A good wander around Morioka is bound to have you working up an appetite and that’s something you’ll be needing if you plan on visiting Azumaya Soba Shop. More of an eating challenge than a sophisticated meal out, put yourself to the test with the wanko soba experience where you’re looking to finish with as many empty bowls in front of you as possible.
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Unlike the fertile land of much of the southwest of Japan, Iwate Prefecture’s colder climate and mountainous terrain has always made good grain growing a challenge. As a plain bowl of soba noodles was seen as a somewhat uninspirational, pauper’s meal, the people of Nanbu decided to inject some excitement back into the dish by molding their noodles into various unconventional shapes, mixing them up with more appetizing side dishes, and serving their guests bowl after bowl of noodles until they insisted they could eat no more. The latter of these techniques was seen as such an entertaining way to enjoy soba noodles that it became a tradition which was brought through to the 20th century eventually inspiring the concept of wanko soba.
![The Wanko Soba Experience]()
The Wanko Soba Experience
![The Wanko Soba Experience]()
The Wanko Soba Experience
The concept behind wanko soba is that you eat as many bowls of soba as you possibly can before you are rewarded with your own wooden plaque stating the number of bowls you ate on what date. For those that take their soba seriously, there are some rudimentary techniques for getting your pile of bowls as high as possible.
![The Wanko Soba Experience]()
The Wanko Soba Experience
While varying side dishes of sashimi and pickles may be delicious, the main thing to remember is that your focus should be on the noodles. The second key piece of advice is to avoid too much liquid; this includes both drinks and the soup that the noodles are served in. The waitresses will continue to fill your bowl up with noodles until you put the lid on your bowl to indicate that you can eat no more.
![The Wanko Soba Experience]()
The Wanko Soba Experience
While wanko soba is an Iwate speciality found all over the prefecture, we would go as far as saying this is a once in a lifetime experience that deserves to be enjoyed in a lively atmosphere. Step behind the sliding doors of Azumaya Soba Shop just a stone’s throw from the Nakatsu River and a 13-minute bus ride from Morioka Station and a lively atmosphere is most certainly what you’ll find. Instantly evident that this is no ordinary eating experience, towers of red lacquer wan bowls threaten to topple over and customers clutch their bellies as they slurp down their umpteenth bowl of soba.
![The Wanko Soba Experience]()
The Wanko Soba Experience
For those up for the wanko soba challenge, expect to pay either 2,700 yen or a little extra if you’d like your bowls to be counted for you along with some extra condiments. If you’d rather enjoy a variety of dishes at your own pace, the menu is in no way limited to soba with a number of beautifully prepared sets of varying small dishes as well as other rice and noodle dishes. The current record for the number of bowls eaten is 345 which, with 15 cups equal to a normal sized bowl of noodles, is the equivalent of an impressive 23 standard servings of noodles. Now, let’s get record breaking!
- Azumaya Soba Restaurant
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- Iwate Pref. Moriokashi Nakanohashidori 1-8-3
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- 0196222252
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- 11:00-15:00/17:00-19:00
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