One of the best places to try a very unusual type of buckwheat noodle.

Soba noodles are usually known for being thin and slippery, but sometimes you can find variations on the theme, with one joint serving up an extra wide version that stopped our reporter Seiji Nakazawa in his tracks.

He stumbled across the find at Yoshi Soba, a standing soba chain with 10 stores in Tokyo. Not many people know it, but Yoshi Soba is actually run by the popular rental music studio Noah, a fact that’s always attracted Seiji, as a band member, to its doors.

On a recent visit to the branch in Shibuya, Seiji noticed something unfamiliar when checking out the options on the ticket vending machine. It wasn’t actually an item with its own button, but a small card posted next to the top row of buttons, suggesting it might be more of a special service than a standard dish.

Stepping closer to read the details, Seiji discovered that the card outlined three different noodle options — flat soba, thin udon, and a mysterious “Gokuhaba Soba”.

Yoshi Soba’s noodles are already on the thick, rustic side, but this “Gokuhaba Soba” boasts a noodle width of one centimetre (0.4 inches), which, to Seiji, seemed staggering. These extra-wide noodles are only available at select locations, though, so he decided to seize the opportunity to try it as Zaru Soba (490 yen [US3.44]), along with a “Tokumori” (extra-large portion) upgrade for an additional 100 yen.

He placed his meal ticket on the counter and when staff came to collect it, he said the words “Gokuhaba Soba”. The staff member smiled and confirmed his order with a cheery, “Gokuhaba!”, leaving Seiji breathing a sigh of relief that he’d followed the instructions correctly and could now look forward to receiving his unusual meal.

Peering into the kitchen, he could see the noodles on the boil, and even from a distance they looked to be much wider than usual. However, when his meal was placed before him, the noodles looked even more incredible — they barely even looked like soba.

At first, he wondered if the extra weight of the noodles would make them prone to breaking, but when he lifted them up with chopsticks, they held together and slid easily from the mound.

However, after dipping them into the sauce as you would with a regular zaru soba, he found that the noodles were so thick only a couple would fit, raising the sauce level to the brim.

Tasting them, he found they had a firm bite, with Yoshi Soba’s signature chewiness still evident, giving them a distinct texture with lots of buckwheat flavour.

As for the soba aroma, it too was similar to the chain’s regular-sized noodles. The main difference was the sheer volume, which made the chewiness more noticeable and although it was simple, it was also extremely filling.

Seiji doesn’t usually seek out super-wide soba as he prefers the original kind, but that being said, he didn’t mind these as they helped him to learn something about himself.

Eating these made him realise exactly what he wants from soba. Going to the extreme end of the spectrum with extra width made him understand that it creates a fuller mouthfeel that’ll appeal to some, but for Seiji, he prefers the lighter texture of thin noodles.

Trying something so different worked to deepen his appreciation for his preferred style of noodle, so in the end it was an eye-opening experience, and not just figuratively, as the look of these definitely widened his eyes with their unusual presence.

According to the chain, Gokuhaba Soba began as a trial at five locations — Ginza, Nihonbashi, Shibuya, Fudomae, and Ikejiri Ohashi — from 12 April, with plans to roll the option out at all stores by the end of the month. So next time you’re looking for a new type of soba experience, you might want to keep Yoshi Soba in mind. Otherwise, you can take things further by trying udon that’s more like a sheet of paper than a noodle, which you have to fold to eat.

Related: Yoshi Soba locations
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