Togakushi Soba
In Mt Togakushi, Togakushi village is home to one of the “Three Great Soba Noodles” of Japan – Togakushi soba. The other two being Iwate’s Wanko soba and Shimane’s Izumo soba.
During the Heian Period, Shinto practitioners regularly ate soba noodles along with wild mountain vegetables, Nagano prefecture’s natural landscape and moderate climate is conducive to cultivating high quality buckwheat; soba’s main ingredient.
Togakushi soba is characterised by its darker hue and stronger taste due to using a type of buckwheat called “Hikigurumi” which includes the hull of the buckwheat in it’s making process. The dough is also rolled out into a oval/circular shape before being cut, it’s flavour is also further enhanced by boiling it instantly after cutting then cooling it in the clear, fresh waters of the Togakushi Mountain Range. The soba is also traditionally served in small portions, called “Bocchi-mori”, where the noodles are grouped in a loose horseshoe shape
TOGAKUSHI SOBA MUSEUM
In Togakushi village, there are several dining options to taste the specialty of Togakushi soba, however if you choose to stop by Tonkururin (Togakushi Soba Museum), one can also learn how to make Togakushi soba from a local soba master above the museum’s restaurant (though we accidentally just heaped our soba noodle in one pile as we made so much!)
TIME TO FEAST
After making your own soba from scratch, enjoy the soba deliciousness paired with ground daikon and fresh tempura mountain vegetables (cooked by Tonkururin’s chef) downstairs.
WEB: TOGAKUSHI TONKURURIN | INSTAGRAM: @TOGAKUSHI_TONKURURIN
