When is the best time to eat new soba? Introducing famous Echizen soba restaurants where you can taste freshly made soba.
Shin-soba is a special type of buckwheat that can only be eaten during a limited period of the year. Many soba fans look forward to eating shinsoba every year because of its unique flavor that can only be experienced during that season. In this issue, we will explain the season for new soba and the reasons for its deliciousness, as well as Echizen soba, one of Fukui's specialties. We will also introduce recommended restaurants in the Reinan area (Wakasa and Tsuruga) where you can enjoy new soba.
When is the new soba season?
Shin-soba is buckwheat made from freshly harvested buckwheat seeds. The new soba season is generally held twice a year, in summer and fall, and is called summer soba and fall soba, respectively.
Summer soba is sown in spring around April or May and harvested around July or August, while fall soba is sown in summer around July or August and harvested around October or December. Soba can be harvested approximately three months after sowing, thus making it possible to harvest buckwheat twice a year.
The optimum growing environment for soba is a temperature below 25 degrees Celsius with a temperature difference of 10 degrees Celsius or more between day and night. Summer soba and fall soba grow in an environment that meets these conditions.
Why is new soba delicious?
A major reason why shin-soba is so tasty is that the buckwheat seeds are made into soba immediately after harvesting, one to two months after the buckwheat is harvested. Non-new buckwheat noodles are made from buckwheat kernels (gen soba) that have been dried after harvesting. However, buckwheat seeds tend to lose their flavor at room temperature.
Although preservation facilities have evolved, and it is now possible to preserve the flavor of brown buckwheat as much as possible, the freshness of new buckwheat is still exceptionally delicious. Summer soba is said to have a fresh flavor, while autumn soba is characterized by a deep flavor.
What is Fukui's specialty "Echizen soba"?
If you are going to eat new buckwheat noodles, it is recommended to taste them in areas famous for buckwheat noodles. Fukui Prefecture is famous for Echizen soba, or buckwheat noodles. Here we will introduce the characteristics, charm, and history of Echizen soba.
Characteristics and Attractiveness of Echizen Soba
Echizen soba is one of the local dishes of Fukui Prefecture. Originally from the Reinokita region in northern Fukui, it has now spread throughout the entire Fukui area. The main characteristic of Echizen soba is that it is made by grinding not only the inside of the buckwheat seed but also the entire hull into flour. As a result, the soba is dark in color, and has a strong aroma and flavor impact.
Also, wheat flour is often used as a binder for soba, but Echizen soba uses strong flour instead of the light flour that is commonly used. This gives the soba noodles a chewy texture.
The strong flavor and texture of Echizen soba due to its unique manufacturing process is the charm of Echizen soba. Some soba stores also offer Jyuwari-soba, which is made without using any type of glue.
History of Echizen Soba
It is said that soba cultivation began in Fukui in the mid-Muromachi period (1336-1573), when it was encouraged to grow soba to survive famine. Echizen soba is often topped with grated daikon (grated radish), and there is a theory that this was invented by a retainer of the Fukui domain during the Edo period for the poor and seasoning-challenged common people.
The name "Echizen soba" is said to have originated from the fact that Emperor Showa ate soba when he visited Fukui and often referred to it fondly as "Echizen soba.
Restaurants where you can taste fresh soba in Wakasa and Tsuruga
After learning about Echizen soba, let's actually taste its deliciousness. We have picked out some of the best soba restaurants in the Reinan area (Wakasa and Tsuruga). These are all popular stores that always offer the best soba, not only during the new soba season, but also at all times of the year.
Soba Restaurant Mata Hachian, a famous hideout open only on holidays
Soba Restaurant Mata Hachian's Exterior
Citation meta. Goshoku Shokoku Shokubutsu Ryoko (Food Travel Site)
A soba restaurant like a hideaway nestled in the mountains. The restaurant is open only on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays. The restaurant serves special Jyuwari soba made from buckwheat flour produced in Fukui Prefecture.
Soba Restaurant Mata Hachian's Soba
Citation meta. Goshoku Shokoku Shokubutsu Ryoko (Food Travel Site)
The main menu item, "Matahachi," contains a mixture of local traditional vegetable akakamba (a kind of red turnip) and spicy daikon radish in the dipping sauce. It is a popular restaurant with many repeat customers coming from far away.
| Address | 79-42 Sugibashi, Tsuruga City, Fukui 914-0314 |
|---|---|
| Telephone number | 0770-27-1048 |
| Business hours | Open Saturdays, Sundays and holidays Reservations required (by phone) from 11:00 to 15:00 and from 15:00 to 17:00 |
| Closed | Weekdays *Please check in advance as the restaurant may be temporarily closed. |
Chigusa Soba, an exquisite buckwheat noodle filled with three freshly made specialties.
Exterior view of Senzoku Soba restaurant
Citation meta. soba noodles in broth served continuously so that the guest or customer never has an empty bowl
With the motto of "3-tate" (freshly ground, freshly cooked, and freshly boiled), this restaurant offers handmade Echizen soba noodles. In addition to using soba produced in Fukui Prefecture, the restaurant grinds its own flour using a millstone. We recommend the Echizen Oroshi Soba served with hot grated radish. Both lunch and dinner hours end when all the soba is gone, so it is best to come early.
Echizen Oroshi Soba" at Senzoku Soba
Citation meta. soba noodles in broth served continuously so that the guest or customer never has an empty bowl
| Address | 1-20-8 Shimizu-cho, Tsuruga City, Fukui Prefecture 914-0052 |
|---|---|
| Telephone number | 0770-23-1182 |
| Business hours | 11:00-15:30 (L.O. 15:00) 17:00-20:00 (L.O. 19:40) Open until 15:00 on Tuesdays and Thursdays. |
| Closed | Wednesdays Please confirm details in advance. |
| Reference site | Senzoku Soba https://chigusasoba.com/ |
Soba Tempura Kaisen Suzuya" - glutinous handmade juwari soba near the station
This soba restaurant is conveniently located about a 1-minute walk from Tsuruga Station. Every day before opening, you can watch the soba being made through the glass window on the right side of the storefront. The soba noodles are made from buckwheat flour produced in Fukui Prefecture, and the temperature and moisture content of the flour are skillfully adjusted to produce soba noodles with a glutinous texture despite being made from buckwheat. Lunch sets that include oroshi-soba, zarusoba, and rice bowls are popular. In the evening, we recommend enjoying a la carte dishes and Fukui's local sake.
| Address | 1-22 Shiraiginmachi, Tsuruga City, Fukui 914-0054 |
|---|---|
| Telephone number | 0770-22-0618 |
| Business hours | 11:00～L.O. 14:00 17:30～L.O20:30 Closes when all soba is gone. |
| Closed | Monday Please confirm details in advance. |
| Reference site | Soba-Tempura-Kaisen Suzuya |
Careful selection of raw materials and careful taste "Teuchi-Soba Gorobei
Gorobei, a certified Echizen soba restaurant, uses stone-ground buckwheat flour produced in Fukui Prefecture. The restaurant offers a special Echizen grated buckwheat noodle topped with homemade spicy daikon (Japanese radish). Its refreshing taste is appealing, with just the right amount of spiciness. The soba is handmade by the owner every morning with great care. In addition to the cold and hot soba menus, the restaurant also offers a wide variety of rice bowl dishes.
| Address | 29-1-1 Kato, Obama City, Fukui 917-0045 |
|---|---|
| Telephone number | 0770-52-6553 |
| Business hours | 11:00-15:00 Close when sold out |
| Closed | Monday and Tuesday |
| Reference site | Teuchisoba Gorobei |
Roots in the Edo period. Yoneta" is a long-established shop that has been in business since the Meiji era.
This long-established restaurant was founded as a rice shop in the Edo period (1603-1867) and became a soba shop in the Meiji period (1868-1912). The restaurant features homemade thin noodles with a smooth texture and grated radish made from the spicy radish grown by the proprietress's family. Karami-soba, a particularly popular dish, offers a refreshing taste with dashi broth. This famous restaurant has long been a favorite of the locals.
| Address | 9 Obama Sumiyoshi, Obama City, Fukui 917-0065 |
|---|---|
| Telephone number | 0770-52-0711 |
| Business hours | 11:00-18:30 |
| Closed | Wednesdays Please confirm details in advance. |
New soba season is summer and autumn! Enjoy the famous Echizen soba in Fukui!
There are two times of the year when you can enjoy new soba, but since it is freshly harvested soba that you are tasting, the period is fleeting. Why not visit Fukui, one of Japan's leading soba (buckwheat noodle) producers, and enjoy new soba at the famous Echizen soba restaurants? As introduced in this article, there are a wide variety of soba stores famous for their soba, and you will surely encounter delicious new soba that will make your trip a good memory.
Selected as the nation's first "Premium" Japanese Heritage Site! Enjoy a variety of cultures
In July 2024, Obama City and Wakasa Town, centered on the Saba Road, were selected by the Agency for Cultural Affairs as the first Japanese Heritage site in Japan to be designated as a Special Priority Support Area (Japanese Heritage Premium).
Blessed with a rich harvest from the sea and mountains, Wakasa has supported the food culture of the Imperial Court since ancient times, and for more than 1,500 years, the road that brought seafood from Wakasa to Kyoto has been known as the "Saba Kaido," or mackerel road, and has a history of various cultural comings and goings. Along the Saba Kaido, which connects Wakasa and Kyoto, there are Kumagawa-juku, shrines, temples, buildings, festivals, and other cultural assets, so be sure to take the time to visit Tsuruga and Wakasa.
The information is current as of November 2024. Information is subject to change without notice.