It seems that a textile wholesaler built in the early Showa period has been renovated and is currently in operation. Upon entering, I was struck by the retro atmosphere, reminiscent of a Showa-era coffee shop, rather than a soba restaurant. The interior is well-maintained and actually quite pleasant. As for the soba menu, they offer two types: "Inaka Soba" for warm soba and "Sarashina Soba" for cold soba. I usually prefer "Inaka Soba," so I decided to try it with warm chicken broth. To my surprise, they also offer complimentary drinks like tea, coffee, and orange juice at the tables. The soba was served promptly, with a nice aroma and good texture, complemented well by the chicken and bonito broth. Overall, it was a delightful experience. I drove here this time, but walking from the Kitaichi Glass area or JR Minami-Otaru Station could also be enjoyable to soak in the city's atmosphere.

This time, I visited three restaurants within 500 meters of Minami-Otaru Station, and each one was unique and delicious. I was able to have three meals at 10:30 (breakfast), 11:30 (lunch), and 12:00 (dinner), making it a perfect food tour story. I hope this soba tour in Minami-Otaru can be a helpful reference for those planning to do a soba tour in Otaru. On a side note, there is also a Chinese restaurant called "Manchinkaku" in Minami-Otaru that is delicious, so be sure to try it out! Now, let's talk about "Iroha" restaurant. First of all, the menu cover had a wonderful phrase about the different shapes of noodles being a result of handiwork. I ordered the "Mori Inaka Soba" for 760 yen, which was pitch black as you can see in the photo. The noodles were thick and flat, providing a great chewy texture. The slightly sweet broth seemed to enhance the true flavor of the soba. It was surprising to see such a dark color, even after doing some research beforehand. I interpreted it as a way to fully enjoy the natural flavor of soba. They must be using a lot of black elements from the soba seeds. I wonder how their Sarashina soba is like? Thank you for the delicious meal, Minami-Otaru! I will definitely come back again.

I searched and found a lovely restaurant, so I decided to visit. The retro interior is soothing. I ordered duck soba, and although the recommendation was for tsukemen, I chose the country-style soba. The duck meat was rich and the broth had a perfect balance. I would love to go back again.

It's a late lunch in Otaru. Unable to find any unvisited soba restaurants in Sapporo, I ended up at a soba shop called "Iroha" located about a 5-minute walk from Minami-Otaru Station. The shop, which opened in January 2005, is a renovated wooden building that was previously used as the office of the former Hokkai Textile Company, giving it a sophisticated and elegant atmosphere. With around 5 counter seats, several table seats, and a small raised tatami area, the capacity is about 50-60 people. The menu includes soba, rice dishes, drinks, various desserts, and alcoholic beverages such as beer, sake, and shochu, as well as side dishes like edamame, karaage, and tebasaki. I ordered my recent favorite, "toji soba @930," choosing the "inaka" (countryside) soba. The dish was served in about 8 minutes and consisted of green onions, toji egg, and a side of grated radish. The inaka soba was flavorful with a slightly chewy texture, making it easy to eat. The toji egg was soft and fluffy, adding a nice touch to the dish. The staff, including 3 kitchen staff and a young waitress, provided excellent service with clear communication and attentive care. The overall atmosphere of the restaurant was so pleasant that it felt more like a café than a soba shop. It was a delightful dining experience.

For the past few days, I have been in Otaru for some errands and have been visiting the shops that caught my interest. Otaru is known for its old town charm, and there are many soba restaurants compared to its population. Some of these shops have been around since the Meiji era. The shop I visited doesn't seem to be too old itself, but the building has been nicely renovated from an old structure, giving it a lot of character. I visited around 12:30 on a weekday and the shop was about 80% full. It seems like many people were ordering tempura dishes in general. I was planning to order tempura soba as well, but it would take 30 minutes, so I opted for "Wakadori Nanban" instead. You can choose between "Inaka Soba" and "Sarashina Soba" (extra 100 yen). This time, I chose "Sarashina Soba". Wakadori Nanban (Sarashina Soba) ★★★☆ 3.5 868 yen + 100 yen The soba has a very smooth texture and a delicious flavor. The broth combines the flavor of young chicken and soy sauce, creating a tasty dish. However, I can't help but feel that it's a bit overpriced. Nearly 1,000 yen for this dish... If it were at least 100 yen cheaper, my rating would be higher. But the atmosphere is nice, so it would be a pleasant experience to bring your mother or someone else along. Thank you for the meal.

I went to Shikisai first on this day, but it was temporarily closed, so I wandered around and stumbled upon this shop. I randomly decided to enter the shop, and the atmosphere inside was good. I had a feeling it was going to be good. I'm not sure if it's just for now, but there were orange juice, coffee, and tea available as free drinks for unlimited refills. How nice! I ordered the chilled inaka soba and a mini toriten-don. I prefer inaka soba and I was really hungry, so the chilled inaka soba tasted really delicious. But what was even more delicious was the mini toriten-don. Despite being called mini, it had a decent portion size, and the way it was fried was very good and very tasty. Customers were constantly coming in, so it seems like this shop is loved by locals. I will be graduating from Otaru soon after studying there for 4 years (2 years online). I regret not eating more meals in Otaru every day... If I have the chance, I will wander around Minami Otaru and Hanazono area and have a meal!

February 2022. Second visit. I have a habit of craving for tempura and egg over soba noodles during winter, so I went to a nearby soba restaurant called "Iroha" since the one I originally planned to visit was closed. It's my second visit after a long 10 years (^^;) Looking at the menu, they didn't have tempura and egg over soba, but they had egg over soba and tempura soba, so I asked if they could make it for me, and to my relief, they said, "Sure, we can do that!" This restaurant offers a self-service drink station with unlimited orange juice, coffee, and tea. I ordered the Tempura and Egg over Soba with Soba noodles from the "Tanuki" or "Sara" options (an additional 100 yen for Sara). The dish arrived in about 15-20 minutes, with no other customers in sight. The tempura consisted of two large prawns, thick squid, shiitake mushrooms, and large shiso leaves, all topped with egg. The tempura was soaked in sauce, making it soft, which I personally like. The egg topping could have been a bit smoother, but the tempura's presence was strong, so maybe a perfect egg topping wasn't necessary. As for the soba noodles, they were sharp and had a distinct outline, not like the typical soba noodles you find in town soba shops. The broth was also sharp and lacked the rustic taste. In Otaru, the typical price for Tempura and Egg over soba is around 900 yen, but here, at 1,890 yen, it might be the highest in the city despite not being on the menu and having a unique tempura topping. I mentioned this in my previous visit, but if the price includes the drink service, I think they should consider removing it and lowering the prices to make it more affordable and increase the number of visits.

The building has a very atmospheric feel, and I had the Nameko Sansai Soba (Soba noodles with mushrooms and mountain vegetables) for 1000 yen. The old air conditioner on the wall is not working, but there is a fan stirring warm air around. Free drinks (hot coffee, tea, orange juice) are provided, but only the orange juice is cold. The Nameko Soba noodles were white and slightly thin. Nothing particularly stands out about the food, but the building is nice! This seems like a place I would want to visit from autumn to spring. The soba noodles at the neighboring table seemed hearty and satisfying. I will definitely come back again.笑

Today I was in the mood for soba noodles. I went to about 4 soba restaurants but all of them had full parking lots and I couldn't find a spot to park. Otaru seems to have popular soba restaurants everywhere. Finally, I found this place on my 5th try. It was quite crowded but I was able to sit at the counter. There were transparent dividers between the seats for safety measures. I ordered the cold moretsu soba with a soft-boiled egg on top (990 yen) and also the mini chicken tempura rice bowl which was listed as a hidden popular menu item (530 yen). They accepted payment with PayPay. The wait time was quite long, but it couldn't be helped due to the crowd. The cold moretsu soba had a soft-boiled egg on top, which was a first for me. But personally, I think it would have been better without it. The soba noodles left a slightly blurry impression and I was a bit dissatisfied. The mini chicken tempura rice bowl, on the other hand, was crispy and delicious. It was a perfect portion when paired with the soba noodles. Thank you for the meal. I will definitely come back again.

I visited this soba restaurant in March 2020, guided by a local. Typically, when visiting a soba restaurant for the first time, I try their "mori" (soba noodles without toppings) to get a sense of the quality. However, this time, I was accompanied by a regular customer who immediately ordered "duck, warm, moreka" without asking for my preference. The building was renovated from a structure built in the early Showa period, adding to the charm of Otaru, a town that flourished as a coal and iron port and a northern commercial hub. The dish I had was the "Duck Nanban Soba" for 1,110 yen. The noodles were handmade in the "sara" style, with the option to choose "inaka" style as well, although it was not recommended. The duck was surprisingly light and not too fatty, with the meat slightly firm. The broth was medium in flavor without any standout elements. They also offered a drink service with a self-serve drink bar. Overall, it's a nice place to stop by while exploring South Otaru.

Mori Inaka Soba - 565 yen (tax included 610 yen) Located near Minami-Otaru Station, this nostalgic soba restaurant is housed in a building with a retro atmosphere. The interior resembles a Western-style restaurant. Drinks are self-service! The soba noodles are thick and have a strong chewy texture that can be tiring on the jaw. They pair well with the spicy soba dipping sauce. The soba noodles were delicious and the overall experience was enjoyable.

I visited around 3 o'clock. They had two types of soba, Inaka soba and Sarashina soba, but it seemed that the Inaka soba was sold out that day. I prefer Sarashina soba, so I was glad they had it. The interior of the restaurant had a retro atmosphere, not like a typical soba restaurant! I ordered the duck soba, while my friend ordered the cold dipping noodles. They had a variety of dishes to choose from. I really love Sarashina soba! Lately, I enjoy finding restaurants where I can not only enjoy the taste but also the atmosphere and the dishes.

I visited during Golden Week and had lunch at H17. The best part about lunch is that drinks like orange juice, hot coffee, and tea are all-you-can-drink. It was a hot day, but I was in the mood for some fried food, so I chose the cold soba with "tempura" topping. You can choose between inaka (countryside) and sarashina (more refined) soba, and I went with sarashina. I was excited to try the "new style tempura" that they offer. When it arrived, it looked like a regular tempura dish, but each piece was separate. There were shrimp, squid, vegetables all put together like a puzzle. The flavor of the aonori seaweed mixed into the batter was amazing. I would love to have this in a bowl too.

I usually order duck soba at any soba restaurant, but this time I tried the quail soba for the third time. It was delicious.

Curry Soba (Country Buckwheat Noodles) - Large serving for 1030 yen including tax. During lunchtime, drinks are also served. The country soba has a satisfying taste with a strong buckwheat flavor.