Visitors to Japan are almost certain to have encountered soba in their travels. These brownish looking noodles made from buckwheat flour are an eternal favourite with Japanese, and are traditionally eaten on New Years Eve to ensure long life. Soba is the claim to fame of the town of Yamato, located at the foot of Mount Iide in northern Aizu, which worked for ten years to establish itself as one of the top soba making districts in Japan.
The secret to Yamato's high quality soba is the town's location. The buckwheat plants used for soba-making in the town are all grown locally, and as they only take two months to grow to maturity, planting traditionally occurred twice a year, with harvests in summer and autumn. Currently, however, buckwheat is only harvested in the town in autumn. These plants can be grown just about anywhere, and for this reason, the noodles were an important staple food in the past, replacing rice as the fundamental diet in areas where land was not very fertile. However, the plants grow best at an altitude of 400 - 500 metres above sea level, in places such as Yamato, where temperature changes throughout the day are extreme. Pure water is also a necessity for good soba, and with Yamato's originating from the heights of Mount Iide, the ingredients for good quality are all present.
Standing in the centre of the town is the "Mount Iide and Soba Centre", which was built in 1994 to promote the town's two major points of interest. The centre includes a soba museum, displays about the town's history and Mount Iide and a large kitchen, where soba-making courses are offered daily, under the guidance of Yoko Nagashima, a veteran in the art. Visits from school groups, community groups, and tourists are common, and under the watchful eye of Mrs Nagashima, all who pass through can learn the skills necessary to make tasty noodles. While soba is usually made from buckwheat flour with wheat flour or egg white added as a thickener, the noodles made in the soba centre use buckwheat flour only, giving them a distinctive, delicious flavour.
When she is not busy with classes, Mrs Nagashima's time is spent making soba to be sold at the centre, which does a roaring business. Phone and fax orders are welcomed, and the centre sends the refrigerated fresh soba to customers throughout the country. Unlike the dried soba noodles that can be bought at the supermarket, fresh noodles have a far superior taste, but must be eaten the day they are made. While she currently averages five to six kilogrammes of soba a day, Mrs Nagashima was making up to thirty kilogrammes a day when she was stationed at the centre's restaurant, which offers a variety of soba dishes.
The Mount Iide and Soba Centre is open all year round, between 9:00am and 4:30pm from Tuesday to Sunday. Entrance is 500 yen for adults and 300 yen for students, and the soba-making course costs an additional 2000 yen, with each participant making four servings. Bookings for the soba-making or orders for fresh soba can be made on phone/fax 0241-38-3000.