Have you ever heard the terms soba culture and udon culture?
These terms represent regions in Japan that prefer soba or udon.
Generally, the east prefers soba, while the west prefers udon.
Okayama is known for its udon culture, but there is a soba restaurant with the concept of spreading the culture of soba in Kurashiki City, Okayama Prefecture, and contributing to the community.
Takenoya Nakasho uses not only Okayama-produced buckwheat flour but also carefully selected buckwheat flour from famous regions in Shinshu and Hokkaido.
They adjust the ratio of buckwheat flour according to the season and weather, and are particular about their homemade noodles that are “freshly made, freshly cut, and freshly boiled”.
At Takenoya Nakasho, you can enjoy several types of kake soba, seiro, and creative soba using tomato sauce and pesto sauce.
What led the dedicated soba restaurant, Takenoya, to create creative soba?
Let me introduce Takenoya Nakasho located in Kurashiki.
What is Takenoya Nakasho?
The exterior wall of Takenoya Nakasho, made of burnt cedar boards, is impressive.
The symbol tree, a dogwood, welcomes you.
The exterior surrounding the planting features a unique indigo color that is rarely seen elsewhere.
This indigo color is the image color of Takenoya.
At Takenoya Nakasho, Kurashiki denim in indigo color is used.
- Tablecloths
- Menus
- Staff aprons
Takenoya Nakasho opened in Shimosho, Kurashiki City, with the aim of contributing to the community and spreading soba culture.
Okayama is a region known for its udon culture.
With creative soba dishes like Italian-style, there is a desire to spark interest in soba among the younger generation.
What exactly is creative soba that can be enjoyed at Takenoya?
Additionally, the popular obanzai buffet and soba-based desserts are also intriguing.
Overview of Takenoya Nakasho
Takenoya Nakasho is a soba restaurant located in Shimosho, Kurashiki City, Okayama Prefecture.
The parking lot is spacious, accommodating over 100 cars, allowing for comfortable parking.
Inside the restaurant, there are 150 seats, including private rooms of various sizes, providing a relaxed atmosphere.
Immediately to the right upon entering the restaurant are bright table seats, and further inside are partitioned table seats, making it comfortable for families with children to enjoy their meals.
There are also nostalgic shelves with old black telephones and corners decorated in a modern Japanese style, showing attention to interior design.
Although the restaurant has a spacious interior, it is recommended to make a reservation on weekends as it tends to be busy.
At Takenoya Nakasho, you can choose your favorite soba, and it comes with an all-you-can-eat obanzai and a drink bar.
They use buckwheat flour from Hiruzen in Okayama Prefecture, as well as famous buckwheat flour from Hokkaido and Shinshu.
They change the buckwheat flour blend according to the season and weather, and are particular about freshly made, freshly cut, and freshly boiled soba.
Additionally, warm soba is slightly thicker, cold soba is slightly thinner, and Italian soba is flat noodles, adjusting the thickness of the soba to match each dish.
The obanzai, which emphasizes the “umami of the dashi,” is also popular.
The business hours of Takenoya Nakasho are lunch from 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM, and dinner from 5:30 PM to 9:00 PM.
Near the Bikan Historical Area in Kurashiki, there are sister stores, Trattoria Homemade Soba Takenoya and Takenoya Bettei.
I enjoyed the creative soba dishes I had been curious about, along with warm soba.
Avocado and Smoked Salmon Genovese Soba
Genovese refers to a sauce made with basil, garlic, pine nuts, and olive oil.
On top of the flat noodles of soba coated in green Genovese sauce, finely grated cheese is sprinkled.
Three pieces of smoked salmon are cut and rolled up cutely, accompanied by a slice of lemon.
The green of the Genovese sauce, the salmon pink, and the lemon yellow create a refreshing combination.
The aroma of the lightly sprinkled cheese whets the appetite.
When you pick up the noodles with chopsticks, the flat noodles, resembling fettuccine, are indeed soba.
The 1cm cubes of avocado hidden among the soba are a delightful surprise.
The flat soba coated in Genovese sauce has a pleasant texture, and the rich sauce, creamy avocado, and the smoky flavor and saltiness of the smoked salmon blend very well together.
Yellow Nira Egg Soba
On top of the warm soba, there is a generous serving of egg and yellow nira cut into about 5cm pieces from Okayama Prefecture.
Yellow nira is said to have originated in Okayama and has a history of cultivation since the Meiji era.
By blocking light during cultivation, the chlorophyll production is suppressed, resulting in a yellow color.
After harvesting, exposing it to sunlight gives it a vivid yellow color, making it not only visually appealing but also soft and sweet enough to be eaten raw.
The kake tsuyu (soup) is lightly sweetened, allowing you to taste the “umami of the dashi.”
The soba is cut slightly thicker, and the warm kake tsuyu clings nicely, spreading the aroma of the soba in your mouth.
The smooth and slippery soba, fluffy egg, and the crunchy texture of the yellow nira create a delightful combination.
The aroma of the soba, the umami of the dashi and egg, and the sweetness of the precious yellow nira spread in your mouth, creating a luxurious and gentle flavor of soba.
Obanzai Buffet
In a wooden box divided into six sections, you can put your own small plates and serve yourself your favorite obanzai in a buffet style.
The small plates and soba bowls are made of Hasami ware from Nagasaki.
The dishes are the same as those used at Trattoria Takenoya.
Hasami ware also includes items in Takenoya's signature indigo color.
The plates and teacups are made of pottery that fits comfortably in your hand, with charming patterns.
Choosing from designs like plum blossoms, plovers, and waves is a delightful experience.
Additionally, while each dish in the obanzai buffet corner comes with tongs, dedicated my tongs are also provided.
The obanzai features about 40 dishes that utilize seasonal ingredients.
I chose and enjoyed some of the dishes that caught my interest.
The dashi rolled omelet is a dish where you can truly taste the "umami of the dashi."
The salad with daikon and stem seaweed has a refreshing aroma of shiso that spreads in your mouth.
The nanban-zuke of baby horse mackerel features small mackerel fried whole, accompanied by aromatic vegetables like onions.
Each dish is carefully prepared and visually appealing.
It's easy to overindulge.
The most popular item in the store, Daigakuimo "Sweet potato with Kibi sugar" is indeed a flavor that lives up to its popularity.
The sweetness is just right, the rich flavor of the sweet potato, and the caramel coating is delicious.
You can't miss the sweets made with soba.
Soba flour bite-sized donuts, soba flour karinto, and soba tea pudding were served.
The soba flour bite-sized donuts have a toasty soba aroma that spreads.
The soba flour karinto is crunchy and the texture is enjoyable and hard to stop eating.
The soba tea pudding is pure white and jiggles, and when you put it in your mouth, its softness is enchanting.
Each of these sweets has a strong presence of soba.
The soba sweets may vary slightly from day to day.
While it's not always available, there are times when soba flour cream puffs make an appearance.
I interviewed the floor leader, Tamura Naoko, about the thoughts behind Takenoya Nakasho and the recommended Italian-inspired soba and obanzai.
Takenoya Nakasho Data
| Name | Takenoya Nakasho |
|---|---|
| Address | 473-3 Shimosho, Kurashiki City, Okayama Prefecture |
| Contact | 086-464-0101 |
| Parking | Available More than 100 parking spaces |
| Business Hours | Lunch: 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM Dinner: 5:30 PM to 9:00 PM |
| Regular Holiday | Wednesday |
| Payment Methods |
|
| Reservation Availability | Available Reservations are recommended on Saturdays and Sundays due to crowds |
| Seating | 150 seats, table seating |
| Smoking | Completely non-smoking (smoking area available outdoors) |
| Toilet | Western-style toilet |
| Childcare | Diaper changing sheet Children's obanzai Ages 3 to 6: 550 yen (tax included) Elementary school students: 880 yen (tax included) (No soba included) Children's chairs available |
| Website | Official website of Takenoya Nakasho |
