Japan’s 3 Best Soba Noodle Brands
“Soba (蕎麦)” or Nihon Soba is a traditional Japanese noodle made of buckwheat flour.
While ramen has its roots in a dish that was offered in the Chinatowns founded in the Meiji period (1868 to 1912),
soba and udon have a much longer history, and Japan has many regions famous for these noodles.
Regarding udon, as I wrote before, “Sanuki Udon (讃岐うどん)” and “Inaniwa Udon (稲庭うどん)” are the brands generally known as “Japan’s 3 Best Udon Noodles“.
Japan’s 3 Best Soba Noodles
As with udon, there are brands generally known as “Japan’s 3 Best Soba Noodles“, which are Wanko Soba, Izumo Soba, and Togakushi Soba.
Wanko Soba (わんこそば)
Source: Youtube “盛岡名物 「わんこそば」を食べよう！”
“Wanko Soba (わんこそば)” is a soba noodle dish known as a specialty of Morioka City, Iwate Prefecture.
The most distinctive feature of Wanko Soba is its eating manner.
As you can see in the video above, you never have an empty bowl while you are eating the noodles
because the server continues to add another to your bowl until you want to quit eating.
This eating manner of soba noodles is one of a kind even in Japan.
Izumo Soba (出雲そば)
“Izumo Soba (出雲そば)” is a buckwheat noodle locally eaten in the Izumo region of the eastern part of Shimane Prefecture.
Made from unhulled buckwheat seeds, the soba has a blackish color and a strong buckwheat aroma.
In modern times, many products use buckwheat flours produced in other regions, but Izumo Soba originally refers to the soba noodles made of the local buckwheat of Izumo.
Togakushi Soba (戸隠そば)
“Togakushi Soba (戸隠そば)” is a soba noodle that the Togakushi region in Nagano Prefecture boasts.
The remote mountainous area Togakushi is famous for its spirituality, and Togakushi Soba has its origin in a portable meal for the mountain ascetics.
The noodle is made of unhulled buckwheat flour, and the dish is characterized by the arranging manner of soba called “Bocchi Mori (ぼっち盛り)”.
