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  • ร—
    Urban Bliss Life ยป Blog ยป Food Travel: The Wanko Soba Challenge in Morioka, Japan

    Published: May 12, 2020 / Updated: May 12, 2020 by Marlynn Jayme Schotland ยท This post may contain affiliate links.

    Food Travel: The Wanko Soba Challenge in Morioka, Japan

    15 shares

    Travel to Morioka, Japan, where noodle lovers and food adventurists alike will enjoy taking part in the Wanko Soba Challenge. How many bowls of noodles can you eat before you say "Maitta!"?

    tray of bowls for wanko soba challenge

    Buckwheat noodles lounge lazily in bright fire orange bowls, waiting patiently to the side as we're given our food challenge instructions.

    We sit on tatami mats at low tables, with a smattering of small plates of food in front of us. Some in my group start digging into those side dishes. I watch them and think "They're going to fill up before we even begin!"

    I look at the nearby tables who arrived before us. Each table is a mix of focused concentration while slurping, dumping, extending out their bowls for more, chants of encouragement, and delightful roars of laughter.

    We're at the Azumaya Soba Shop in Japan's Iwate prefecture, and we're about to embark on the Wanko Soba all-you-can-eat food challenge.

    It is a food travel experience like no other I have participated in so far.

    And I am SO ready for it!

    What is Wanko Soba?

    wanko soba noodles

    "Wan" means cup, and "ko" placed at the end of a word, means cute.

    So Wanko Soba essentially means soba noodles served in cute little cups. These petite noodle bowls became popular all over Japan after World War II.

    At the Azumaya Soba Shop, you can come and order off a regular menu of traditional Japanese food. Or you can order the Wanko Soba Challenge. This all-you-can-eat food challenge costs ¥3,520, or $32.81 in US dollars.

    In addition to the endless bowls of soba noodles, you also get several side dishes.

    The rules of the Wanko Soba food challenge

    Azumaya Soba Shop Japan

    When you enter, you will be given a special apron to wear. You MUST wear this apron in order to participate.

    Follow your hostess and take a seat on the tatami mat and sit at the low table you are assigned.

    wanko soba side dishes

    Servers will arrive and first offer your table several side dishes and condiments. These will consist of:

    • tuna sashimi
    • Nameko mushroom served with grated daikon radish simmered with soy sauce
    • cooked minced chicken
    • Sesame paste
    • sheets Nori of seaweed
    • pickled vegetables
    • grated taro potato
    • chopped leaks
    • Wasabi horseradish
    • grated daikon radish with red chili
    • and a light dessert.

    Pro Tip: Do not let the smell tempt you into diving into these right away! Enjoy a small bite or two, but you do not want to fill up on these dishes. Eyes on the prize, people!

    Then, they will return with trays full of bowls full of soba noodles. Once the first bowl is placed before you, this all-you-can-eat food challenge is on!

    • Using chopsticks, eat the noodles in the bowl.
    • Then pour out any remaining broth in the bowl in front of you. Do NOT eat too much of the soup - that will also fill you up and give you less room for noodles!
    • As soon as you pour out the remaining broth, a server will pour more noodles into your eating bowl.
    • She will then place the empty bowl in her hand on the table next to you. This will start the stack of bowls to count at the end to let you know how many you have eaten.
    bowls of completed wanko soba food challenge

    Not unlike the food challenges you see on television, the Wanko Soba challenge is a fun, and potentially boisterous event. Servers will cheer you on, chanting “Hai jan jan" or "Hai don don,” encouraging you to eat more.

    Repeat the process - eat noodles, dump broth, extend your bowl out for more - until you feel you can't eat anymore.

    At that point, you must put the lid on the bowl when you want to stop. You can also declare "Maitta," which means "enough" or "I surrender."

    Once every person in your party is done, tea will be served.

    The empty bowls will be counted. You'll get a nice certificate and wood plaque that will have your name on it, as well as the number of bowls you completed.

    Wanko-soba food challenge facts & tips

    • 15 Wanko Soba bowls equals one regular-sized bowl of noodles
    • Pro Tip: you can eat more soba if you just swallow it, and don't chew it.
    • If you eat 100 bowls or more of noodles you will be awarded with a bill called "Tegata."
    • To date, Wanko Soba champions are a woman from Morioka who ate 570 bowls in one sitting, and a man from Osaka who ate 500 bowls in one sitting. That's a LOT of soba!!!

    So how much Wanko Soba did I eat?

    Fun fact to understand a bit of my history with food: at Emerson College, my friends once signed me up for the school's talent show. My talent? Eating. That's it. Just non-stop eating. Because it's what I am GOOD at, people! I may be less than five feet tall, but I can EAT!

    So I sat on the stage and ate a pound of pasta in one sitting while the other acts performed in the middle of the stage.

    I tied for second place.

    Fast forward many years later: when I found myself at this all-you-can-eat soba noodle food challenge, I did okay.

    Marlynn's completed wanko soba food challenge bowls: 35

    I ate 35 bowls of soba noodles. The picture above shows you the mountain of emptied bowls that I conquered. That's not bad.

    One of our guides at 110. The fellow travel writer sitting across from me ate 100.

    There were ate 13 bowls and called it good. Another stopped at 66. We all stopped at different times.

    Marlynn with wanko soba food challenge completion certificate

    I love my Wanko Soba challenge certificate and beautiful wood plaque souvenirs that I got to take home.

    These are sitting in my office, reminding me of the time I sat on a tatami mat for way too long eating way too many bowls of plain soba noodles, cheering on my fellow food challenge participants and soaking up the joy around me.

    It was the experience of a lifetime that I will not forget. And one that I hope you will someday be able to experience as well.

    Where to participate in the Wanko Soba food challenge

    Azumaya Soba Shop in Morioka, Japan

    There are four Azumaya Soba Shops in Morioka, Japan.

    The main restaurant is at: 
    1-8-3 Nakanohashi-dori
    Morioka, Japan 020-0871
    Call ahead for reservations: 019-622-2252

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    This food travel experience was part of my press trip to the Tohoku region of Japan with the Society of American Travel Writers and Visit Japan. As always, all opinions and photos are 100% my own.

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      Reader Interactions

      Comments

      1. Erin @ Platings and Pairings says

        May 14, 2020 at 12:53 pm

        That is a LOT of soba!!! I think I'd definitely be tempted by those other goodies on the table too though! Good job Marlynn!

        Reply
      2. Hawnuh says

        May 14, 2020 at 1:07 am

        WOW! I'm so impressed with your noodle slurping abilities! This sounds like such a fun experience, I love soba noodles! Dreaming of infinite noodle bowls now.

        Reply
      3. Louise says

        May 13, 2020 at 7:06 pm

        What a fab challenge! My other half would definitely give it a go :)

        Louise x

        Reply
      4. Brittany Nicole says

        May 13, 2020 at 5:32 pm

        I am really hoping to get to visit Japan one day and eat alllll the delicious food!

        Reply
      5. Yara says

        May 13, 2020 at 2:35 pm

        This is probably the best challenge out there - all you can eat crabs! YES! What a wonderful little activity to do in Japan. Super looking forward to trying this out myself!

        Reply
      6. Shafinah says

        May 13, 2020 at 1:14 pm

        This looks so yum! Major Jap food cravings triggered!

        Reply
      7. Nilakshi says

        May 13, 2020 at 12:33 pm

        Considering the book Ikigai came from Japan, itโ€™s but surprising for me that they have such a challenge.

        Reply
      8. Maria says

        May 13, 2020 at 11:30 am

        This looks delicious! What a fun experience!

        Reply
      9. Stacey says

        May 12, 2020 at 10:45 pm

        You had me at noodle challenge!! I love soba noodles and all the condiments that come with them. Japan is a foodie lover's haven.

        Reply
      10. Tessa says

        May 12, 2020 at 7:33 pm

        This looks like a blast! I love a challenge and an eating challenge sounds like the best kind. I am so impressed that you competed in a talent show and ate pasta - I love that!!

        Reply
      11. Marta says

        May 12, 2020 at 6:38 pm

        This looks like so much fun! I have to have my husband try it. I think he'd win!

        Reply

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      Hi! If you're looking for easy, fast, delicious family-friendly recipes, wine pairings, and travel tips, you've come to the right place! I'm Marlynn - a cookbook author, writer, photographer, and mom of two teenagers + a lovable lab retriever. I hold a WSET 2 with Distinction in wine, and am a member of Society of American Travel Writers (SATW) and the International Food, Wine, and Travel Writers Association (IFWTWA).

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