戸隠の人気蕎麦屋 : Soba no Mi

On the third day of my trip to Wasanpo, I wanted to try Togakushi soba for lunch.
There are so many soba restaurants to choose from, it was quite a dilemma.
I also wanted to visit Kagami Pond, which would offer stunning views if the weather was nice, so I decided on this soba shop.
According to reviews, some people were able to get in smoothly while others had to wait quite a while.
Since it was a weekday and not during the peak of autumn foliage, I thought it wouldn’t be too crowded.
As expected, the soba shops along the way were nearly empty.
Upon arrival, I found the parking lot, which could accommodate over 20 cars, was almost full!
I managed to find a spot and parked.
I quickly got out to write my name on the waiting list.
There were about 10 groups ahead of us.
The staff came out promptly to check.
The area inside the noren (curtain) felt like a spacious windbreak room, with benches and chairs for waiting.
There were also a few chairs outside, and those who signed in could wait around there.
Since the call bell could be heard in the parking lot, it was possible to wait in the car or nearby.
We were able to sit on the chairs in the windbreak room, so we decided to wait there.
As expected from a popular shop in Togakushi, there were many inbound tourists.
People behave differently depending on their country.
Japanese people tend to wait quietly.
After observing for about 30 minutes, we were finally called.
The interior of the restaurant was spacious and comfortable.
We were guided to the counter at the back, where a couple from another country who had just been called sat next to us.
They were talking loudly (◎_◎;), and although I couldn’t understand what they were saying, it was quite noisy.
Since I had already decided on my order, I placed it right away!
The staff brought us tea and chopsticks.
Each chopstick wrapper was different and cute.
After about 10 minutes, our food arrived.
- "Zaru Soba" for J’s order, priced at JPY 1000.
It came with green onions and wasabi, and the soba had a nice chewiness and aroma.
- "Soba Zanmai" for my order, priced at JPY 1700.
It included three types of dipping sauce: the regular soba sauce, tororo (grated yam), and walnut sauce.
The sauce in the tokkuri (sauce pitcher) was to be mixed with the tororo to achieve the desired thickness.
This dish had six bundles of soba.
The walnut sauce was rich, while the tororo was just average.
I think I still prefer the regular dipping sauce the most (laughs).
I quickly finished my meal and gave one bundle to J.
The soba-yu (soba water) was light and thin.
The atmosphere, service, and soba were all very good.
It would have been even better if the loud inbound tourists hadn’t been sitting next to us.
On our way back from Kagami Pond, we passed by the noisy inbound tourists again.
I thought a rough red car was coming, and it turned out to be them (◎_◎;).