Yamato-an

Yamato-an is the only soba restaurant on Mount Yoshino, famous for its spectacular cherry blossoms in spring. The owner, a local who trained at a renowned soba shop in Nagano Prefecture—home to one of Japan's three famous sobas—hand-kneads and hand-cuts the soba using the pristine waters of Mount Yoshino.

The soba, ground from buckwheat grown in Yatsugatake, Nagano, is noted for its exceptional flavor. The dipping sauce, a perfect match for the soba, is made from carefully selected bonito and mackerel flakes and Hidaka kelp, combined with domestic round soy sauce, genuine mirin, and raw sugar. Fresh wasabi from Azumino, Nagano, adds a sharp accent to the flavors. The menu includes classic dishes like zaru soba and kake soba, as well as special seasonal offerings such as new tea soba kneaded with local tea, plum soba with homemade plums, and sudachi soba topped with sudachi.

The restaurant's charm is enhanced by its setting in an old traditional house, adding to the dining experience.