Soba making experience Michi-no-eki “Iidaka Station”
- “Soba making experience” at Michi-no-eki
- When I travel, I try to plan places where I can experience something. It can be something tangible as a souvenir, or it can be your first attempt. Anyway, I think the real pleasure of traveling is to participate.
So, for this trip, I decided to include the popular ``soba making experience'' at Michi-no-eki ``Iidaka Station''. You can sample soba noodles, and it's an experience that doubles as lunch. It also makes me feel motivated.
- The instructor is a Japanese chef with 45 years of experience in this field.
- ``Here we make Nihachi soba using soba grown in Mie Prefecture.It's delicious because we make it using the same steps as the artisans,'' says soba making instructor Muneo Kuze.
Originally a Japanese chef, he was involved in creating recipes for the menu served at the restaurant from the time Iidaka Station was launched. Even now, he supports the food of Iidaka Station by making soba noodles for restaurants every morning and teaching trial classes.
- You can't do it well just by looking at it
- The experience went without any problems because Mr. Kuze's teaching style was good.
(However, I couldn't quite match Mr. Kuze's smooth hands. This is probably due to my own clumsiness.)
- The difficult part was folding the kneaded dough. If you wait too long, the dough will sink and break, and if you rush it too much, it won't be evenly thin.
When it didn't go well and I said, ``Oh, okay,'' Mr. Kuze encouraged me and said, ``Yeah, it's okay,'' and even made a few adjustments, so that the folded state was like a professional (and self-congratulatory).
- A cheerful person who takes flattery seriously
- The biggest challenge is to place a board on top of the dough and cut it with a soba knife. This knife is quite heavy. Soba noodles have a wide width when cutting, so if you try to cut them with the intention of using a household knife, the pieces will end up coming down. I tried my best to cut according to the rhythm while being pointed out.
When someone says, "Oh, you're pretty good! You're as good as a professional," I have a bad habit of immediately becoming impressed.
When I said, ``I wonder if I can become a professional?'', she replied, ``Hmm...not quite yet!''
I learned that there was a gap deeper than the Mariana Trench between "professional" and "average professional."
- A desire to feed delicious food
- Afterwards, we sampled the freshly made Zaru Soba. This is absolutely delicious! !
Then the cameraman said something like, ``You're good at explaining things, and you're also good at setting things up (to make things work).''
What does that mean? That's what I thought, but it's definitely true.
- ``After all, I'm happy when people go home saying it's delicious.Also, even though it's an experience, I'm also happy when the noodles turn out to be thin and beautiful.When the noodles are thick like kishimen, the taste is completely different. I want you to enjoy it as much as possible.”
...It was thanks to Mr. Kuze's thoughts that it turned out so delicious. When I brought it home and fed it to my family, ah! ! It was gone in no time.
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``Miraku Kobo'' is located at the back of ``Iitakano Store'', and you can try your hand at making soba there. One bowl makes about 5 servings of soba, so the leftovers from the tasting can be used as souvenirs. Starts from 10:00 to 15:00 and takes about 1 hour (soba making only) or 2 hours (soba making and tasting). -
Kahadakyo kahadavalley Iitaka no Yu is a popular hot spring with 11 different bathtubs with great views. We have rental towels, free hair dryers, shampoo, and more, so you can use them as soon as you feel like it. -
"Restaurant Iitaka" is where Mr. Kuze, who serves as a soba experience instructor, makes soba himself. We offer a unique menu that uses plenty of local seasonal ingredients. -
Iitakano Store is where you can get freshly harvested vegetables, local specialties, and ekiben. Take home Iitaka's flavors such as ``Dengara'', ``Darayaki'', ``Tottokimochi'', and ``Tottokimiso'' as souvenirs.
Mr. Muneo Kuze, soba making instructor at “Ajiraku Kobo”
At Michi-no-eki "Iidaka Station," you can try your hand at making soba noodles using delicious buckwheat flour produced locally in Mie Prefecture. Reservations are preferred, but you can participate without a reservation or just one person, so please stop by and have a look. There are many people who come here to make soba for their families when they want to eat soba, and some who try it with their children.
◎1 bowl per person (makes about 5 people's worth of soba) 2,200 yen, plus 1,100 yen for each additional person (up to 3 people per bowl)
*Please make reservations for 4 pots or more at least one week in advance.
Michi-no-eki “Iidaka Station”
| address | 177 Miyamae, Iidakacho, MatsusakaCity |
|---|---|
| business hours | Please check the official website. |
| Closed days, etc. | Wednesday (Iitaka store is open), 12/31-1/1 *If Wednesday is a holiday, the next day |
| Access by car | From Ise Expressway "Matsusaka IC", take Prefectural Route 59, then National Route 166 towards Iinan/Sakurai for about 40 minutes. |
