Yamagata Prefecture holds the honor of having the most ramen shops per 100,000 residents. It also boasts one of the best “soba roads” (areas with a high concentration of soba noodle shops) in Japan, making Yamagata a true noodle kingdom!
One of the Shonai area’s signature dishes, this ramen features a seafood-based soup that is both light and rich, combined with homemade noodles.
This ramen was voted the winner of the Nippon Local Ramen General Election.
Sakata Ramen has been certified by the Agency for Cultural Affairs as a “Hundred-Year Food”, a local specialty that has been passed down for many generations.
Among the numerous buckwheat-producing areas in Yamagata Prefecture, Tsuruoka City’s cultivation area is among the largest.
Asahi, Hoya, Tagawa, and Koesawa are the prime soba production areas in Tsuruoka, and the New Soba Festival, held every year from late October to November, attracts people from all over Japan who converge on the area in search of delicious new soba. One of the pleasures of eating soba is comparing the different characteristics of the soba from all the different regions.
In addition to Shonai’s ramen and soba, there is another famous type of noodle called “Mugikiri”.
Mugikiri is a thin-cut form of udon, noodles made from wheat. One theory states that mugikiri was already being eaten in the Shonai area during the Edo period (1603-1867).
It is characterized by its smooth feel and firm texture, and is especially enjoyed during the hot summer months. It is a local dish nurtured by the delicious water and climate of Shonai.