5 recommended handmade soba noodle restaurants in the Omachi and Hakuba areas
The Niigyo and Yasaka districts of Omachi City, Nagano Prefecture, at an elevation of nearly 1,000 meters, are known for their soba noodles, which are grown in a climate with a large temperature difference between day and night and in the cool waters of the Northern Alps. Omachi City and Hakuba Village are dotted with soba noodle stores that use such high-quality local buckwheat flour, as well as other handmade buckwheat noodle stores that are known for their delicious taste. We will introduce you to five recommended soba restaurants that are known not only for their freshly made, aromatic soba, but also for their tsuyu (dipping sauce) and a la carte dishes that complement the soba.
<Omachi's famous handmade soba noodle stores
<Hot spring ryokan to experience the luxurious countryside of Shinshu>.
<Omachi's famous handmade soba noodle stores
1Soba Restaurant Alori
Freshly made soba noodles and a la carte dishes are also available.
This popular soba restaurant is located in the Omachi hot spring village shopping area. The handmade soba noodles are made with buckwheat flour from Yasaka and Mima in Omachi City. The soba noodles are handmade using buckwheat flour from Yasaka and Mima in Omachi City, and the connection is also made with flour produced in Nagano Prefecture, resulting in a strong and flavorful nihachi-soba. To be enjoyed with soba noodles are fried iwana (rock fish), grilled with salt, and tempura. The iwana (rock fish) is caught in Kagogawa and other nearby valleys, and farmed fish is used during the no-take period from October to February. Tempura is made by slicing the fish into three pieces, so it is easy to eat without bones, and the plump meat is exceptionally tasty.
Handmade udon noodles and a la carte dishes are also available.
The owner has been a soba craftsman for more than 45 years. In addition to soba, his udon noodles made from Nagano wheat flour are also popular. After an order is placed, the dough is rolled out by hand using an original method, and only at the end is it finished using a rolling pin. The noodles are also firm and have a flavor unique to local flour. The menu also includes Wakasagi (freshwater smelt) tempura, grilled skewers, and broiled eel from Lake Kisaki.
The unpretentious, homey interior features a counter and a small seating area. You can also enjoy conversation with the friendly owner.
- Soba Restaurant Alori
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2811 Omachidaira, Omachi-city, Nagano, Japan MAP
10 minutes drive from JR Shinano-Omachi Station
Take a bus from JR Shinano-Omachi Station, get off at "Omachi Onsen-kyo" and walk about 1 minute.
11:30-15:00, 17:00-20:00
Thursdays
0261-22-8837
Free (Omachi Onsenkyo shared parking lot)
2Handmade soba (buckwheat noodles) made from local flour and ground by millstone Misato
Enjoy aromatic soba noodles made with locally grown buckwheat flour.
The restaurant is located in the Shingyo district at an elevation of 900 meters and is famous for its soba (buckwheat noodles), so much so that a soba festival has been held there for about 50 years during the new soba season. The restaurant, founded in 1987 with the theme of "local production for local consumption," grinds brown buckwheat from the buckwheat fields in the area into a stone mill at a nearby mill. Local mothers knead, stretch, and cut the buckwheat, all by hand, to produce flavorful buckwheat noodles. When ordering zaru soba, you will be served with a side of seasonal tempura such as dandelion leaves, butterbur leaves, or local mushrooms.
Relax and unwind with our thoughtful hospitality
After eating soba, a small "soba usuyaki" (buckwheat dough baked in a small pot) is also served. Usuyaki is buckwheat flour dissolved in water and baked, making it a light and fluffy snack. On top is homemade egoma miso, made by grinding locally grown egoma and mixing it with miso. The sweetness of the miso is a perfect after-meal accompaniment. Seasonal pickles such as nozawana greens are also served.
The folk art-style restaurant has a counter, tables, and a small tatami room, where you can relax and enjoy the peaceful view of the countryside.
- Misato Handmade Soba Noodles
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- 14890 Mima, Omachi-shi, Nagano MAP
- Approx. 15 min. by car from JR Shinano-Omachi Station
- Take a bus from JR Shinano-Omachi Station, get off at "Shinko" and walk 3 minutes.
- 11:00-15:00 *Close when sold out
- Tuesdays (open if Tuesday is a national holiday), Year-end and New Year holidays
- 0261-23-1334
- Free of charge
3Teuchi soba Yamashina
Enjoy locally produced buckwheat noodles at a famous restaurant run by a buckwheat farmer
Located in the Shingyo district of Omachi City, which is said to produce high quality buckwheat noodles from volcanic ash soil, this popular soba restaurant attracts a long line of customers even on weekdays during the season of new buckwheat noodles. The buckwheat flour used is stone-ground from the buckwheat seeds harvested in the area, including from the owner's own fields, and the second-generation owner adjusts the binders according to the temperature and humidity of the day to produce thinly sliced soba noodles. The secret to the delicious taste is the use of cold spring water pumped up from 200 meters below the ground. The aroma of the soba is enhanced and the smoothness of the noodles is superb.
Enjoy a relaxing time in a quaint country house
In the spacious tatami room, you can relax with pickled nozawana and buckwheat tea while waiting for your soba noodles. The most popular dish is the simple morisoba, and on some days a limited quantity of juwari soba is available. The restaurant also offers hot kake-soba and kama-age-soba, which is hot soba served with cold broth. Be sure to try the "thinly sliced buckwheat noodles," which are unique to this area. The hot thinly sliced buckwheat noodles are made by dissolving buckwheat flour in water and baking them, topped with a special green onion miso paste. The aroma of miso stimulates the appetite when the dish arrives. This simple dish offers a firm texture and the aroma of soba noodles.
4Teuchi Soba Restaurant Kobayashi
The specialty is soba noodles with a motif of the "salt road," a trade route connecting the sea and mountains.
The restaurant was founded in 1913. The fourth generation of the family now serves soba noodles near Shinano-Omachi Station. The street in front of the restaurant used to be a "salt road" used to transport salt and marine products from the Sea of Japan to inland areas. Inspired by this, the shop's specialty is "Shionomichi Soba" (buckwheat noodles). The buckwheat flour is made from brown buckwheat grown in Hokkaido and ground at a nearby mill that has been a trusted source of flour since the establishment of the restaurant. The nihachi-soba is firm and smooth, and is topped with shrimp tempura, bracken, and other wild vegetables. It is served with grated daikon (Japanese radish), which is used as salt, and cold dipping sauce to refresh the palate.
Relax in the cozy Japanese-style restaurant
In addition to "Shionomichi Soba," "Yamakake Soba" and "Tororo Soba" made with yam directly from farmers in Yamagata Village, Nagano Prefecture, are also popular. The soba is seasoned with a secret sauce that was perfected through extensive research, and many local customers are repeat customers. For tourists, the "Small Festival Set" is popular, which includes mori-soba or kake-soba, soba porridge made from boiled buckwheat seeds, and ego, a seaweed food eaten during weddings and funerals in northern Nagano Prefecture.
The pure Japanese-style building, built about 30 years ago, has a calm and chic appearance. It is open all day until the evening, making it a good place for a late lunch.
- Handmade Soba Restaurant Kobayashi
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- 3210 Nishina-cho, Omachi-shi, Nagano MAP
- 3 min. walk from JR Shinano-Omachi Stn.
- Open 11:00-17:00
- Wednesday
- 0261-22-1200
- Free of charge
5Soba atelier Ringo-ya
Flavorful nihachi soba served with three types of dipping sauces
Since its opening in 1998, the restaurant has been well known for its excellent soba noodles in Hakuba Village. The thinly pounded nihachi soba made from Hokkaido buckwheat flour is a flavorful and firm gem that fills you with deliciousness the more you bite into it. We recommend the "Soba Sammai," in which soba is served with three kinds of sauce: soba-tsuyu made from bonito and kelp dashi broth, aromatic walnut sauce made from grated walnuts, and spicy daikon radish juice. The spicy daikon radish is from Hakuba Village and neighboring towns, and the sweetness of the daikon spreads through the spiciness, creating an addictive flavor. When miso is dissolved in the spicy daikon, a mellow taste can be enjoyed.
Soba-gaki" (buckwheat noodles), soft, chewy, and smooth, is also popular.
The cute name of the restaurant comes from the fact that it used to be a grocery store. The restaurant also operates as a ryokan (Japanese inn) in the winter, and once you take off your shoes at the spacious entrance, you will find a spacious tatami room and table seating.
In addition to soba noodles, the restaurant also offers a variety of other dishes such as "soba gaki" (buckwheat flour added over hot water and kneaded quickly), savory "fried soba gaki," and "soba no mi namako" (buckwheat paste). A perfect dessert is the "Soba-gaki Zenzai," which combines azuki bean-filled Zenzai with buckwheat paste. The crispy topping of the buckwheat tea is a nice accent to the zenzai.
- Soba Kobo Ringoya
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- 5289 Kitashiro, Hakuba-mura, Kitaazumi-gun, Nagano MAP
- 5 min. drive from JR Hakuba Station
- Take a bus from JR Hakuba Station, get off at Hakuba Happo Bus Terminal, and walk about 3 minutes.
- 11:00-13:30 (L.O.) *Close when sold out
- Closed on weekends and holidays
- 0261-71-1566
- Free of charge
<Hot spring ryokan to experience the luxurious countryside of Shinshu>.
After a day of sightseeing, how about a relaxing moment in a hot spring village nestled in the Northern Alps, where you can enjoy a rural Shinshu Experience with the hospitality of a sunken hearth?
Hoshino Resorts KAI Alps is within easy access to tourist attractions: Ogisawa, the entrance to the Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route, is about 20 minutes away by car, and the Hakuba area, which is popular with skiers in winter, is about 30 minutes away by car.
6Hoshino Resorts KAI Alps
The inn of a hidden hot spring healed by the hospitality of a sunken hearth
About 80 minutes by car from Nagano Station. This hot spring ryokan is located in Omachi Onsen-kyo. Guest rooms and hot spring bathhouses are lined up on both sides along "Gangi," an arcade in the snow country, where you can experience the countryside of Shinshu, with fair days and traditional games in summer, and snow games with kamakura and kanjiki in winter.
All Guest rooms are "Shinanomotenashi no Ma" (Shinano hospitality room). The rooms are decorated with kirie art frames and lit by lanterns made of Matsuzaki washi paper, creating a peaceful atmosphere. In the earthen floor with a sunken hearth, you can enjoy the hospitality of the countryside, such as oyaki, baked apples, and heated sake. It is as if you have returned to your hometown, where you can spend time relaxing both body and soul.
- Hoshino Resorts KAI Alps
-
- 2884-26 Taira, Omachi-shi, Nagano MAP
- 80 min. by express bus from JR Nagano Station to Omachi Onsen-kyo, 10 min. walk from the bus stop.
- 0570-073-011（Kai Reservation Center)
- Available
Local Guide who was in charge of this article
- Ayumi Endo Shinshu Camera Girls
