A handmade soba shop in the middle of Narai-juku. The noodles are thin and made with 90% buckwheat; this time I had the hot soba with wild vegetables. There are table seats and a tatami room at the back. Opening hours can change, so check before you go.
413 Narai, Shiojiri, Nagano
Sources: naraijuku.com hotpepper.jp
This moment in the journey
Hot soba with wild vegetables
Nagano means soba, above all. I stepped into a handmade soba shop halfway along the post town. What arrived on the tray was hot soba with wild vegetables: a steaming bowl piled with bracken, mushrooms and green onions.
The thin noodles glistened with broth as I lifted them with my chopsticks. The flavor of the soba and the mountain greens seeped into the soup, gentle, deep, and quietly delicious. Sitting in the tatami room, I cradled the bowl and savored it to the end.
Outside, a paper lantern sign reading "handmade soba" hung by the latticed wall, where a pot of yellow flowers had been set.
Watch this scene on YouTube3:13
More notes from this journey
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Narai-juku
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From: Autumn leaves in Narai-juku and an autumn table in Shinshu
Shiojiri, Nagano
Shinshu soba
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From: Autumn leaves in Narai-juku and an autumn table in Shinshu
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From: Autumn leaves in Narai-juku and an autumn table in Shinshu
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Apple-fed Shinshu beef
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From: Autumn leaves in Narai-juku and an autumn table in Shinshu
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