Saitama Food Guide: Fukaya Negi, Soka Senbei & Musashino Udon

Although it sits in the Tokyo metropolitan area, Saitama has nurtured abundant farm produce and a food culture all its own, making it a treasure house of local specialities known to those in the know. Crisp, fragrant Soka senbei; sweet, melting Fukaya negi; and hiyashiru udon, the local dish you want in summer — rustic yet deeply flavourful specialities are rooted all over the prefecture. Against a history of active wheat cultivation, a culture of noodles and rice crackers blossomed here. A journey in search of flavours still loved by locals is full of new discoveries.

Fukaya Negi, the Star of Saitama's Branded Vegetables

No discussion of Saitama food is complete without Fukaya negi, the branded vegetable of Fukaya City that is famous throughout Japan. Grown in the fertile soil brought by the Tone River and in a climate with a large difference between day and night temperatures, Fukaya negi are thick and tender, and when heated their melting sweetness comes to the fore. In hotpots, grilled whole, or in sukiyaki, that rich sweetness can be enjoyed to the full. Coming into season in winter, Fukaya negi is a true representative of the winter flavours Saitama is proud of.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries' "Our Local Cuisine" project, Saitama Prefecture's negi production is the second largest in Japan at 50,600 tonnes (MAFF, Crop Statistics (Vegetables), 2020 crop year), and its planted area is the largest in the country, making negi one of Saitama's leading local products. Within the prefecture the roles are divided by district: summer negi are grown in Koshigaya, Yoshikawa and Misato in the south-east, while winter negi are grown in Fukaya.

In Fukaya, negi are used in all kinds of dishes — negiyaki, which lets you taste the flavour of the onion itself, as well as kakiage fritters, shira-ae and nanban-zuke. The one dish that is indispensable at celebrations is neginuta: softly steamed negi dressed in a sauce of ground sesame combined with miso, sugar and vinegar. The melting texture of the intensely sweet winter negi goes beautifully with the vinegared miso. At celebratory gatherings in the past, the appearance of neginuta was said to be the signal that "the party will soon be over." Fukaya City has designated 23 November as "Fukaya Negirai Day," when events are held at which people present bundles of negi — instead of bouquets of flowers — to those they are grateful to.

Fragrant Soka Senbei and Hiyashiru Udon

Another speciality that symbolises Saitama's food culture is Soka senbei. According to Soka City's official website, only crackers that meet the following conditions may use the regional collective trademark "Soka Senbei": they must be made in Soka, Yashio, Kawaguchi, Koshigaya or Hatogaya; made from good-quality non-glutinous rice harvested in Kanto and neighbouring prefectures; produced under the supervision of a craftsman with more than ten years' experience; and baked in moulds using pressing tiles (oshigawara), or by a hard-baking method that incorporates that technique. Their appeal lies in the fragrant aroma of soy sauce and the crisp texture. Some shops offer hand-grilling experiences, which are popular with visitors. In Saitama, where wheat cultivation once flourished, people also enjoy hiyashiru udon, a summer local dish in which udon is eaten with a broth made by grinding sesame, miso and shiso in a mortar. Handed down in Kawajima Town, the Iruma area and the north of the prefecture, it is also called "suttate" because the ingredients are ground and eaten straight away. It is a refreshing local flavour for the hot season.

Niboto: Another Fukaya Speciality

In Saitama, where a great deal of wheat was grown as a second crop after rice, many different kinds of udon were born, district by district. One of them is niboto, eaten mainly in and around Fukaya City. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries' "Our Local Cuisine" project, the same dish has been called "himokawa" or "uchiire" in Iruma and Hiki counties, and "okkirikomi" in the Chichibu area.

What they all share is the method: seasonal vegetables are simmered in a broth, and wide flat noodles are added without being boiled first, thickening the soup. The starch released from the noodles binds the broth into a silky consistency and warms you to the core. (It is a different dish from Yamanashi's hoto, which is miso-based and contains pumpkin.) In Fukaya it is standard to add plenty of the local Fukaya negi. It was once an everyday supper eaten by the family gathered around the hearth or the pot, and it is still made at home from autumn through winter.

In Fukaya, niboto is also known as a favourite dish of Shibusawa Eiichi, the industrialist born locally who was active from the Meiji through the Showa eras. It is served in school lunches in the city, and every year on 11 November, the anniversary of Shibusawa's death, a "Nibouto-kai" gathering is held at a local community centre. Niboto can be eaten at many restaurants in Fukaya City and the Chichibu area, and niboto noodles are also sold as souvenirs.

Zerii Furai of Gyoda

One dish whose identity is completely impossible to guess from its name alone is zerii furai ("jelly fry"), handed down in Gyoda City. Despite the words "fry" and "jelly," it is neither deep-fried meat or fish nor a jelly dessert. The name comes from its coin-like shape: it was called "zeni furai" (coin fry), and this is said to have shifted to "zerii furai."

It looks like a croquette without any batter coating, but the filling is based on plenty of okara (soybean pulp) and potato, with carrot, spring onion and other ingredients added. It is dipped briefly in Worcester sauce or similar as soon as it is fried, so the outside is fragrant with sauce while the inside has the springy texture characteristic of okara. Its roots are said to lie in a dish called "vegetable manju" from north-eastern China, and it is said to have been devised by the owner of the Ippuku Chaya teahouse in Gyoda City, who had served in the Russo-Japanese War. It spread among the general public in the late Meiji period and has been loved as a snack by the people of Gyoda ever since. Today it appears in school lunches inside and outside the city and is sold at restaurants and butchers' shops, and spin-offs such as zerii furai burgers and pita sandwiches have appeared too.

Miso Potato of Chichibu

The dish that represents the Chichibu area is miso potato. It became widely known after winning the 5th Saitama B-kyu Local Gourmet Championship in Chichibu (2009), but it is originally a local dish handed down in Chichibu since long ago.

With little flat land, the Chichibu area has long practised upland farming, and the dish is said to have begun when the smaller potatoes from the harvest were roasted in the hearth and eaten with miso sauce brushed on. Farming households called the light meals and snacks eaten to stave off hunger between tasks "kojuhan," and miso potato was the classic example. Today it is usually made by coating boiled potatoes in a wheat-flour batter, deep-frying them and pouring over a sweet-savoury miso sauce made with sugar and sake. The crisp batter and fluffy potato are coated in sweet-savoury miso, making it equally good as a snack, a drinking accompaniment or a side dish. That Chichibu City has made it the favourite food of its mascot character "Potekuma-kun" shows just how loved it is locally.

Musashino Udon

A rustic udon style from Kawagoe — thick, chewy noodles served cold with a rich meat broth for dipping.

Igamanju

A quirky Gyoda City sweet — red bean paste mochi wrapped in sticky rice and steamed.

Jyuumangoku Manju

Saitama's most famous confectionery. Smooth anko in a delicate bun from Gyoda City.

Best Season and Access

Fukaya negi is in season in winter (around November to February), hiyashiru udon belongs to summer, and Soka senbei can be enjoyed all year round. For access, JR Takasaki Line "Fukaya Station" is convenient for the home of Fukaya negi, while stations on the Tobu Skytree Line are handy for Soka senbei. Combining local food with sightseeing in Saitama — such as a stroll through the "Little Edo" townscape of Kawagoe — is also recommended. Enjoy the simple, deeply flavourful specialities Saitama is proud of, easily sampled even on a day trip from the Tokyo area.

Practical Information

• Soka senbei certification standards: According to Soka City's official website, the regional collective trademark "Soka Senbei" may be used only for crackers that are (1) made in Soka, Yashio, Kawaguchi, Koshigaya or Hatogaya, (2) made from good-quality non-glutinous rice harvested in Kanto and neighbouring prefectures, (3) produced under the supervision of a craftsman with at least ten years' experience, and (4) baked in moulds using pressing tiles, or hard-baked by a method incorporating the pressing-tile technique.
• History of Soka senbei: It developed as a preserved food in the Edo period. At first salt was kneaded into the dough, and soy sauce began to be brushed on from the end of the Edo period. Recognition grew in the Taisho era when the crackers were presented to the Emperor, and the craft became established as a local industry.
• Hiyashiru udon (suttate): Listed as a local dish of Saitama Prefecture in the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries' "Our Local Cuisine" project. The main areas where it is handed down are Kawajima Town, the Iruma area and the north of the prefecture. Eaten between spells of summer farm work, it was valued during the busy season because it takes little effort and is nutritious. The name "suttate" comes from eating the ingredients "suritate" — freshly ground in a mortar.
• Note on allergies: Take care with the wheat in udon, the wheat and soy in the soy sauce used for senbei, and the sesame and miso (soy) in hiyashiru. Wheat is one of the "specified raw materials" for which the Consumer Affairs Agency requires labelling.

*Hand-grilling experiences and the opening hours and prices of individual shops vary from establishment to establishment, so please check directly with each shop.*

*(Sources: Soka City Hall official website, "The History and Present of Soka Senbei"; Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, "Our Local Cuisine," Hiyashiru / Suttate (Saitama Prefecture); Consumer Affairs Agency, "Information on Food Allergy Labelling")*