Nara

The Miwa Somen that I had near Hase Temple changed my perception of somen. Despite the super thin form, it had a marvelous firmness and smooth texture. I was so astonished that it was hard to believe what I had was really somen. I purchased some for myself when I found it in the mid-summer gift section at the store. I highly recommend trying the “Miwa no Kamisugi (which is the grade name of the somen)!” The boiling time for it is only fifty seconds!

（Mikerangero）

Near the Omiwa Shrine, where the mountain itself is the deity, there are many restaurants that serve Miwa Somen. Have some Miwa Somen with colorful seasonings on your way home from visiting the Shrine, and it will feel like it will bring you extraordinary blessings.

（EMMA）

Although many of you might enjoy somen in the summer with some dipping sauce, nyumen, the hot bowl of somen, is also very tasty with the firm texture of the noodles.

（Micchon）

In Sakurai, Nara, you can find many directly operated stores of famous somen noodle companies selling the kind of high-end somen you receive for mid-year gifts in Japan. There are also some stores along the nearby streets of Yamanobe. I prefer having the somen enjoying the the peaceful scenery of the Nara Basin.

（Yasuya）

Miwa Yamamoto’s “Hakuryu” is Japan’s best somen; it takes only a short time to boil and has an exquisite texture. The standard cold somen made with it is excellent.

（Mimihana 227）

You can enjoy it as cold somen in the summer and hot nyumen with plenty of vegetables in the winter. Eating it with persimmon-leaf sushi would make it the perfect experience!

（Sankyoudai no okan）

Boil in plenty of water for precisely the indicated time, then run under running water to remove any sliminess, and then run under cold water to firm up. Stick with the cooking instructions by the manufacturer and fully concentrate as if you were the Emperor’s chef. No customizations are necessary. Miwa Somen is better than any other noodle.

（ayan）

My recommendation is to have it with persimmon-leaf sushi at a restaurant near the Omiwa Shrine. There are a lot of somen restaurants near the Shrine, and the location is excellent, with a view of the large torii gate of the Shrine that is famous for its spiritual energy.

（Honamin）

The Omiwa Shrine is in Sakurai, Nara. The soumen that they serve at “Soumen-Dokoro Morisho,” located at the shrine gate, is superb. Nyumen with the nice, warm broth and hot sake is excellent in the cold of winter, and cold somen noodles are a treat for the midsummer days. Persimmon-leaf sushi is a must for both.

（Tsukumo）

These somen noodles were born in the city of Omiwa Shrine, and I cannot survive the summer in Japan without them. They are also great for Japanese mid-year gifts.

（aipon）

The simple is the best: boil them and eat them with dipping sauce, and you can savor the remarkable firmness and smoothness. There are also colorful somen noodles with vegetables kneaded into them, pleasing the eye. I buy them as souvenirs for people outside Nara. To this day, I always choose to buy Miwa Somen because I’ve been used to it since childhood, and I am never satisfied with somen from other places.

（kurihana）

My mother has always selected Miwa Somen instead of the well-known Ibonoito, even though she is from Ako, Hyogo, which is acquainted with the Ibonoito somen. Miwa Somen is perfect for anything, from the Bukkake-style with many other ingredients in the summer to the hot nyumen or using it as a miso soup ingredient in the winter.

（Sasaki Yoko）

Every year, when I visit Hase Temple during the Golden Week holidays, I enjoy some nyumen at my familiar restaurant on the street in front of the temple gate. That is my favorite way to enjoy it.

（Chimako）

I recommend the Tai-Dashi sea bream broth Somen that you can have at a somen specialty restaurant called “Somen-Dokoro Surusuru” in Nara City. Somen is often thought of as for dipping the noodles in the sauce, but it is also delicious with cold sea bream broth in the summer and as hot nyumen with warm sea bream broth in the winter. Tomato-flavored somen is also available, which will blow your mind.

（Tsukiko）

It is the specaitly born in Tenri, Nara. It is a spicy soy sauce ramen with stir-fried vegetables on top, and topping it with a raw egg makes it even better. The “Tenri Stamina Ramen” and “Saika” restaurants are famous.

（Honamin）

The “Tenri Stamina Ramen” restaurants can be found in two styles: regular restaurants and food stalls. I can never forget the excitement of eating hot ramen and slightly tangy soup at a food stall in the cold weather, and I visit the food stall every winter. Eating with spam rice balls makes it even more delightful! You should also try adding the garlic that is prepared on the table!

（Nosuhomushiro）

It has been thirty years since I was taken to “Saika Ramen” as a student. I’m still addicted to it, and I go all the way to Nara even though I don’t live there anymore. The slightly spicy soup has plenty of garlic and goes perfectly with the thin noodles. I recommend you to try the food stall. I’m not sure how it is now, but we had options of char siu pork back then.

（Anko）

“Oku-Yoshino Kogen-no-Ito” is so thin and silky that you can almost swallow it. I recommend the “Kaitani Seimenjo” manufacturer; once you have their thin noodles, all the other somen noodles will feel too thick. But I do like thick noodles, too. The best way to enjoy them is to put them in a light, shiro-dashi-based soup and cool them down! It prevents the noodles from becoming soggy and tastes really good in the hot summer.

（Katatsumurii）

Somen is the heart of Nara’s noodles. The cold somen in the summer and the hot nyumen in the winter are both delicious. The ultra-thin somen with arrowroot starch produced by “Kaitani Seimenjo” in Kawakami Village, where I live, offers a unique experience that cannot be experienced with any other somen. It represents the noodles of Nara, and you should definitely try it.

（siro）

It is said to be the origin of the udon noodles. They say that in 989, during the Heian period, twenty Hakutakume ladies danced and served the noodles when Emperor Ichijo paid a visit to Kasugataisha Shrine.

（Tinmama）