Hyogo

My somen noodles have always been Ibonoito. In fact, I didn’t know there was such a thing as somen noodles and thought they were all called “Ibonoito.” I recommend boiling them, rinsing them well under running water, serving them over ice, and dipping them in cold dipping sauce when you eat them. You can use any sauce with plenty of white sesame seeds ground with the sesame grinder “Surikki.” Surikki is the key to the taste; just hold the lever and rotate, and you can make as many freshly ground sesame seeds as you want. White sesame seeds will make the pure white Ibonoito noodles look even more beautiful.

（Yu）

Whether it’s the texture, firmness, or taste, Ibonoito is better than any other somenーalthough this only applies to Ibonoito somen noodles graded “Kuro-Obi” or higher. No other ingredient is necessary; I eat only with the somen noodles, and that is how I’ve been eating them for the past 56 years of my life. The combination with Higashimaru’s dipping sauce, which is also made in Hyogo, is superb. The Ibonoito in the hot summers and the treacherousness of having it in the winter nights is irresistible. I’ve decided that the last meal of my life would be Ibonoito paired with Higashimaru dipping sauce. Oh, I can’t wait to have them again!

（Majizou）

Ibonoito is a must for families in Hyogo during the children’s summer vacations. It cooks fast, and it’s good! Boil the noodles a minute shorter than instructed and enjoy the firm chewiness. They are also great for making hot nyumen in the wintertime!

（Wataame）

Ibonoito is Japan’s best somen! You can have it with some dipping sauce or make hot nyumen using Higashimaru’s Udon Soup, which is so delicious.

（Yuririn）

Soumen is delicious in the old Banshu area, the southwestern part of present-day Hyogo, whether in summer or winter. It is excellent with the standard dipping sauce or in miso soup or sumashi-jiru clear soup; it goes well with anything!

（Utamaru）

Ibonoito is a hand-pulled somen made in the Harima region of Hyogo prefecture. In my family, we have somen noodles all year round, chilled in summer and in a clear soup in winter. Ibonoito is the most delicious with its smooth texture and firmness! My father was a somen-lover and had it for every meal, especially in summer. He was very close with his mother-in-law, my grandmother, and often asked her to prepare some somen when he came home from work. My grandmother always answered, “Ok, ok. Let me cook some somen for him.” I miss their conversation, but now that they are both gone, I’m sure they’re enjoying somen together in heaven. Ibonoito is the best option for me, both in taste and in memories!

（Maru）

A genuine classic with a reliable taste. I like to use it as an ingredient for breakfast soup bowls. It easily slides down your throat; you can eat it even with no appetite.

（Konamon）

It is served in an Izushi-ware bowl, a traditional handicraft of Izushi Town, Toyooka City, located in the northern part of Hyogo Prefecture. A quick-eating contest is held during the spring festival, which is very exciting. You can enjoy it with dipping sauce, try each plate of soba with some salt, or add condiments, eggs, or grated yam to the dipping sauce to change the flavor!

（Curry）

It has a unique style of eating soba, served on small plates, one plate at a time. There are forty soba restaurants in the small city of Izushi; the most famous is “Sobasho,” but it would be amusing to look for your favorite restaurant, as the firmness of the noodles and the taste of the sauce vary.

（END）

Izushi is well-known for the soba on plates, with small portions of noodles served on small plates. They are great for meals but also perfect side dishes for Japanese sake!

（Ichigodaifuku）

The soba noodles are served on small Izushi-ware plates, with about five plates enough for one serving of soba. Many restaurants offer various customizations, allowing you to enjoy the soba until your last plate.

（Futoccho）

The aroma of the Izushi Soba at “Kinmata” is excellent. You can change the flavor with the toppings, including the grated yam and eggs.

（Maki）

It is in northern Hyogo and is a local specialty, where my parents’ house is, although it is not widely famous. Living in Nagano, I’ve heard that Izushi’s soba originated in Nagano, but I think Izushi’s is better than Nagano’s. Back then, some restaurants rewarded the children and gave them “grown-up bills” when they ate a certain amount of soba noodles.

（Miki）

When I was a child, there was almost nothing I could eat at restaurants because I had strong likes and dislikes. The only thing I could eat out was the plate-served Izushi Soba. The slightly firm Izushi Soba noodles were served on five small plates, and I ate them with the slightly sweetened dipping sauce, grated yam, and a cracked egg. I was about five years old but ate up all five plates and ordered several more.

（tomomi-n）

It was after I became a working adult, owned a car, and started traveling around Hyogo that I came to know Izushi, one of the best soba areas in the Kansai region. Izushi Soba has a unique style of eating soba; the noodles are served on five small plates. It is said that the lord of Shinshu brought his artisans to Izushi when he was transferred there, and I was impressed by the taste, which was as good as that of the authentic Shinshu soba. You have enough restaurants to choose from since there are around forty soba places in Izushi.

（Katsudon）

I love the way we can have the soba with stylish dishes. Five plates served as one serving, dipping sauce served in a large tokkuri sake bottle, and condiments on small plates. They all look so beautiful already. Savoring each plate of soba with different condiments, I find myself eating about twenty plates. It is a stylish and relaxed soba experience, different from Wariko-Soba or Wanko Soba.

（Mamojii）

You can find it at the noodle stand at JR Himeji Station. It is interesting to have the Chinese noodles served with Japanese-style broth, even though it’s named “soba.” It won’t be too much to call it the specialty of Himeji.

（Masayan）

You can have a quick noodle dish while waiting for the train. It is neither udon, soba, or ramen, but a heartwarming taste of Chinese noodles. In the old days, we were allowed to bring them on the train and leave the empty bowl under the seat after eating.

（Kotokoto）

“Ekisoba” at Himeji Station. The combination of Chinese noodles and Japanese-style broth is provided at an affordable price. You can also enjoy the seasonal menus.

（Penguin）

Maneki, which is said to be the first company in Japan to sell makunouchi boxed lunches, sells Ekisoba on the platform of JR Himeji Station. Unlike ordinary soba, it has yellow Chinese noodles in Japanese-style soup. Some people even get off at Himeji Station just to have this Ekisoba. It is the comfort food for the Himeji locals.

（Sayakuma）

People used to buy Ekisoba at Himeji Station, eat it on the train, and leave the empty bowl on the platform at the next station, where a station attendant would collect it and return it to Himeji Station on the next train. You can also enjoy it by eating at a restaurant before the station or purchasing a frozen or instant noodle.

（Ricchan）

Yellow Chinese noodles that are called “soba” but not made of soba buckwheat flour. Enjoying it with squishy and soft tempura is my regular style. They have a stand located on the Himeji Station platform, and it is exceptional to slurp the hot soba waiting for the next train ride!

（Nan）

It is a unique noodle dish between soba and ramen, and I never get tired of the taste. It has recently become famous and available at rest stops, Hanshin Department Store Umeda Main Store in Osaka, and even instant noodles, but I recommend enjoying it at the stand in JR Himeji Station. For those who don’t prefer stand-up meals, you can also find restaurants where you can sit down to eat at the Shinkansen transfer entrance or in Himeji City.

（Himeji no Zabieru）

Maneki’s Ekisoba is cheap and good. The odd combination of Chinese noodles and broth usually used for soba or udon reminds me of the meals at the school cafeteria.

（George）

I strongly recommend it! You can find the stands on the platforms of both the local train and the Shinkansen of Himeji Station. It’s made of only Chinese noodles and simple seasoning, but it is obsessively great.

（Chichan）

Ekisoba is well-known for its stand on the Himeji Station platform. Combining Japanese-style soup and Chinese noodles creates a unique but obsessive taste. I recommend the Tempura Ekisoba. Tempura with Chinese noodles might sound odd, but once you try it, you’ll know how superb it is. When you visit Himeji Station, make sure to stop by Ekisoba on the local train platform or station building!

（Yukina）

This ramen is from the Kita-Harima area. The soup has a sweet and tender taste and is relaxing on a cold winter day. It is said that the female workers favored the sweet taste back when the Banshu weaving business thrived in the area.

（Yaka）

Nishiwaki City and Taka Town, located in central Hyogo, have long been home to a thriving textile industry of Banshu weaving. Female workers gathered from all over the country to engage in production. Banshu Ramen was initially made for those female workers. The slightly sweet, rich soup clings to the noodles and is delicious. Please come and try it for yourself!

（Anchan）

The texture of the noodles is like that of udon and soba put together and split in half, with a yellow Chinese noodle-ish color. The Mochi Mugi Japanese pearl barley in the noodles makes it chewy, smooth, and comfortable to eat.

（Chichan）

It is a specialty of Fukusaki, Kanzaki, in Hyogo. It has been produced for a long time (probably about thirty years). My family used to send it to me before but to be honest, I didn’t think it was good. However, when I had it for the first time in years when I visited my parents this year, I was surprised to find that it was delicious, with a texture similar to soba or udon noodles. I heard that it is full of dietary fiber.

（Wako）

The noodles are chewy and smooth, with a comfortable texture. It is neither soba nor udon. Since Japanese pearl barley is the main ingredient of the noodles, it is good for your stomach. I like to have them in warm soup. I crave them once in a while ever since I first knew how tasty they were when I had them at a rest stop. Rather than going to a restaurant, I often buy the noodles and have them at home. My favorite is to have it with beaten eggs, wakame seaweed, and pickled plums.

（castle）

Hyogo is famous for its hand-pulled somen noodles, and when I was a child, many houses in my neighborhood made somen noodles. The noodles are hooked onto a bamboo stick and pulled to make the somen, and the “bachi” is where the edge of the dough is not uniform in thickness. We would get this bachi from the somen-making houses and cook “bachi soup” at home. It is very tasty when eaten as an ingredient in the clear soup.

（Fururu）

Bokkake-Udon in Nagata, Kobe, in Hyogo, is the comfort food for the Kobe locals. Beef tendon stewed softly and sweetly is served over udon noodles in a light bonito and seaweed broth. It is so delicious! In Kobe, we sometimes add this Bokkake to okonomiyaki.

（Fukufuku）

Dried noodles are a popular souvenir that is available at roadside service areas. The thick and firm noodles are satisfying! Most packed noodles don’t include the soup, so you can choose whichever broth you want to have the noodles with. My recommendation is mushroom pasta made with Awajishima noodles made of sesame oil, mushrooms, and salted kelp!

（Nan）

The Horumon-Yaki Grilled Offal Udon noodles in Sayo were mixed with two kinds of sauce: miso and soy sauce. They were eaten like dipping noodles and were delicious. The restaurant was called “Fuji.”

（Bonchan）