1
Metoba Soba

The Metoba River runs through the center of Matsumoto City. On the banks of the river, there is "Metoba Soba" established in 1952. The buckwheat flour is made from fully ripened brown buckwheat selected by farmers in Matsumoto City. The handmade buckwheat noodles, made entirely from homemade "whole-layer" buckwheat flour, which is stone ground with the entire fruit husk, are known for their rich taste and strong flavor.

We recommend the "Mikasane Soba," a specialty that has been on the menu since the establishment of the restaurant. The soba is served in a three-tiered buckwheat noodle bowl and comes with three different flavors: nori (seaweed), yam, and green tea.
Another recommended dish is "Soba Usuyaki," an adaptation of the Matsumoto region's local food "Usuyaki. The simple taste of thinly baked dough made of buckwheat flour and water, coated with a special sweetened miso paste, is nostalgic. In addition, there are soba noodles made with Matsumoto's single green onion, which are available only during the winter season.

Local Guide

The restaurant offers not only soba but also a wide variety of side dishes. The soba-yu (buckwheat hot water) is very rich and warming.

Taste the historic flavor in a storehouse-style restaurant

Because of its proximity to Nakamachi-dori Avenue, lined with storehouse-style buildings, the exterior of "Onna-Toba Soba" is also made of storehouse-style buildings with namako-style walls. The building, which is in harmony with the townscape, has received the "Matsumoto Cityscape Award. Inside the restaurant, there is a small tatami room and table seating, and next to the table seating is a private flour mill. Depending on the time of day, you can watch the soba being slowly milled on a millstone.
Stop by during a break from sightseeing along Nakamachi-dori and enjoy excellent soba noodles in a relaxing Japanese atmosphere. It is the perfect location for such a visit.

Onna-Toba Soba

• 3-4-8 Chuo, Matsumoto City, Nagano Prefecture MAP
• 13 minutes walk from Matsumoto Station
• 11:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. (Closes when soba runs out)
• Wednesdays and the 3rd Tuesday of the month
• 0263-35-8502
• Free

2
Genchi no soba

This soba restaurant is located next to “Genchi’s Well,” a renowned spring that represents the “Matsumoto Castle Town Spring Group.” The well water—which has been used since the Edo period not only as drinking water but also for sake brewing—is used in the restaurant’s soba and broth.The owner, who trained in Togakushi—a renowned region for Shinshu soba—is particular about using only buckwheat flour produced in Shinshu. The restaurant serves this as hand-made “ni-hachi” soba. The noodles have a glossy surface and a smooth texture when swallowed. Because they are free of any off-flavors, you can really taste their natural sweetness.The soba is served with a slightly rich broth made from bonito and additive-free soy sauce, which pairs perfectly with the noodles.
The restaurant also offers soba prepared in styles familiar to Togakushi locals; “Egoma Soba,” served with grated perilla as a garnish, is one such example. The perilla, with its enhanced flavor, further brings out the taste of the soba.

Local Guide

The soba made with spring water from "Genchi no well" makes you realize how important it is for soba to have good water.

Modern interior with a sense of style

The restaurant is housed in a building that used to be a coffee shop, and what stands out most is the counter seating with a large window and latticework. Colorful chairs accentuate the tasteful space. The window faces the street and allows one to see what is going on inside, making it easy for a woman alone to enter.
Since the restaurant opens at 10:00 a.m. in the morning, starting your day at "Genchi no Ido" as a starting point for sightseeing after having the famous soba noodles will further enhance your travel experience.

Genchi's Soba

• 3-7-8 Chuo, Matsumoto City, Nagano Prefecture MAP
• 10 minutes walk from Matsumoto Station
• Monday–Friday 10:00 AM–6:00 PM; Saturday and Sunday 10:00 AM–3:00 PM
  *Closes when soba runs out
• Thursday, Friday
• 0263-33-6340
• Free

3
Gosoba Utsudokoro Nomugi

One alley off Nakamachi-dori, one of Matsumoto's sightseeing spots, leads to "Gosoba Utsudokoro Nomugi" (Soba Brewery Nomugi). It is a popular restaurant with a reputation for both taste and skill, so much so that it is said that when a soba chef trained at this restaurant becomes independent and opens a restaurant, the number of famous restaurants increases.
Soba is basically served only as zarusoba. The ninety percent buckwheat noodles are made from ninety percent buckwheat flour and ten percent buckwheat glue grown in the Ono district of Tatsuno Town, which is adjacent to Shiojiri City. The soba is served on the restaurant's original, well-drained bamboo colander made by a Togakushi bamboo craftsman, and is extremely thin and has an excellent smoothness. As soon as you put it in your mouth, the aroma of the soba will spread out. You can choose from two sizes, large or half, according to your preference.

Enjoy seasonal flavors at a restaurant where you must wait in line

The restaurant has 12 seats. Although the restaurant is small and cozy, each table is decorated with flowers, which shows the attention to detail. Not only locals, but also visitors from all over Japan and abroad come to try Nomugi's soba, and during peak season, lines form even before the restaurant opens. Seating reservations are not available, and the restaurant closes when all the soba is gone, so it is recommended to visit a little earlier than lunch time.
A la carte dishes using seasonal local ingredients, such as wild vegetables from spring to early summer and mushrooms in autumn, are limited to what can be made. In winter, the menu features unusual items such as roasted local bee larva with salt and pickled inekoki rape, a traditional vegetable from the Inekoki district in the western part of Matsumoto City. Only in winter, visitors can enjoy hot soba noodles with shiitake mushrooms, deep-fried tofu, spinach, and other ingredients.

Local Guide

The noodles are thin but firm and filling. The noodles are thin but firm and satisfying, with a pleasant texture and flavor that makes you feel that the wait in line was worth it! It makes you feel that it was worth waiting in line.

Nomugi Soba Brewery

• 2-9-11 Chuo, Matsumoto City, Nagano Prefecture MAP
• 10 minutes walk from Matsumoto Station
• 11:30-14:00 *Close as soon as sold out
• Tuesdays and Wednesdays (open if Tuesday or Wednesday is a national holiday)
• 0263-36-3753
• None

4
Teuchi-Soba Aruppusu

“Handmade Soba Arupusu” was founded in 1894 (Meiji 27). Here, you can enjoy soba that showcases the masterful skills of the fourth-generation owner. The restaurant uses rare Shinshu-produced buckwheat flour, including “Nagawa Zairai”—a local heirloom variety from Nagawa in Matsumoto City—which is often referred to as “legendary buckwheat flour.”They offer three types of soba made with buckwheat flour ground from whole buckwheat grains using a stone mill, combined with mineral-rich water sourced from a spring near Iwashimizu. You can enjoy the richly flavored “Juwari” soba (100% buckwheat), the smooth-textured “Nihachi” soba (80% buckwheat, 20% wheat), and the refined “Mizu Soba” (cold soba).The rich, spicy dipping sauce—made by combining a broth simmered from kombu, bonito, sodabushi, dried sardines, and dried shiitake mushrooms with locally produced honjozo soy sauce—is also exquisite. We highly recommend the “Yamabiko Set,” which allows you to enjoy all three types of soba. You can compare and contrast the distinct characteristics of each variety.

To enjoy soba in three different ways, the soba is served with water and salt. For the connoisseur, soak the soba in a little water to enjoy the aroma and smoothness of the soba. You can also eat soba with salt on your chopsticks and enjoy the sweetness of the soba, or with soba-tsuyu (soba sauce), which enhances the sweetness of the soba.

Local Guide

The "mizu-soba," which lets you enjoy the original taste of soba, is a must-try dish. Soba sashimi is also recommended.

A tatami room with a view of the Japanese garden

The restaurant features both tatami-mat and table seating, and from the back of the dining area, you can enjoy a view of a meticulously maintained Japanese garden. Partitions separate the seats, allowing you to relax comfortably without worrying about the people at the next table.

Teuchisoba Aruppusu

• 3-1-13 Asama Hot Spring, Matsumoto City, Nagano Prefecture MAP
• From Matsumoto Station, take the Matsumoto Dentetsu bus bound for "Sengen Onsen via Shinshu University" (approx. 20 min.), get off at "Hot Plaza Sengen-mae" and walk 1 minute.
• 11:00 AM–2:00 PM (Last Order) *Closed in the evenings
• Tuesdays and Wednesdays
• 0263-46-1471
• Free

5
Matsumoto Soba Restaurant Motoki

Motoki is located on the north side of Matsumoto Castle, not far from the "Old Kaichi School," which is designated as an important cultural property of Japan. High-quality brown buckwheat noodles purchased from contract farmers in Nagano Prefecture are milled in-house on a millstone every day. The "ginjo soba" is made from only the most delicious part of the buckwheat, which takes 10 days to grind down to the "heartbeat," which is only about 30% of the whole buckwheat, and has an elegant, clear flavor with no cloying taste at all. The soba is complemented by a soup stock with just the right amount of sweetness from the dried bonito that was carefully selected by visiting Yaizu.

We recommend the "morisoba," which shows off the flavor of the buckwheat. The "Moriten-soba," which consists of one cold soba and one hot tempura soba, is especially popular among soba connoisseurs, who come from far and wide to enjoy the excellent soba both hot and cold.
Tempura is made with seasonal ingredients, such as wild vegetables in spring and summer vegetables in summer, and a la carte dishes incorporating local ingredients, such as hitted beans and mushrooms, are also offered.

Local Guide

This is a restaurant where you can enjoy the rare "Ginjo Soba". The soba has a clear texture and is unique in Matsumoto, a district where soba is a hot topic of battle.

Various types of seating, including small rooms and tatami rooms

The restaurant offers a variety of seating options, including comfortable tables, tatami rooms, and a small Western-style room, allowing diners to choose the style that best suits their needs. The Japanese-style rooms are decorated with hanging scrolls and flowers, while the Western-style rooms are decorated with pictures and objets d'art, each with a different flavor, offering a fresh experience each time you visit.
This is a perfect place to stop by between historical walks, such as Matsumoto Castle and the former Kaichi Gakko (a school in Matsumoto).

Matsumoto Soba Restaurant Motoki

• 2-2-32 Kaichi, Matsumoto City, Nagano Prefecture MAP
• 16 minutes walk from Kita Matsumoto Station
• 11:00-15:00
• Tuesdays (open if Tuesday is a national holiday)
• 0263-36-3410
• Free