Yuichiro Yamada’s SerialLinkage between noodles and local
Gujo-shi, Gifu-ken is quite far for me, as I am living in Fukuoka. I have no idea in speaking of Gujo. I only know Gujo-shi is located at the center of Gifu-ken before I visit.
Cause I am not familiar with this city, I am so excited! Encountering new food on an unknown land is a luxury and the most wonderful time for me. Though I have started my career as a writer for 17 years, encountering new things is an irreplaceable experience. Of course, I am a noodle writer, my goal of my trip is noodles! I can know the place while I am deciding where to go, having noodles and feeling noodles with my five senses.
My destination this time is the center of Gujo-shi, Gujo Hachiman area. After researching this city, I get some information about Ramen, cold noodles and hot noodles. Oh, I thought there is cold noodles only, I discover lots of Soba restaurants in Gujo!
When you speak of Soba (Japanese noodles made form buckwheat), the most important thing is water. In Fukuoka, where I live in Kyushu, wherever there is clear water, there is famous Soba restaurant. After interviewing several Soba-making experts, they said they started their business in places where they can find clear water. Of course, you can still find famous restaurants in bustling street, but they still pay attention to the quality of water they use.
The reasons why there are so many Soba restaurants in Gujo, water must be clean and clear. It is exactly what I thought of! Gujo has one of the most famous springs in Japan. When you first come to Gujo, you can feel it through tasting Soba.
Yuichiro Yamada (KIJI Noodle Writer)
Born in 1978 as the eldest son at a noodle maker in Fukuoka-ken. He started his career as a writer in 2003, writing in magazines, web magazines and books. He is having a serial about noodles at Mainichi Shimbun (Mainichi Daily News). His web magazine has a record of getting 13000 clicks in a single day. He has 2 books about Udon and noodles in Fukuoka released. He also released an app “KIJI NOODLE SEARCH” in 2007. To discover new noodles, he travels around the world in recent years. He is currently living in Munakata-shi, Fukuoka-ken. He opened his own noodle making company “Yamada Seimen (Yamada Noodle Factory)” in 2019.
Photographs by Yuichiro Yamada