Shimane Local Gourmet Guide: Izumo Soba

Izumo Soba

"When it comes to soba, it's either Shinshu or Kyoto" — the bowl of Izumo in Shimane will surely overturn such a preconception. Izumo soba is a supreme masterpiece known only to those in the know, counted as one of the Three Great Soba of Japan. The soba, made with the "hikigurumi" method of grinding the buckwheat kernels whole, husk and all, has a deep color and a powerful aroma, and the rich flavor that passes through your nasal cavity the moment you slurp it is carved as a memory you'll never forget for life. Its flavor, with a roughness-bordering wildness and depth different from Shinshu and Kyoto, draws travelers to Shimane again and again, making them think "I want to go eat that bowl again" once they've experienced it.

Features

The greatest individuality of Izumo soba lies in how it's eaten. The style served in vermilion-lacquered round vessels called "warigo soba," stacked in three tiers, is vivid to look at and adds the finest flair to a special meal at a travel destination. Adding condiments such as green onion, grated daikon, and bonito flakes to taste, and pouring the soba broth directly on top, is the Izumo way. Once you finish the first vessel, transfer the remaining broth to the next vessel, add condiments and broth again — this rhythmic way of eating is an experience found only here, drawing a line apart from both zaru soba and mori soba. The very time of eating your way through while learning that distinctive etiquette will surely become a true joy of travel.

Around "Shinmon-dori," which extends along the approach to Izumo Taisha, long-established soba shops line up, and enjoying it as a set with a visit to Izumo Taisha is the standard local course. After finishing your visit, your feet are naturally drawn toward the mellow aroma of soba drifting along the stone-paved approach — that moment too is a happiness unique to a trip to Shimane.

Best Season and Recommended Time of Day Autumn (October to November), when new soba comes into circulation, is the perfect season when the aroma and sweetness increase even more. A bowl of new soba savored in Izumo in the season when the air is clear and the trees are coloring greatly boosts your travel satisfaction. Of course, the charm of Izumo soba doesn't change whichever season you visit, but if you can build your itinerary around autumn, do aim for it. To avoid the crowds, it's wise to aim for right after opening (around 11 a.m.) before tourists start moving, or after 2 p.m. when the midday break ends. Since lines are a given at popular shops around noon on weekends, we recommend building a schedule with time to spare.

Hidden Spot Information The famous shops around Shinmon-dori are of course wonderful, but do also take a peek once at the "small soba shops in town" quietly dotted in the alleys around Izumoshi Station. Local regulars make up most of the customers rather than tourists, prices are reasonable, and a homey atmosphere is full. If you want to experience "plain Izumo soba" that isn't tourist-area pricing — so to speak, a genuine bowl blended into local daily life — the long-established shops near the station are the spot to aim for. A bowl slurped while exchanging idle conversation with the shop owner may stay in your heart more than any luxury of the trip.

Access A short walk from "Izumo-Taisha-mae Station" on the Ichibata Electric Railway. From JR Izumoshi Station, you can access it in about 30 minutes by transferring to the Ichibata Electric Railway. From Matsue Station too, it's about 30 to 40 minutes by highway bus or local line — access from the main hubs of Shimane sightseeing is good.

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Nodoguro

"The toro of white fish" — a supreme single fish raised by the rough waves of the Sea of Japan, which fishermen and chefs call it without hesitation. Nodoguro (rosy seabass) is one of the highest-grade seafoods Shimane boasts to the whole country. This fish, named for the jet-black inside of its mouth, hides, contrary to its snow-white flesh, a rich umami that slowly unravels on the tongue and a depth of fatty richness. Its nationwide fame exploded when tennis player Kei Nishikori spoke of it as "my favorite food in my hometown," and it has now become the absolute face of Shimane gourmet. Once you know its taste, it's so sinfully delicious that you vow in your heart, "Next Shimane trip too, nodoguro first."

Tips for Eating Your Way Around

To bring out the deliciousness of nodoguro to the maximum, salt-grilled is the royal road among royal roads. The moment when, beneath the surface grilled crisp and fragrant at the skin, dripping fat juicily overflows — there's certainly value in flying all the way to Shimane for that single bite. The steam and the scent of the sea rising each time you insert your chopsticks stimulate the appetite, and before you know it, only the bones remain in an instant — such a blissful time awaits. If you want to go even more luxurious, the nodoguro takikomi gohan (mixed rice) and dashi chazuke also shouldn't be missed. The takikomi gohan, where the fat and umami have soaked into each grain of rice, has an addictiveness that leaves you unable to keep from ordering seconds.

How to Enjoy It at the Market At the fresh-fish shops around the "Matsue Horikawa Local Beer Hall" in Matsue City and those handling the "Donchicchi brand" in Hamada City, a luxurious experience awaits that travelers rarely get to have — choosing seasonal fish while hearing the story directly from local fishermen. If you get up early and head to a local morning market, you can touch the lively scene of food culture that you can never encounter at tourist spots. Around Hamada Fishing Port, the energetic breakfast scene of locals unfolds from around 7 a.m., and just the air of energetic shouts mingling with the scent of the sea will surely be carved deeply, deeply into your travel memories.

Best Season Nodoguro appears on Shimane's tables throughout the year, but autumn to winter (October to February), when the fat is at its richest, is the most delicious season in its prime. It is precisely in the season when the cold sea breeze blows that the bounty of the Sea of Japan radiates its finest brilliance. If you visit Shimane during this period, build an itinerary with nodoguro dishes as the main without hesitation. You surely won't regret it.

Tips for Travelers At popular restaurants, reservations from the day before or several days ahead are essential. Especially on weekends and consecutive holidays, seats fill up in an instant, so it's wise to consult the hotel where you're staying, or to secure a reservation online or by phone before your trip. Also, checking in advance whether you can purchase nodoguro at a local market and bring it to your lodging to have it cooked is one connoisseur's way of enjoying it, known only to those in the know. The experience of fish you chose yourself appearing before you as a dish makes your travel memories exceptional.

Access To savor nodoguro to your heart's content, around Matsue Station and Hamada Station is recommended. From JR Matsue Station, there are multiple famous restaurants within walking distance, a location that makes it easy to build a day combining sightseeing and food. To Hamada, about 2 hours from Matsue by the JR San'in Main Line. The journey of heading over while enjoying the scenery of the Sea of Japan spreading out the train window is also one of the true joys of travel.

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Shinjiko Shicchin (The Seven Delicacies of Lake Shinji)

Lake Shinji, one of Japan's leading brackish-water lakes. The mystical environment where fresh water and seawater mix within a single lake has nurtured a unique ecosystem found nowhere else and has produced rare ingredients you can taste only in this place. Those are the "Shinjiko Shicchin (Seven Delicacies)" — the seven bounties of the lake: sea bass, moroge shrimp, eel, pond smelt, icefish, carp, and freshwater clam. Locals even memorize them by taking the first letters in a play on words, "sumo-ashi-koshi" — proud food culture deeply rooted in the lives and palates of Shimane prefecture residents.

Among them, boasting nationwide fame is the Yamato shijimi (freshwater clam). Lake Shinji shijimi is rich in umami components, and the deeply flavorful miso soup cooked in the morning is also a bowl that has supported the day of people living in Matsue. Take one sip of the clear amber soup, and a deep umami, as if drawn up from the bottom of the lake, soaks into your core — it makes sense that it's long been loved locally as "something you want to drink on a hangover morning." If you have a bowl of shijimi soup at a local diner on a travel morning, you feel a mysterious peace, as if you're gradually blending into Shimane's air from deep within your body.

Ways to Enjoy It Unique to Matsue If you want to savor the whole Shinjiko Shicchin, a kaiseki course at a long-established Japanese restaurant or local-cuisine restaurant within Matsue City is most recommended. Since each of the seven delicacies has a different season in its prime, the greatest charm of this food culture is that whichever season you visit, you encounter "a dish only of this very moment" — the seven delicacies of spring if you visit in spring, the seven delicacies of autumn if you visit in autumn. The kaiseki cuisine where a skilled chef carefully prepares the seasonal seven delicacies feels, dish by dish, like a hymn to Lake Shinji. And after the meal, do head to the lakeshore. Lake Shinji at dusk, its entire surface dyed a blazing orange, captivates travelers' hearts as one of Japan's finest evening scenes. There are not many places that deeply satisfy travelers with both food and spectacular scenery.

If You're Making It a Souvenir Lake Shinji shijimi can be purchased at souvenir shops as vacuum-packed or boiled products, and there's a rich lineup of long-lasting products too. If you make miso soup at home after returning, a happy moment awaits where the memories of your Shimane trip revive along with the rising steam. Since it can be easily obtained at service areas and roadside stations within Shimane Prefecture, do drop by on your way home. As a souvenir for a precious someone too, it's a gem sure to be appreciated.

Best Season The prime of shijimi is twice a year, summer (doyo shijimi) and winter (kan shijimi). Summer shijimi is characterized by a refreshing, refined umami, and winter shijimi by a rich, full-bodied deep flavor — both delicious beyond comparison. Showing different faces depending on the season you visit is also one of the profound charms of the Shinjiko Shicchin.

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Access and Business Hours

A trip touring Shimane's food is efficient when you build your itinerary centered on the two hubs of Matsue and Izumo. Matsue Station and Izumoshi Station are a distance of only about 40 minutes by the JR San'in Main Line. The Izumo of soba, and the Matsue of nodoguro and the seven delicacies — a good location that lets you enjoy both sacred sites of each food in a single trip is the best possible condition as a destination for a gourmet trip. If you use a rental car, the range of your activity widens further, and you can freely pioneer deep spots hard to reach by rail lines, such as seaside fishing ports and quiet soba shops in the mountains.

The business hours of each shop differ by season and day of the week, and especially small local diners and morning markets often have irregular holidays in reality. Before visiting, don't spare the small effort of being sure to check the latest information on the official website or by phone. At the Matsue City Tourist Information Office (inside JR Matsue Station) and the Izumo City Tourist Information Office, staff will tell you that day's recommended shops in real time, so once you arrive, do drop by first. Living information unique to the locals will greatly change the quality of your trip.

Tips for Travelers

• Since popular gourmet shops crowd intensively on weekends and consecutive holidays, a weekday visit is recommended if possible. The time to leisurely face the food increases dramatically
• Since many shops in the regions are cash-only, having a certain amount of cash on hand gives peace of mind
• The Sea of Japan side has weather that easily breaks down in winter, and sudden rain and strong wind are not uncommon. Set out with full preparation for cold and rain
• If you want to fully enjoy eating your way around, a plan of keeping lunch light and reserving a kaiseki course at a famous restaurant for dinner is great. Pacing your stomach is also an important strategy of a gourmet trip