Local Guide
5 unique soba restaurants recommended in Hakone

Hakone is shaped by a variety of mountains. Underground water springs up from many places, including Mt. Kintoki, famous for the "Kintaro Legend," and the soba noodles made with this famous water are exquisite. Not only are there a wide variety of flavors, from 100% buckwheat soba to soba with wild yam, but the atmospheres of the restaurants are also very unique. Visiting soba restaurants and comparing the tastes is one way to enjoy a trip to Hakone. From the many restaurants available, we have carefully selected popular restaurants that are worth the trip out of your way to visit.

A meal filled with soba noodles, including dessert

"Soba set" with small side dish and dessert: 1,700 yen (excluding tax)
"Soba set" with small side dish and dessert: 1,700 yen (excluding tax)

This shop serves Nihachi soba noodles, made by inheriting techniques from the master craftsman who founded Okina, a famous soba restaurant that took the soba world by storm. Buckwheat seeds are sourced from famous growing areas such as Hokkaido and Ibaraki Prefecture, and are milled in-house, then blended with about five different types to make chewy soba noodles. The soup is made with Rishiri kelp and freshly shaved bonito flakes from Makurazaki, giving it a rich aroma. The popular Soba Set is a meal of all-you-can-eat soba noodles, including cold Seiro soba noodles or hot Kake soba noodles, soba miso, tofu from a local shop, and buckwheat pound cake from Hakone Bakery.

A spacious interior reminiscent of a traditional Japanese house

The store also sells souvenirs such as "buckwheat flour pound cake" and "buckwheat flour karinto."
The store also sells souvenirs such as "buckwheat flour pound cake" and "buckwheat flour karinto."

Established in 1992, the restaurant has a rustic atmosphere reminiscent of an old-style house with an irori hearth, and many Guest/customer arrive right at opening time. They also have a wide selection of hot soba noodles, including the simple "kakesoba" (soba noodles with a topping of soy sauce), as well as the highly acclaimed "nishin soba" and "kamo nanban soba." Another popular dish is the "Awayuki soba," hot soba noodles topped with grated yam. The fragrant soba tea that comes with the noodles is also available for purchase as a souvenir in the store. This is a restaurant where you can enjoy smooth soba noodles, nurtured by the famous waters of Hakone.

Hakone Akatsukian Yumoto Branch
  • URLhttp://www.hakoneyumoto.com/eat/33
  • 住所182-4 Yumotochaya, Hakone-machi, Ashigarashimo-gun, Kanagawa Prefecture MAP
  • アクセスApproximately 19 minutes on foot from Hakone Tozan Railway Hakone Yumoto Station
  • バスアクセスTake the bus from Hakone Tozan Railway Hakone Yumoto Station, get off at "Oku-Yumoto Iriguchi" and walk for about 9 minutes
  • 営業時間11:30-16:00 (last order 15:30), Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays 11:00-
  • 定休日Wednesday
  • TEL0460-85-6763
  • 駐車場free

Enjoy the difference in aroma and flavor with two types of soba

"Seiro" (left) and "Hiko" (right), with different flavors, each priced at 1,100 yen
"Seiro" (left) and "Hiko" (right), with different flavors, each priced at 1,100 yen

2019 marks the 17th year since the restaurant opened, and the owner is a skilled craftsman who serves handmade soba noodles. The buckwheat flour they mainly use is from Otoineppu, Hokkaido. Kyuichi Soba's "Seiro" has a strong sweetness and aroma of buckwheat flour. "Gen," which is limited to 15 servings per day, is a 28% buckwheat soba made with coarsely ground buckwheat flour including the husk. It requires high skill to make, so the number of servings is limited, but it is popular among soba connoisseurs. All year round, they only serve cold soba. All soba noodles are rinsed in cold water and then served at a temperature that brings out the flavor of the soba.

Teppanyaki made with real duck is also a secretly popular dish.

"Duck loin teppanyaki" with exquisite soba sauce, 3,000 yen
"Duck loin teppanyaki" with exquisite soba sauce, 3,000 yen

The owner wants customers to "slowly enjoy their food and relax," so he offers a carefully selected selection of single dishes that go well with alcohol. Regular customers always order the "Duck Loin Teppanyaki." This luxurious dish is made by simmering thickly sliced Aomori duck in their signature soba broth with spring onions fried in sweet duck fat. The fried rice cakes that come with the dish are dipped into the broth that has dissolved the umami of the duck. Other popular dishes include the "White Shrimp Tempura" and "Grilled Miso." It is also great to enjoy it with local Hakone sake or shochu mixed with soba yu.

Handmade Soba "Gen"
  • URLhttp://www.teuchisoba-gen.com/
  • 住所183 Yumotochaya, Hakone-machi, Ashigarashimo-gun, Kanagawa Prefecture MAP
  • アクセスApproximately 18 minutes on foot from Hakone Tozan Railway Hakone Yumoto Station
  • バスアクセスTake the bus from Hakone Tozan Railway Hakone Yumoto Station, get off at "Oku-Yumoto Iriguchi" and walk for about 10 minutes
  • 営業時間11:00-14:30 (Ends when sold out)
  • 定休日Monday and Tuesday
  • TEL0460-85-3939
  • 駐車場free

Chewy Nihachi soba noodles, perfect with tempura

"Hakone Yamazen" combining seasonal ingredients and soba noodles, 2,860 yen
"Hakone Yamazen" combining seasonal ingredients and soba noodles, 2,860 yen

This soba restaurant is located inside the Hakone Kowakien Tenyu Hotel, and occupies a baron's villa built in the Taisho era. The soba is made with stone-ground buckwheat flour from Hokuryu, Hokkaido, and is firm and made with 28% buckwheat flour. It goes well with the rich soba broth, which is made with thickly shaved bonito flakes from Kagoshima. The most popular menu item is the Hakone Yamazen, which comes with a small appetizer made with seasonal ingredients, tempura, and a warabi mochi dessert. The tempura consists of two large, crispy shrimp and three types of seasonal vegetables. It is a meal that is visually gorgeous and very satisfying.

Enjoy the seasonal scenery along with the charm of the Taisho era

"Tsuki no Ma" where you can enjoy soba noodles while feeling the nature of Hakone
"Tsuki no Ma" where you can enjoy soba noodles while feeling the nature of Hakone

The best part of visiting this restaurant is not only the soba, but also the good old atmosphere of the Taisho era. The building is designated as a nationally registered tangible cultural property, and from the 26-seat "Tsuki no Ma" room, you can view the beautifully maintained garden and Myojogatake, commonly known as "Mt. Daimonji."
The building also houses a small art museum (free admission) that was converted from a storehouse. It displays precious works by famous Japanese painters such as Kyujin Yamamoto and Seiji Togo, collected by the baron who owned the building. This is a shop where you can relax and enjoy art appreciation.

Soba Guest House
  • URLhttps://www.ten-yu.com/kihinkan
  • 住所​MAP of "Hakone Kowakien Tenyu" 1297 Ninohira, Hakone-machi, Ashigarashimo-gun, Kanagawa Prefecture
  • アクセスApproximately 4 minutes by car from Hakone Tozan Railway Chokoku-no-Mori Station
  • バスアクセスTake the bus from Gora Station on the Hakone Tozan Railway and get off at "Tenyu"
    *There is a shuttle bus from Gora Station.
  • 営業時間11:00-15:00 (L.O. 14:30)
    *Dinner is only served KAI Local Flavors cuisine, reservations must be made at least three days in advance (17:30~, 18:00~, 18:30~, 19:00~)
  • 定休日Open daily
  • TEL0460-82-8050
  • 駐車場free

Delicate soba noodles with a rich sweetness and aroma

"Seiro Soba" - the soba itself has a deep flavor - 1,000 yen
"Seiro Soba" - the soba itself has a deep flavor - 1,000 yen

This is a sister store of "Takeyabu," a famous handmade soba restaurant in Kashiwa City, Chiba Prefecture, which opened in Hakone in 2003. If you visit for the first time, start with the "seiro soba." The store uses stone-ground buckwheat flour from the Kurohime Plateau in Shinshu, which the owner is deeply fond of, allowing you to experience the sweetness and rich aroma of the soba. From the new soba season until around spring, the soba is made with 100% buckwheat flour, and from early summer, a very small amount of wheat flour is added as a binder, making detailed adjustments that are unique to this store. They create soba with the ideal firmness and smoothness to match the changing seasons.

A store design that reflects a unique aesthetic sense

From the skylights to the frosted glass partitions, the design is in keeping with the previous generation's style.
From the skylights to the frosted glass partitions, the design is in keeping with the previous generation's style.

Another highlight of this shop is the artistic space created by the previous owner, with numerous objects lining the entrance and interior, and broken ceramic plates and marbles embedded in the walls.
If you want to order one more dish besides soba, be sure to try the "coarsely ground soba kaki." When an order is placed, the husks are removed from the buckwheat kernels, coarsely ground in a coffee mill, and then kneaded into a paste. This hidden gem is popular among soba lovers. During the season when new soba is served from November to March, you can enjoy the sticky texture of wild yam.

Handmade Soba Takeyabu Hakone Branch
  • URLhttps://takeyabu.co.jp/
  • 住所160-80 Motohakone, Hakone-machi, Ashigarashimo-gun, Kanagawa Prefecture MAP
  • アクセスAbout 13 minutes walk from Hakone Ropeway Ubako Station
  • 営業時間11:00-17:00 *Only the "Omakase" course is available after 18:00. Reservation required by phone
  • 定休日Wednesday
  • TEL0460-84-7500
  • 駐車場free

Delicious soba noodles made with yam as a binder

"Jinenjo Tororo Soba Gozen" with soba noodles and grated barley rice, 2,100 yen
"Jinenjo Tororo Soba Gozen" with soba noodles and grated barley rice, 2,100 yen

Opened in 2016, this soba restaurant uses wild yam grown in Odawara City. The buckwheat flour is carefully selected from Hokkaido, which goes well with wild yam, and is made in-house only for the amount served that day. The recommended dish is the "Jinenjo Tororo Soba Gozen" which is full of wild yam. Grated wild yam with the skin on is mixed with quail eggs and soba soup, and then dipped into the smooth wild yam soba noodles. The set also comes with barley rice and three "soba-mae" (appetizers) to choose from about 10 varieties, making it irresistible for wild yam lovers. The "Jinenjo Tororo Soba" can also be ordered hot.

A space where you can enjoy the extraordinary experience of traveling

The high ceilings and spacious interior create an atmosphere reminiscent of an overseas resort.
The high ceilings and spacious interior create an atmosphere reminiscent of an overseas resort.

The interior of the restaurant has a cafe-like atmosphere, which is different from the image of a soba restaurant. The design, which is based on white and blue, exudes a resort feel, and is inspired by the owner's desire to "enjoy an extraordinary travel experience." The seating is spaciously arranged, and the fact that it is open from daytime to night is a great plus for travelers.
Other menu items include standard dishes such as "Kamo Nanban" and "Ten Seiro". Don't miss the popular unusual soba dishes such as "White curry soba with yam mousse". The yam is grown on-site, so you can buy it as a souvenir.

Jinenjo Soba Hakone Tsukumo
  • URLhttps://hakone-soba.com/
  • 住所917-11 Sengokuhara, Hakone-machi, Ashigarashimo-gun, Kanagawa Prefecture MAP
  • アクセスApproximately 12 minutes by car from Gora Station on the Hakone Tozan Railway
  • バスアクセスTake the bus from Hakone Tozan Railway Hakone Yumoto Station or Gora Station and get off at "Kawamukai・The Little Prince Museum"
  • 営業時間11:00~20:30 (LO20:00), January ~19:00
  • 定休日Thursday
  • TEL0460-84-0899
  • 駐車場free
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