Ebisu soba

Tell us about the history of Ebisu soba and your specialty.

Ebisu soba was founded in 1898. I am the 5th generation chef. We have customers from Takayama as well as from overseas. Since the 3th generation chef we specialized in soba noodles. Everything we cook is handmade and we don’t make use of any machinery to make our noodles. It is the oldest soba noodles restaurant in Takayama. We take pride in working in such place and we want to keep going on as a soba specialized restaurant.

Do you have a memory with a customer or an event in particular that would you like to share?

I always think that the best thing I can do for customers, especially if they come from far away, is to have them go back home satisfied with our cuisine.
I remember one time we had customers from Singapore. It was a girl, of the same age as me and my wife, with her family. We immediately made friends with them and even exchanged contact information. In the end, we ended up going to Singapore for our honeymoon to visit them. It was a wonderful experience and they showed us around the city and let us stay at their home.
My wife is especially good at communicating with customers. Thanks to her, we made a lot of connections and friends in various places around the world. Sometimes we even consult them about translations or advice. I am really thankful to all of them.
We have multilingual menus so that people from overseas can easily understand how to eat soba noodles and discover a little bit on soba tradition. We decided to make this menu similar to a manga. I think it is easy to understand and looks interesting. We give it to the customers as a souvenir when they leave.

Let us hear about a place you would recommend in Takayama

I like Sky Park. It is up the hill on the west side of Takayama. You can see all the city from there. Especially if you go early in the morning or just before the sunset, it is great. I like to go there and take pictures of the city. I would recommend it to anyone who likes taking pictures.

About the coronavirus (COVID-19) what are the measures you are using?

The staff is equipped with masks. From now on, it will get hot, so I am considering using face masks. I also reduced the number of seats and make sure to leave enough space between every table.

Finally, do you have a message to say to the people who are reading this interview?

We hope you will come to taste soba in Takayama!