Experience Making Soba Noodles in Izushi (Like Little Kyoto), Hyogo Prefecture

More than one million tourists per year visit Izushi for sightseeing, looking around “castle town streets” and eating “Izushi Plate Soba”. The main attraction of Izushi is soba noodles served on small plates of Izushi white porcelain. Once you work up an appetite, Izushi is home to some 50 soba noodle shops offering a local take on buckwheat noodles known as “Izushi Plate Soba”. A single portion of noodles is served on five small plates, and ravenous visitors will be awarded a prize if they can make their way through 20 plates—the height of a chopstick. If you’re looking to wet your whistle, be sure to sample Sasazuru sake, available for purchase at a local brewery that once catered to the lord of the castle. You can also experience making soba noodles at a workshop. You will be able to taste soba noodles you have just made by hand.

Slip back in time as you stroll through the picturesque streetscape of Izushi dressed in a kimono (traditional clothing). This once-thriving castle town retains the atmosphere of old Japan, when samurai and wealthy merchants roamed the town. Admire stunning and historic architecture from the Edo Period (1603-1867) which has been immaculately preserved throughout the centuries. It’s no wonder Izushi has been designated by the Japanese government as a National Important Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings. Home to the oldest currently operating kabuki theater in the Kansai area, an iconic 19th-century clock tower, and beautiful castle ruins, this compact town has plenty to catch your eye and engage your sense of historical wonder.