Traditional Eats in Nagano

Handmade soba at Tonkururin

Nagano as a prefecture is famous for its high quality “soba” – thin noodles made from buckwheat and wheat flours. They contrast to the thicker wheat noodles, called udon, which are popular in other regions of Japan. The tradition of eating soba in Nagano originates from before the Edo period (1600-1800s).

Soba noodles can be served either chilled alongside a dipping sauce, or piping hot in a bowl of broth or soup. The former is usually favored during the hotter summer months while the latter is a firm favorite in winter as a means to keeping nice and warm!

Tonkururin Soba Restaurant and Museum

Soba can be found in all regions of Nagano, with different areas often adding their own unique touch to the soba they serve. Togakushi however is widely considered to be the birthplace of soba. Togakushi is a mountainous village located in the suburbs of Nagano City, and its streets are lined with establishments keen to serve you their freshly made soba noodles. You will find a variety of soba dishes here, including another regional specialty – Soba with tempura (lightly battered) apple!

Tokutake-san hand makes soba at Tonkururin

A good place to check out if you want to learn a little more about the history of soba in the area as well try your hand at making your own is Tonkururin which also houses the Togakushi Soba Museum. Of course, they are also open as a restaurant if you’re only interested in eating the soba noodles!

Tokutake-san has been hand making soba noodles every morning at Tonkururin for over twenty years, she also offers workshops for people who want to learn the craft themselves. Having grown up locally she has been eating Togakushi soba her whole life and now takes great pride in teaching the local culture to visitors who come from all across Japan, and indeed from across the world.

Tokutake-san hand makes soba at Tonkururin

Tokutake-san hand makes soba at Tonkururin

Done!

If you arrive early in the morning, soon after they open, you may be lucky enough to be able to see her prepare the noodles for the day, right next to the public area. The ritual involved in the preparation is fascinating to watch and you can pick up a few pointers should you decide to give it a go yourself in one of the workshops after!

Tonkururin opens its doors to the public every day from 9am until 5pm. They have a website, but unfortubately it is in Japanese only http://www.togakushi-tq.jp/

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Oyaki Mura

Situated in the village of ogawa, half way between Nagano City and the village of Hakuba, is Oyaki Mura – a small, family run business that has been serving handmade Oyaki for over a century.
Oyaki is a type of buckwheat dumpling that originates from Nagano. It is believed that the steep mountains and cold climate made the cultivation of rice in Nagano very difficult, so local farmers turned to buckwheat instead, thus inventing oyaki, as an alternative to rice balls.

Freshly served Oyaki

Oyaki are typically stuffed with vegetables or a sweet bean paste, depending if you want the savory or sweet version. The dumplings are then roasted in a large open top iron pan over a hot wood-burning fire. Finally, they are steamed and eaten while still hot, often with a bowl of miso soup.

arisaka-san has been preparing oyaki for locals and visitors to the area alike for many years. He expertly prepares and heats them over an open hearth inside a thatched roof building, guests sit around the fire waiting patiently for their oyaki to cook. Once they’re done they can soak up the atmosphere while they eat, an atmosphere that feels as if it hasn’t changed for decades!

arisaka-san prepares oyaki

arisaka-san prepares oyaki over the open hearth

Oyaki is served

Oyaki Mura actually serve a lot more than just oyaki, they also serve locally made soba dishes and a host of other regional goods including fruit, vegetables, a wide range of condiments and freshly prepared apple juice. The owner of Oyaki Mura, Koyama-san, proudly states that absolutely everything on sale there originates in the village, and that they are a proud community of farmers who help one another by selling their goods for each other.

Visitors are welcome to visit Koyama-san and his team at Oyaki Mura six days a week (closed Mondays), from 9am to 5pm. Unfortunately there is no website.

Koyama-san and a bottle of locally made apple juice which he sells at Oyaki Mura

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The Daio Wasabi Farm in Azumino sits in picturesque surroundings

Wasabi is a pungent condiment often eaten with sushi, it comes from “Wasabi Japonica”, a plant that is native to Japan and can only grow in shoals of clean mountain river water. Although all parts of the plant are edible, the wasabi served alongside your sushi is typically grated from the root. Its taste is sharp and somewhat spicy.

The raw roots of Wasabi Japonica

A whopping 95% of all wasabi comes from Nagano, and the biggest producer of which is the Daio Wasabi Farm located in Azumino, which is situated close to Matsumoto, who have been in business for well over a hundred years.

Hama-san, owner and manager of Daio Wasabi Farm

Hama-san, the owner and manager of the farm explains that the purity of the clear water that runs down from the Northern Alps and the cool air temperature in the region combined are the perfect combination for cultivating wasabi, hence why the area has such a grip on the wasabi market. He also explained how the Japanese have been consuming wasabi for centuries, first as a kind of natural medicine that was used to treat a number of ailments, then as a form of food.

Daio Wasabi Farm, in Azumino

Daio Wasabi Farm, in Azumino

The Daio Wasabi Farm is spread over multiple large fields that are separated by a meticulously laid out network of streams that allow fresh water from the nearby Alps to flow freely to each wasabi plant. The fields are covered in black tarps for half the year to maintain the temperature and shield the plants from the sun, although this can be a little unsightly, it is crucial to maintain a high standard of produce.

Hama-san, owner and manager of Daio Wasabi Farm

Preparing wasabi for shipment on the factory floor

Hama-san along with a team of local farmers are constantly picking and preparing wasabi which is shipped across the country on a daily basis. You too can visit the farm any time and sample the freshly picked wasabi yourself. They also serve a variety of sweet and savory dishes including curry, pickles, beers and juices on site, which are of course made using fresh wasabi! They even have a wasabi flavored ice cream, which tastes a lot better than it sounds!

Visitors can see the farm for themselves and have a stroll around five days a week from 9am to 5pm. They also have a website but it’s in Japanese only: https://www.daiowasabi.co.jp/

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Nagano Pref. Aduminoshi Hotaka 3640

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