Hakone is a beautiful town in a mountainous region in Japan with many attractions for you to enjoy, including zip-lining, museums, shrines and temples, traditional Japanese inns and hot springs.

Its proximity to the military bases in the Kanto Plain makes it a popular quick road trip destination to enjoy the cool mountain air in the hot summer and soak in the rich mineral waters.

Though Hakone is known for its many attractions and great views of Mt. Fuji, did you know it is also home to superb soba buckwheat noodles?

Thanks to its high elevation, Hakone’s pure spring water is the perfect addition and an essential ingredient in the production of soba.

During a visit with my wife, we stopped at Hakone Restaurant in Yumoto Town for a quick, delicious lunch. The restaurant is near Hakone-Yumoto Station.

Pushing through a blue noren curtain, we found a cozy and casual interior with enough tables to accommodate about 15 diners. Hakone Restaurant’s signature dish is zaru soba (cold noodles) for 700 yen ($4.50), so we both ordered the same. For 200 more yen, you can get a bigger serving of noodles.

Our soba noodles were served up in a bamboo basket, along with bowls of soy-sauce-based broth, onion and wasabi. We sampled our soba in a traditional way by first tasting the noodles alone. Then, we added onion and wasabi and tried the noodles again. Next, we tried some more noodles, onion and wasabi, after dipping them into the broth.

This process allowed us to sample and experience the changes in mouthfeel and complementary flavors of the delicious local soba. Try it next time you have soba!

As we enjoyed our meal, the dark gray soba noodles had a great aroma and the sweet flavors tickled my taste buds. The meal was more delicious than I expected.

The noodles at Hakone Restaurant were a tasty way to reenergize and continue to explore the area’s beautiful attractions. The weather and views are a good reason to go, but the delicious soba noodles at Hakone make it a place you definitely have to see for yourself!

Hakone (soba noodle joint)

Location: 704 Yumoto, Hakone Town, Ashigarashimo-gun, Kanagawa Prefecture

Hours: Thu – Tue, 11 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

URL

Tel: 0460-85-7837

View video to see more about Hakone in springtime: VIDEO: Spring once more! A pleasant walk in Hakone, Japan | Stripes Japan

Japanese

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