Local Guide
5 unique soba noodle restaurants in Hakone

Hakone is shaped by a variety of mountains. The soba noodles made with this water are exquisite. The soba made with this famous water is exquisite. Not only are there a wide variety of flavors to choose from, ranging from juwari soba to soba with yam, but the atmosphere of the soba stores is also very individualistic. A trip to Hakone is a great way to enjoy soba restaurants and compare the different flavors of soba noodles. Here are some of the most popular soba restaurants that you may want to take the trouble to visit.

Soba all the way to dessert!

Soba set
Soba set" with a small bowl of cooked food and dessert: 1,700 yen (tax not included)

This restaurant serves nihachi soba, a type of buckwheat noodle, having inherited the technique from the founder of "O", a famous soba restaurant that took the soba world by storm, and a craftsman who is regarded as a master of his craft. The restaurant mills its own buckwheat seeds from Hokkaido, Ibaraki Prefecture, and other famous buckwheat producing regions, and blends about five different kinds to produce firm buckwheat noodles. The sauce, made with Rishiri kelp and freshly shaved dried bonito flakes from Makurazaki, is also rich in aroma. The popular "Soba Set" includes either cold "Seiro Soba" or hot "Kake Soba", soba miso (buckwheat paste), tofu from a local store, and "Hakone Bakery's Soba Flour Pound Cake".

Spacious interior in the style of an old private house

Souvenirs such as
Souvenirs such as "Soba Flour Pound Cake" and "Soba Flour Karinto" are available in the store.

The restaurant was established in 1992. The interior of the restaurant, which many Guest/customers visit just before opening time, has a rustic atmosphere like an old private home with a sunken hearth. The restaurant serves a wide variety of hot soba noodles, and in addition to the simple "kakesoba," "nishin-soba" and "kamonanban-soba" are also popular. Another popular dish with a unique twist is the "Awasuki Soba," which is served warm and topped with grated yam. The aromatic buckwheat tea served with the soba is also sold in the store as a souvenir. The restaurant offers soba noodles with a smooth, smooth texture, nurtured by Hakone's famous water.

Akatsukian Yumoto in Hakone
  • Address 182-4 Yumotochaya, Hakone-cho, Ashigarashita-gun, Kanagawa MAP
  • Direction Approximately 19 minutes on foot from Hakone Tozan Railway Hakone-Yumoto Station.
  • Direction Take a bus from Hakone Tozan Railway Hakone-Yumoto Station, get off at Okuyumoto Iriguchi and walk about 9 minutes.
  • Hours of Operation 11:30-16:00 (L.O.15:30), Sat.
  • Closed Wednesday
  • TEL 0460-85-6763
  • Parking Free of charge

Enjoy the difference in aroma and flavor between two types of soba noodles

Seiro
Seiro" (left) and "Hikoh" (right), each 1,100 yen, with different tastes

This handmade soba noodle store is run by a craftsman-like owner who has been in business for 17 years in 2019. The buckwheat flour used is mainly from Otoi Nepu in Hokkaido. The "Seiro" of Kuichi Soba has the sweetness and aroma of buckwheat flour. Limited to 15 servings a day, "Hiko-Gen" is a nihachi-soba made from buckwheat flour coarsely ground from the buckwheat hull. Because of the high skill required to make it, the number of servings is limited, but it is popular among soba connoisseurs. Only cold soba is served throughout the year. The soba noodles are served only cold throughout the year, and after being cooled in cold water, the temperature is adjusted to bring out the best flavor of the soba before being served.

Teppan-yaki using real duck is also one of the most popular dishes.

Teppan Grilled Duck Roast with Soba Soup
Teppan Grilled Duck Roast with Soba Soup" 3,000 yen

The owner wants customers to "relax and savor the soba," so he carefully selects dishes that go well with sake. One dish that regular customers always order is the Teppan Grilled Duck Roast. It is a luxurious dish of thickly sliced duck from Aomori Prefecture, sauteed in sweet duck fat with green onions, and simmered in the restaurant's signature soba-tsuyu (buckwheat noodle soup). The fried rice cake, which is served separately, is dipped into the sauce, which is infused with the delicious flavor of the duck. Other popular dishes include "Shiroebi Tempura" and "Yaki Miso. It is also a great way to enjoy Hakone's local sake or shochu with sobayu (buckwheat hot water).

Teuchi-Soba Hikoh (handmade buckwheat noodles)
  • Address 183 Yumotochaya, Hakone-cho, Ashigarashita-gun, Kanagawa MAP
  • Direction Approximately 18 minutes on foot from Hakone Tozan Railway Hakone-Yumoto Station.
  • Direction Take a bus from Hakone Tozan Railway Hakone-Yumoto Station, get off at "Okuyumoto Iriguchi" and walk about 10 minutes.
  • Hours of Operation 11:00 - 14:30 (close when sold out)
  • Regular holiday Mon. and Tue.
  • TEL 0460-85-3939
  • Parking Free of charge

Nihachi soba with a firm texture to be enjoyed with tempura

Hakone mountain meal
Hakone mountain meal" featuring soba noodles and seasonal ingredients: 2,860 yen

Located in the "Hakone Kowakuen Tenyu" hotel, this soba restaurant is housed in a villa of a baron built in the Taisho era (1912-1926). The soba noodles are made with stone-ground buckwheat flour from Hokuryu in Hokkaido, and the noodles are firm and crispy (nihachi soba). The soba goes well with the flavorful soba-tsuyu (buckwheat sauce) made with thick shavings of dried bonito flakes from Kagoshima. The Hakone mountain meal, which includes a small bowl of appetizers made with seasonal ingredients, tempura, and a dessert of bracken rice cakes, is the most popular menu item. Tempura includes two large, crisply fried prawns and three kinds of seasonal vegetables. It is a visually gorgeous and satisfying meal.

Enjoy the seasonal scenery with a Taisho era atmosphere

Tsuki no Ma
Tsuki no Ma" where you can enjoy soba noodles while feeling the nature of Hakone

The best part of visiting this restaurant is not only the soba noodles but also the good old-fashioned atmosphere of the Taisho era. The 26-seat "Tsuki-no-Ma" (moon room) offers a view of the beautifully landscaped garden and Mt.
The museum also houses a small art museum (admission free) in a converted warehouse. The museum exhibits valuable works by famous Japanese painters such as Kyujin Yamamoto and Seiji Togo, which were collected by the baron who owned the museum. This is a restaurant where you can spend a relaxing time while also enjoying art appreciation.

Soba Kihin Kan
  • Address Hakone Kowakuen Tenyu, 1297 Ninohira, Hakone-cho, Ashigarashita-gun, Kanagawa MAP
  • Direction 4 minutes drive from Hakone Tozan Railway Koubonomori Station.
  • Direction Take a bus from Gora Station on the Hakone Tozan Railway and get off at Tenyu.
    There is a shuttle bus from Gora Station.
  • Hours of Operation 11:00-15:00 (L.O. 14:30)
    Reservations required at least 3 days in advance (from 17:30, from 18:00, from 18:30, from 19:00).
  • Closed No holidays
  • TEL 0460-82-8050
  • Parking Free of charge

Delicate soba noodles with a rich sweetness and aroma

Seiro Soba
Seiro Soba" with a rich flavor of buckwheat noodles itself: 1,000 yen

Takeyabu, a famous handmade buckwheat noodle restaurant in Kashiwa City, Chiba Prefecture, is the sister restaurant of Takeyabu, which opened in Hakone in 2003. If you visit for the first time, start with the "Seiro Soba. The owner of the restaurant uses stone-ground buckwheat flour from the Kurohime Plateau in Shinshu, which he fell in love with, and you can feel the sweetness of the buckwheat and the richness of its aroma. From the season of new buckwheat to spring, the buckwheat is made using only 10 percent buckwheat flour, and from early summer, a very small amount of wheat flour is added to the buckwheat as a binder. The soba noodles are made according to the changing of the seasons to achieve the ideal firmness and smoothness.

The design of the restaurant with a unique sense of beauty

From the skylight to the frosted glass partition, the restaurant is decorated with the taste of the previous generation.
From the skylight to the frosted glass partition, the restaurant is decorated with the taste of the previous generation.

Another highlight of the restaurant is the artistic space created by the previous owner. The approach to and inside the restaurant are lined with numerous objets d'art, and broken pottery plates and marbles are embedded in the walls.
If you want to order another dish in addition to soba, be sure to try the "coarsely ground buckwheat noodles. This hidden gem, popular among soba lovers, is made to order, and is made by coarsely grinding the buckwheat seeds (without the hulls) by hand in a coffee mill before kneading them. During the season from November to March, when fresh soba is served, you can enjoy its sticky texture like that of a yam.

Takeyabu Soba Restaurant Hakone
  • Address 160-80 Moto Hakone, Hakone-cho, Ashigarashita-gun, Kanagawa MAP
  • Direction 13 min. walk from Hakone Ropeway Ubako Station.
  • Hours of Operation 11:00-17:00 *Only "Omakase" course available after 18:00. Reservations required by phone.
  • Closed Wednesday
  • TEL 0460-84-7500
  • Parking Free of charge

Nutritious soba noodles with yam as the base

Jenenjo Tororo Soba Gozen
Jenenjo Tororo Soba Gozen" with Soba Mae and Mugitoro Gohan (rice with barley and grated yam) 2,100 yen

Opened in 2016, this soba restaurant kneads its own yam grown in Odawara City. The buckwheat flour is carefully selected from Hokkaido, where it goes well with the yam, and only the portion to be served that day is made in the restaurant. We recommend the "Jenenjyo Tororo Soba Gozen," which is all about the yam. Grated yam with grated skin, mixed with a quail egg and soba-tsuyu (buckwheat sauce), is dipped into the smooth yam soba and tasted. The set also includes barley grated yam rice and a choice of three "soba mae" (appetizers) from a selection of about 10 different types of soba. The "jinenjyo tororo soba" is also available hot.

A space where you can enjoy the extraordinary feeling of traveling

The spacious restaurant with high ceilings has the atmosphere of an overseas resort.
The spacious restaurant with high ceilings has the atmosphere of an overseas resort.

The interior of the restaurant has a café-like atmosphere that is different from the image of a soba restaurant. The white and blue color scheme gives the restaurant a resort-like atmosphere, which the owner hopes will give customers an extraordinary feeling of being on a trip. The seating is spaciously arranged, and the restaurant is open all day from noon to night, which is a nice feature for travelers.
The menu also includes a variety of standard dishes such as "Kamo Nanban" and "Ten Seiro. Don't miss the popular "soba" noodles with different flavors, such as the "white curry soba with yam mousse. The restaurant grows its own yam, so you can buy some as souvenirs.

Jenjyosoba Hakone Kujumo
  • Address 917-11 Sengokuhara, Hakone-cho, Ashigarashita-gun, Kanagawa MAP
  • Direction Approximately 12 minutes from Gora Station on the Hakone Tozan Railway by car.
  • Direction Take a bus from Hakone Tozan Railway Hakone-Yumoto Station or Gora Station, and get off at Kawamukai Hoshi no Ojisan Museum Mae Bus Stop.
  • Hours of Operation 11:00 - 20:30 (L.O.20:00), January - 19:00
  • Closed Thursdays
  • TEL 0460-84-0899
  • Parking Free of charge
The information in this article is current as of the date of the update. Please check before visiting as they are subject to change.