The soba noodles are thick and have a firm texture, making the dish quite filling. It may be a bit too much for women. When I first ordered the "natto soba," it came out like a mixed soba dish with natto, grated daikon, wasabi, chopped seaweed, green onions, pickled radish, and cucumber. I got hooked on it and sometimes crave it. It's a must-try for natto lovers. Mix it with the dipping sauce, enjoy, and finish with the soba broth.

I have been coming to this restaurant since it was in Yoshimichi Town. When I ordered the shrimp tempura zaru from a new waiter, I was served a tempura bowl set instead. I was surprised, but without saying anything, I ate it and it was delicious with a crispy texture. I was also very hungry, so I was completely satisfied. If it weren't for this mix-up, I probably wouldn't have tried it.

I had chilled zaru soba! The soba has a strong aroma, but it's hard, yet delicious! Next time, I'll try the warm soba! Thank you for the meal.

I had countryside buckwheat noodles and chestnut at this restaurant.

I ordered Toriseiro and was impressed by the hot tsukejiru. The bowl was also hot, and the soba was delicious. The work was done carefully, and the prices were reasonable.

Hokkaido, in the eastern part of the Okhotsk region, is the core city of Kitami City. It is a seaside town facing the Sea of Okhotsk, located next to Abashiri City to the west. This is a soba restaurant located in the "Ainonai" area on the outskirts of the town. It has been around for almost 30 years since its opening. I remember going there a few times with my grandfather when I was a child. At that time, there was a reputation that a delicious country-style soba shop serving hand-made soba had opened in Ainonai, and we used to go on a date to the hot springs in the area and then eat soba here on our way back. Thinking back on those memories, I visited the place after a long time. The exterior and interior of the shop have not changed much. The menu offers about 30 types of soba dishes, ranging from cold soba to warm soba, with interesting options like salmon chirashi soba and isoyaki soba. The soba here is thick country-style soba, so I decided to have a soba and rice set. The soba was thick, about 4-5mm in diameter, with a slightly sweet taste and a chewy texture. It reminded me of the old-fashioned hand-made soba that used to be popular. The tempura rice bowl set was also delicious, with crispy tempura and a flavorful sauce. The memories of eating here with my grandfather came flooding back, and I had a great time reminiscing about the past.

This soba restaurant has been in business for over 25 years. On my first visit, I tried the tempura rice bowl and soba set. The soba noodles were thick and flat, with a slightly soft and sticky texture, and a hint of sweetness. It may appeal more to those who don't eat soba often. The tempura rice bowl was decent, with a crispy texture, although the shrimp was a bit lacking. Overall, this restaurant seems to cater to those looking for a casual dining experience with reasonable prices, and it has a longstanding reputation for serving tasty handmade soba noodles.

This is a soba restaurant located near So-nai, towards Kitami. It is easy to find as it is located on the corner of a crossroads along the national highway. The menu offers a variety of basic soba dishes, as well as rice dishes and set menus, although they may be slightly pricey. The soba is delicious, and personally, I enjoyed the flavor of the yakiniku sauce. Delivery service is no longer available, and smoking is allowed in all seats. Non-smokers may want to consider the presence of other customers.

- Visit on 7/31 - Today, I will be visiting the Kitami site for a preliminary check and returning on the same day. Despite having an appointment at 1:00 PM, things went smoothly and I arrived in Ainonai, just before Kitami, at 11:30 AM. I decided to check out a soba restaurant that had caught my interest for a while... It was a place that the old man from Abashiri had criticized! With a sense of curiosity, I decided to give it a try (laughs). There were 4 groups of customers, totaling 9 people. I sat at the counter facing the other customers and ordered the "namako oroshi" from the menu. According to the menu, it seemed to be made with 100% buckwheat soba. It arrived in less than 10 minutes! The soba, full of hand-made texture, was topped with chopped seaweed. The condiments included chopped green onions, wasabi, and the soba dipping sauce was served separately. The side dish contained namako (slimy mushrooms) and grated radish, but the namako seemed like it was transferred directly from a can! The dipping sauce was generously poured over it (*_*; The soba soup was made with hot water from the kettle, and it was served from the beginning (-_-;) I started by eating just the soba. Hmm! Is this really 100% buckwheat soba? No firmness, no flavor, and just about average texture... (-_-;) I added 1/3 of the soba dipping sauce to the side dish with namako oroshi. There was no taste of the soba soup... I added more soba dipping sauce! It had a faint taste of the soba dipping sauce, but I couldn't add any more ((+_+)) I gave up after eating half of it (/_;) It was impossible to eat any more! I quickly paid and left. The evaluation by the old man from Abashiri ☆2.0... I can't believe it!

I visited this place once before and didn't have a good impression. It's located in the Aiai district along National Route 39. There were two groups of customers and four tables for four people each, with two tables for ten people at oval-shaped tables on the floor. I ordered the usual "mori" soba from the waiter. The menu here is quite limited, I noticed. I arrived at 11:40 am. The wallpaper is quite worn out, so I recommend replacing it (although it's none of my business). By the way, our company is a tombstone maker... The background music is a koto playing enka songs. There are ashtrays on the tables, so it's not non-smoking; I wish it was at least partially smoke-free. It took 12 minutes for the soba to arrive. The noodles are uneven in length and thickness, giving a handmade feel. The soba flavor is weak. The draining of the noodles is also poor, making them hard to pick up and eat. The broth has a slight dashi flavor but lacks depth and is overly sweet. This broth is one of the worst I've had. The portion of noodles is large but not tasty, making it quite a disappointment. The soba-yu is just hot water, as is. Adding hot water to a broth that isn't delicious doesn't make it taste any better. I had a soba that was bad in every aspect after a long time. That's all!

In September 2014, there is a high-class soba restaurant in Aiai, Kitami. The restaurant always seems busy, with lots of cars parked outside. Inside, there are raised seating areas with two 4-person tables and a large round table that can seat about 10 people. The menu offers traditional options, with 100% buckwheat soba as the main feature. Set menus include tempura bowls, grilled meat sets, and Yamagen bento boxes. I ordered the tempura set, which came with a mini soba. The soba noodles were quite thick, looking hand-made and appetizing, but lacked a strong texture and aroma. However, they had a nice smoothness. The tempura included shiso, two shrimp tempura, and onion tempura, all crispy and satisfying. With a side salad included, the set was reasonably priced at 1050 yen. Overall, the soba was good, but could have been even better with more texture and aroma.

Yamagen is a soba restaurant located in Ainan, Kitami City, along Route 39. Unlike typical eateries along national highways that offer a variety of dishes, Yamagen specializes in soba. Their menu mainly consists of soba sets, with a few rice dishes available as well. I ordered the Katsu-don for 890 yen, my wife ordered the Salmon Chirashi Soba for 950 yen, and my son had the Curry Nanban Seiro for 890 yen. The soba noodles were slightly thick and had a good texture, although the aroma was lacking. The dipping sauce for the soba was a bit salty with a hint of spiciness. The curry in the Curry Nanban Seiro was initially sweet and had a great flavor throughout. The Katsu-don had a generous amount of egg, but it was overcooked. Overall, we enjoyed our meal, but adjustments in the seasoning and cooking of the dishes could have made it even better.