Kigashimi Soba Restaurant in Shizuoka City is known and loved by many for its soba noodles.
Kigashimi Soba Restaurant is located in the Utsunoya area, which has a long history dating back to the Edo period (1603-1868), and has an exterior that blends in with the surrounding natural landscape.
The soba menu focuses on juwari soba, a type of buckwheat noodle with a rich flavor that attracts visitors to the restaurant.
Location and Atmosphere of Kigashimi Soba Restaurant
Kigashimi Soba Restaurant is located in the historic village of Utsunoya, Suruga-ku, Shizuoka City.
This area once prospered as an important post town on the 53rd leg of the Tokaido Highway, and even today it retains strong traces of that era.
For visitors, it is a place where they can forget about time, enjoying the ancient Japanese townscape and the beauty of nature at the same time.
The store's design reflects traditional Japanese architectural beauty, with a warm, woody interior.
The ceiling is high and open, yet decorated with a sense of nostalgia.
The restaurant also offers a view of the natural landscape of Utsunodani, and the beauty of the four seasons will soothe your soul.
The dining space is harmoniously blended with comfortable lighting and the warmth of wood, providing a quiet and relaxed atmosphere in which to savor high quality soba noodles.
Soba Restaurant Kigami Menu Features
The menu at Kigashimi Soba Restaurant is notable for its quality and ingenuity.
The highlight of the restaurant is the handmade, time-consuming production of juwari soba, a type of buckwheat noodle.
Juwari soba is buckwheat noodles made with 1001 TP3T buckwheat flour, which has a more unique flavor and texture than regular soba.
Kigashimi beats this juwari soba very thinly to create a delicate flavor.
This fine-rolling technique is a testament to the high level of craftsmanship and gives the eater a deep sense of satisfaction.
The limited menu, which changes seasonally, is creative cuisine that makes the most of local Shizuoka ingredients.
For example, you can enjoy a spring menu featuring fresh local wild vegetables, or cool, chilled soba noodles in the summer, and other dishes that emphasize the seasons.
These menus reflect the local food culture and offer flavors unique to Shizuoka.
Furthermore, Kigami offers not only soba noodles but also a wide variety of side dishes.
A la carte dishes such as homemade cured ham and seasonal tempura are available to pair with soba, allowing diners to enjoy a variety of tastes not only with soba but also throughout the entire meal.
These menus provide visitors with fresh seasonal flavors and a taste of the local food culture, offering a deeper culinary experience than just a soba noodle restaurant.
Kigashimi's signature dish: juwari soba
Kigashimi's signature dish, juwari soba (buckwheat noodles), is especially appreciated by soba lovers.
The most important feature of this jyuwari soba is that only carefully selected, high-quality buckwheat flour is used.
While ordinary soba noodles are mixed with wheat flour to adjust the texture, Jyuwari soba is made only with buckwheat flour, which gives it a stronger, more natural flavor.
Kigashimi is particular about the quality of its buckwheat flour, providing soba that is flavorful, yet soft and smooth on the palate and down the throat.
The way the soba is made is also unique. The soba is made finer than usual to achieve a delicate texture.
This thin-textured technique enhances the flavor of the soba noodles and also makes them more easily intertwined with the tsuyu (sauce).
Another appeal of juwari soba is its natural sweetness and rich aroma.
Due to the buckwheat flour 100%, the slight sweetness characteristic of buckwheat and its savory aroma stand out.
This flavor goes well with soba-tsuyu, a simple yet deeply satisfying soba sauce.
Thus, Kigashimi Soba Restaurant's Jyuwari Soba excels in three aspects: the quality of the ingredients, the production method, and the taste, providing visitors with a memorable soba experience.
Soba lovers as well as those experiencing soba for the first time will be pleasantly surprised by its deep flavor and delicate texture.
Maitake Tempura is a must try!
Soba Restaurant Kigashimi is also unique in its soba side dishes, with the most popular being tempura made from maitake mushrooms grown in Oze.
This maitake tempura is crispy and savory on the outside, while the inside has a soft texture and juicy flavor unique to maitake.
Recommended dish: maitake mushroom tempura seiro
That being said, I especially recommend the "Maitake Ten Seiro" at Soba Restaurant Kigashimi.
The star of the show is maitake tempura, made with fresh maitake mushrooms from Oze and carefully fried with expert skill to bring out their light texture and rich aroma.
The maitake's natural sweetness and delicate texture blend perfectly with the crispy outer skin of the tempura.
The maitake tempura is accompanied by Kigami's signature smooth, firm, juwari soba (buckwheat noodles).
The thinly pounded soba noodles have a smooth texture and a unique flavor.
The combination of soba and maitake tempura offers a contrast of textures and a harmony of flavors, providing a twice-delicious experience in one dish.
In particular, soaking maitake tempura in soba-tsuyu before eating will further deepen the flavor of the maitake and make it an even more outstanding accompaniment to soba.
Maitake Ten Seiro" offers a new way to enjoy soba with its unique taste and texture, and is loved by a wide range of customers, from first-time visitors to regulars.
The harmony of maitake mushroom tempura grown here in the rich natural environment of Utsunoya and traditional jyuwari soba (buckwheat noodles) is a unique Shizuoka flavor that can only be enjoyed at Kisigami.
Best time and access for visiting Kigami
Kisigami is especially crowded during lunch hours.
When visiting, we also recommend that you do so immediately after opening time or later in the day on weekdays.
There are 5-6 parking spaces in front of the store, but they are quite small, so if you are coming in a large car, you will need to be creative when getting in and out of the car when it is full.
If you are in the Uzunoya area and would like to relax and enjoy a good cup of coffee, please visit after 1:00 p.m.
During the earlier hours, priority is given to those who eat soba, so as not to disturb the aroma.
Since it was early in the day when we visited this time, we would like to move the time to have coffee with Japanese sweets next time.
summary
Kigashimi Soba Restaurant in Shizuoka City is widely favored by locals and tourists alike for its unique flavor and historic atmosphere.
When you visit Shizuoka City, be sure to stop by and experience authentic Shizuoka soba.
