machineShops that use a ticket machine (shokken-ki) often place their most popular items in a similar spot.
- Station food and ekiben (station bento)Where and when to find ekiben (station bento) before it sells out, etiquette for eating on board, how standing soba and udon stalls work, and where to find souvenirs sold inside the station.
- Foods to look for in summerA guide to foods often seen in Japan around summer — eel on the Day of the Ox, hiyashi chuka, somen, shaved ice, edamame with beer, and hamo — with rough pointers for finding them.
The dishes behind chain flavors
The flavors of national chains are said to trace back to dishes from particular places. Pick a chain to see the dish behind it.
Fuji Soba — 24-hour standing soba chain from Tokyo
Fuji Soba's dark, strongly seasoned broth and stand-and-eat format are said to have adapted the Kanto-region soba tradition, built on Edo-period kaeshi seasoning, into a quick meal near stations and shopping streets.
Yudetaro — self-serve soba chain known for made-to-order noodles
Yudetaro's in-house noodle making, marketed as freshly milled, freshly made and freshly boiled, is said to be an attempt to preserve the Edo-era "nihachi" (80% buckwheat) soba-making method even in a standing, near-station format.
Komoro Soba — Tokyo standing soba chain named after a Nagano town
Although named after Komoro City in Nagano Prefecture, Komoro Soba itself originated as a Tokyo standing soba chain, said to link the Edo soba tradition represented by sarashina-style soba with the name of a Shinshu production area.
Hakone Soba — Odakyu-line station soba chain
Named after the Hakone resort area, Hakone Soba itself began as a station soba stand at Shinjuku Station, said to have spread the Kanto-region standing soba tradition, rooted in the Edo era, to stations along the Odakyu line.
Irori-an Kiraku — JR East station soba chain with fresh noodles
Irori-an Kiraku's fresh soba noodles and tempura fritters are said to carry the Kanto-region station soba tradition, rooted in the Edo era, into JR East station concourses through in-house noodle making.
Sojibou — sit-down Shinshu soba restaurant chain
Sojibou's in-house noodles, made from buckwheat flour milled in Shinshu (Nagano), are said to bring the Shinshu soba lineage represented by Togakushi soba, along with a farmhouse-style interior, to shopping facilities nationwide.
Kazokutei — Osaka-based soba restaurant chain
Kazokutei's soba is said to serve the soba tradition that developed in Edo with a broth adapted to the kelp- and light-shoyu-based dashi culture of the Kansai region.
Yoshi Soba — Tokyo standing soba chainOnly in Tokyo
Yoshi Soba's dark, strongly seasoned broth is said to carry the Kanto-region soba tradition, rooted in the Edo era, into a stand-and-eat format near stations.