Shinshu
Landlocked mountain Nagano — buckwheat soba, griddled oyaki buns, and miso deep enough to flavour a whole region.
Oyaki
Wheat-and-buckwheat buns stuffed with vegetables or sweet bean, griddled then steamed — the taste of a Nagano farmhouse.
View page →Shinshu — old Nagano — is high, cold and far from the sea, so it eats from the mountains. Buckwheat thrives where rice struggles, so soba is everywhere, from the temple soba of Togakushi to mountain-vegetable sansai soba. Wheat-and-buckwheat oyaki buns are griddled and steamed; gohei mochi is brushed with walnut-miso and grilled; and the forests give wild mountain vegetables, freshwater fish, and even insect protein. Over all of it goes Shinshu miso, Japan's most-produced.
The Palate
Start Here
Wheat-and-buckwheat buns stuffed with vegetables or sweet bean, griddled then steamed.
Why start here · The taste of a Nagano farmhouse.
Buckwheat soba served in small bundles on a round basket.
Why start here · Shinshu's most famous soba, from the Togakushi shrine slopes.
Pounded rice on a skewer, brushed with sweet walnut-miso and grilled.
Why start here · The warming taste of the central mountains.
The Pantry
See all 37 ingredients›
Fruits
Herbs & Spices
Grains & Staples
Dairy & Fats
How They Cook
Techniques that define this cuisine
See 8 more techniques›
Kindred Kitchens
Cuisines built on the same signature ingredients
Other regions
Siblings within Japanese — each its own tradition.
