Mar 16, 2025 19:00:00

Maneki no Eki Soba, a specialty of Himeji featuring Chinese noodles, is a one-of-a-kind dish that is different from ordinary station soba.

One of the specialties of Himeji, known for the World Heritage

Site Himeji Castle , is 'Eki Soba,' which was created in 1949. Its distinctive feature is that, while it uses Japanese-style dashi, the noodles are not regular soba but Chinese noodles. For this reason, those who are into it have praised it as 'the best eki soba in Japan,' but there are also many who are not completely hooked. I had the opportunity to visit Himeji on a day when the weather suddenly turned chilly after the warm days, so I warmed myself up with this 'Maneki no Eki Soba,' which I had never tried before in the area.

Eki Soba | Maneki Foods Co., Ltd.
https://www.maneki-co.com/products/ekisoba/

I arrived at JR Himeji Station.

The north exit is named 'Himeji Castle Exit', and when you exit, you can see the world heritage site and national treasure Himeji Castle in the distance. Himeji Castle is a 5-minute bus ride or a 20-minute walk away. Sanyo Electric Railway Sanyo Himeji Station is on the left side of the street.

Maneki no Eki Soba has stores in various places, and even just inside the ticket gates of JR Himeji Station, there are two stores that are almost facing each other: the 'Conventional Line Upbound Store' on the platform for trains heading to Kobe and Osaka, and the 'Conventional Line Downbound Store' on the platform for trains heading to Aioi and Okayama.

Its history began during the chaotic period after the war, when wheat flour was a controlled commodity, and it was originally a 'udon-style' noodle made from a mixture of konjac flour and buckwheat flour. However, because these noodles tended to get soggy and spoil quickly, they switched to Chinese noodles. In 1949, it took on the form of the 'eki soba' we know today.

To order, you buy a ticket from a vending machine either outside or inside the store. There are no numbered tickets, just a board on the counter where you place the tickets in order, and then you wait for your order to be called.

Since the aisles in this standing restaurant are narrow, it is best to take off your backpack before entering.

About three minutes after placing my ticket, my seat was called. It was 'Kitsune Eki Soba' (480 yen).

It features a slightly brownish, transparent broth and white, slightly angular Chinese noodles. When you eat it, the chewy, smooth, straight noodles are easy to slurp, and rather than 'slurping' they feel like they're 'slippery' down your stomach. The broth is salty, but not too strong, so it doesn't have a strong flavor and is easy to eat no matter how physically you're feeling.

The deep-fried tofu is the standard 'kitsune' style, soaked in a rich sweet dashi stock. The sweetness of the deep-fried tofu and the saltiness of the dashi stock do not blend together, which may be a bit odd for some people.

I was curious to see what other combinations would be like, but since it would be a hassle to sit down in a fast-paced restaurant, I decided to go to Banshu Umaimono Dokoro, a souvenir shop in Piole Himeji near the ticket gates of Himeji Station, and try ordering something different from the menu.

I ordered two, the standard 'Tempura Eki Soba' and the winter-only 'Setouchi Oyster Eki Soba.' The 'Oyster Eki Soba' takes a little time to prepare.

The menu we ordered was completed in about eight minutes. On the left is 'Tempura Eki Soba' (480 yen including tax), and on the right is 'Oyster Eki Soba' (680 yen including tax).

The tempura contains small shrimp. Unlike deep-fried foods, tempura does not have a distinctive flavor, and it absorbs the broth and takes on the flavor, so there is no sense of incongruity. Naturally, it does not clash with the noodles, so if you are trying Maneki no Ekisoba for the first time, the Tempura Ekisoba may be the best choice.

The 'Oyster Soba' has a very rich oyster flavor, as you can see from the cloudy white soup. It contains large oyster meat, which makes it more than just a topping and is a separate dish. Even if you have eaten Eki Soba before, this will give you a new taste of Eki Soba.

Maneki's Eki Soba can be found on conventional train platforms and at Piole Himeji, as well as in the underground shopping mall 'Grand Festa' in the Festa commercial facility on the north side of Himeji Station, on the first floor of Otemae Parking in the direction of Himeji Castle, at Yamada Store Shin-Aoyama in Hirohata Ward, Himeji City, and at Hanshin Umeda Main Store Snack Park. You can also eat Eki Soba at Maneki Dining, which is operated by Maneki, and the furthest place from Himeji is Tenri PA (upbound) on the Nishi-Meihan Expressway.