Visit a soba factory in Echizen

When you first enter this big white building with slate-colored tiles, you may not necessarily know exactly what to expect. Is it a restaurant, a cooking workshop, a factory, or a museum dedicated to soba noodles? The answer is simple: it's all of them.

Soba country

Indeed, the city of Echizen, located in Fukui prefecture, is the birthplace of oroshi soba, cold noodles served with a variety of garnishes including grated white radish, green onion, and bonito fish flakes.

This large building therefore puts soba in the spotlight, thanks to a small museum, located at the bottom of the building, which explains the soba-making process, culture, harvest, and the noodle manufacturing and packaging. A production process that also mainly uses buckwheat grown in fields in the same prefecture.

Related: Echizen, home of washi paper

Visiting the factory

Another interesting point is the different soba and ramen noodle production lines that are used to prepare the noodles on site. Through large bay windows, you can watch the machines knead whole silos of dough, before seeing them get flattened, then turned into a multitude of noodles that the employees of the factory end up packing. It's a mesmerizing process, especially when you learn that between 30,000 and 50,000 packets of fresh noodles leave the factory every day!

Noodles that can then be enjoyed in the restaurant next to the factory, although we advise you to avoid the lunch rush between 12:30 and 13:00, or you'll probably spend more time queuing than enjoying your soba.

Cooking lessons

Finally, for the more adventurous, you can try making your own soba noodles, so you can leave with a handmade souvenir. However, be sure to eat them quickly, fresh noodles can't be stored for long! It's also advisable to book in advance, as the classes are popular.

See also: 5 Japanese cooking classes in Tokyo