The road station in this wonderfully humorous village, known as the smallest village in Hokkaido, is full of self-deprecating jokes in their guidebook. Despite being the smallest village in Hokkaido, it attracts long lines during the Bon holidays. Not only do people line up to eat inside, but many also line up to purchase dried noodle soba sticks, showcasing how beloved and delicious their food is even before trying it. It took about 30 minutes from lining up to ordering and being seated. But all the effort of waiting in line disappears once you see this amazing visual and smell the aroma of the soba. The more you chew, the more delicious it gets. And the fact that you can enjoy such tasty soba for only 500-600 yen is astonishing! It's not an easy place to get to, but it's definitely worth the visit. I want to go back again!

The renowned station soba shop at Otoineppu Station in Hokkaido, which was once considered the best in Japan, has unfortunately closed down. However, I recently had the opportunity to see photos of the shop owner from its heyday, as well as the remaining store inside the station building. The soba served there was made from Otoineppu-grown buckwheat, ground with its husk intact, resulting in a strikingly black soba. While it is now available at a few select shops nationwide, the manufacturer will cease production in August 2022. I visited the shop in June and ordered the tempura soba, which was a recreation of the menu items that were once served at the station. The tempura was more about enjoying the texture of the fried batter rather than the ingredients themselves. The soba noodles were thick and jet black, cooked slightly softer than expected but still enjoyable. The dark, Kanto-style broth complemented the soba well. The impact of this station soba was truly unique. I hope someone will take over the shop after September, as it is a valuable tourism resource for Otoineppu. They were also selling fresh soba on-site, although I couldn't bring any back due to my travel schedule. PS: It seems that Otoineppu Station soba made a comeback on August 20 and 21, so don't miss the chance to try it if you're in the area!

I visited Hatayama Seimenjo, which makes delicious black soba, as I heard they will be closing down in August this year. I had planned to buy 10, but ended up getting 5 all for myself! I pretended to be with someone else to avoid any judgment. When the soba shop closes, it will be a loss for the town. I hope they can find a way to keep it running, maybe through some kind of public management. If the soba shop in Otoikono loses, I won't have a reason to visit anymore.

Due to the aging of the producers, the production of Otoikofu Soba is coming to an end. I came here to eat as there is only a short period left to enjoy it. They also sell it here, and there was a line since the morning. The dining area itself was not crowded, and I was able to enjoy my meal. Otoikofu Soba has a black appearance and a thick, firm texture. It's sad to think that there is only a little time left to eat it.

Arrived at Onibushifu since summer 20 years ago!! The road north before Christmas is starting to snow heavily, isn't it? So, I decided to try the black Onibushifu soba at Tenhokuryu in the roadside station! I ordered the mountain vegetable soba, and it arrived in about 7 minutes! Oh, it's not completely black anymore, haha. The taste, well, it seems like I could taste the Onibushifu flavor from last time. Did you know that Onibushifu is the smallest village in Hokkaido?

I went here because Jyobokuken was closed. It's a simple roadside station with a soba and ramen shop. The lady at the counter said Jyobokuken won't reopen for a while. She also mentioned that they get their soba from the same supplier as Jyobokuken. I decided to try their tempura and meat soba. The first thing I noticed was that both dishes were lukewarm. The soba was too soft, like it had been reheated too much. The lukewarm broth didn't help. The tempura was like the crackers you find in instant noodles, and the pork in the meat soba seemed plain boiled. Overall, the dishes seemed overpriced for the quality. It felt like they were relying too much on their reputation. I decided to skip the ramen I planned to have at 11 and move on. I hope Jyobokuken reopens soon and serves better quality food. (2020.10.31)

I visited Michi-no-Eki Otoineppu to collect stamps for a stamp rally. Unfortunately, I arrived late and the restaurant was already closed, so I missed out on trying their famous black soba noodles. Feeling a bit disappointed, I found out that they were selling raw soba noodles at the shop, which can last for a while. I bought some and cooked them at home. While boiling, they looked like regular soba noodles at first, but gradually turned black. After cooking and rinsing them with water, they turned completely black! The medium-thick noodles had a slightly different aroma compared to regular soba, with a chewy texture and a strong buckwheat flavor. I tried them plain first and then made both tanuki soba and grated natto soba, both of which were delicious! I hope to try their soba noodles at the restaurant next time. Thank you, Hatayama Seimen! :)

I have accomplished the main goal of my trip to northern Japan, and now I am just going with the flow. This time, it's mostly spontaneous (laughs). Oh, I also visited the Bikky Sazawa Memorial Hall. For more details, check the website. From the station where the memorial hall is located, I returned to the "town" of Oshishima in Otoineppu Village. Since it's a village, should I write "town"? First, I stopped by the roadside station. The restaurant was already sold out, including the famous black soba that I wanted to try (just kidding). They were selling another specialty, Otoineppu yokan, in the shop. I bought three small ones because I couldn't finish a big one. I meant to take a picture of the inside, but I accidentally deleted it while organizing my photos. I must have taken too many pictures and deleted it by mistake. The yokan was delicious. So, this post serves as a "memo" of my experience! Thank you for the meal.

Tonishifu Soba is probably the blackest soba in Japan. It has a strong texture and needs to be shaken several times to loosen it up, but my parents really like it so we often buy it. Personally, I prefer dried noodles over fresh soba, and that impression stuck with me. When I went to the Tonishifu Michi-no-Eki to buy dried noodles, I found that the dedicated souvenir corner was gone. I managed to find a small souvenir corner in the dining area, but the dried noodles were sold out. They had fresh black soba, though. Instead, I bought the Hatsumegura Okoshi, which is made with soba from Tonishifu Village, and various types of Tonishifu yokan. The Hatsumegura Okoshi is not made with rural soba, but with about a 5:5 ratio of white soba. I wish it had a bit more soba in it, but it was delicious. The Tonishifu yokan was made with real anko and had a moderate sweetness, making it easy to eat. Despite the reduced scale, the Michi-no-Eki has good souvenirs, so I hope they will continue to sell souvenirs diligently.

Located in Otoshibe Village, Hokkaido, this michi-no-eki (roadside station) offers both soba and ramen in its restaurant. The specialty here is the Otoshibe soba, which is known for its black color due to using the outer shell of the buckwheat grain. I ordered the meat soba, and it was indeed black in color with a unique flavor and strong texture. The broth was rich and flavorful, possibly made with dark soy sauce. The overall presentation emphasized the black theme. Eating this black soba in Otoshibe, the northern limit of soba production, was delicious and warming. Thank you for the meal.

I went in planning to eat soba, but it turned out to be a ramen shop? Soba was only available as a souvenir? Since I was hungry, I ended up eating soy sauce ramen. If you plan to go, it's better to double check beforehand.

"Kashiwa soba. The kashiwa is moist and delicious."

It was delicious.

The soba noodles were black but the broth was too hot. It was almost room temperature and the tempura was not crispy. I went to this restaurant as my second choice after another one, but I will not be going back.