Shinshu Soba, Oyaki, and Horse Meat: 11 Popular Restaurants to Enjoy Nagano Gourmet

Teuchi Soba Sobashin is a handmade soba restaurant in Nagano City, Nagano Prefecture. It has become a popular stop for people visiting Shinshu Shinmachi.
The restaurant uses a traditional handmade method, grinding whole buckwheat seeds sourced from contracted farms in Shinshu with a stone mill and shaping the dough by hand on a kneading board.
Its signature menu item is Futouchi Inaka Soba, known for its thick noodles and satisfying bite.

Shinshu Togakushi Sobanomi is a soba restaurant near Togakushi Chusha in Nagano City, Nagano Prefecture.
It uses whole buckwheat sourced from contracted farmers in Togakushi and grinds it fresh every morning with a stone mill before serving.
There are six kinds of cold soba, including zaru soba, ume oroshi soba, and Soba Zanmai. Among them, Soba Zanmai is the signature menu item.
You can compare three types of dipping sauce: Nagano-grown oni walnut sauce, grated Japanese yam, and regular dipping sauce.

Teuchi Soba Fukuden is located in Nagawa, Matsumoto City, Nagano Prefecture, at an elevation of Approx. 1,200 meters.
Nagawa has large temperature differences between day and night, helping produce high-quality buckwheat flour, and this restaurant is known as one of the area’s notable handmade soba spots.
Its signature menu item is Toji Soba, a local dish from Nagawa. Rice porridge made with the broth left at the end is also popular.
Classic menu items such as zaru soba, mori soba, and tempura soba are also available, and the restaurant is known as a place where you can enjoy soba’s natural taste and aroma.

This highly popular restaurant in front of Togakushi Shrine Chusha almost always has a line. Its top recommendation is zaru soba, which lets you simply enjoy the delicious flavor of soba.
It is served in Togakushi’s traditional bocchi-mori style, with bite-sized portions of soba arranged in a hoof shape on a round bamboo tray.
Another feature is that it is plated in five bundles, inspired by the five Togakushi shrines.

Usu-yaki Cafe Mame Mame is one of the few places where you can try usu-yaki, a variety of Shinshu’s local food oyaki.
Mame Mame’s usu-yaki comes with three types of dough: 100% Nagano-grown wheat flour, dough containing 50% buckwheat flour from Nagawa in Matsumoto, and 100% Nagano-grown rice flour.
Another appeal is being able to enjoy different flavors depending on the season and the day.

Sauce katsudon is a beloved local gourmet dish from Komagane, Nagano Prefecture.
Meijitei has its main branch in Komagane City and operates five restaurants within the prefecture.
Its signature dish is, of course, sauce katsudon.
The deciding factor in its flavor is the original sauce, created through years of effort by artisans while listening to customer feedback.

A sauce katsudon specialty restaurant founded in 1928, around the time sauce katsudon first appeared.
Using the secret original sauce passed down from the previous generations, the third-generation owner prepares each bowl with care.
The sweet and savory sauce leaves a strong impression.
Over the years, it has gained many fans who travel from far away to visit.

Sakuraniku Senmonten Sakurasaku is a specialty restaurant serving sakuraniku, or horse meat. In the Shinshu Suwa area, horse meat has long been part of the local food culture.
For basashi, it serves a variety of cuts such as marbled meat, loin, fillet, and short rib. One of its charms is being able to enjoy the differences in flavor and texture.
Popular set meals include the Basashi Zanmai Set Meal, Sakurasaku Gozen, Horse Meat Cutlet Set Meal, and Sakura Don.

Shinmiyoshi Matsumoto Main Branch is a specialty horse meat restaurant founded in 1899.
While carrying on the flavors of the traditional Japanese restaurant Sankichi from previous generations, it continues to explore new possibilities for horse meat cuisine.
Its signature menu item is the Sakura Sashimi Special Platter.
It also serves sakura nabe, one of Matsumoto’s representative local dishes, seasoned with the traditional flavoring passed down since its days as a ryotei restaurant.

This ramen restaurant traces its roots to Harupin, founded at Kamisuwa Station in 1974. Its menu centers on miso ramen.
The soup is made with a unique blend of Suwa Rokugura miso and broth from seafood, pork bones, and chicken. The gentle taste of white miso is combined with the richness of red miso, creating a complex umami flavor.
You can also enjoy changes in flavor depending on when you mix in the aged sauce.

This restaurant serves Shinshu miso ramen created by a miso brewery with over 350 years of history, known for the Yamabuki Miso brand.
The ramen mainly comes in two varieties: Yamabuki Red and Yamabuki White. Each one makes the most of the flavor of the miso used, offering a rich, full-bodied, yet refreshing taste.