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Drink · Japan
Nihonshu
Japanese sake, a fermented beverage made from rice, koji and water. It is an official geographical indication of Japan and is served chilled, at room temperature, or warm, in small cups.
Flavors · Yamanashi
Hoto
Thick, wide wheat dough cooked with pumpkin, vegetables and mushrooms in a miso broth, served in an iron pot. It is the most representative dish of Yamanashi, at the foot of Mount Fuji.
Traditional dish from Yamanashi
Also known as: Hōtō, ほうとう, 餺飥
Illustrative images. The pictures in this guide are illustrations based on the real place, not photographs, and may differ from it.
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Hoto — Yamanashi, Japan
Hoto is a thick soup of wide, flattened wheat noodles cooked with pumpkin, potato, carrot, daikon, scallion, mushrooms and fried tofu in a miso broth. The dough contains no salt and is added to the pot raw, still with flour on it, which thickens the broth and keeps it hot for a long time.
According to Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, hoto is Yamanashi’s best-known local dish, to the point that a provincial saying claims the most delicious thing is pumpkin hoto. In the province’s mountains, where rice grew poorly, wheat noodles long served as a staple, and rolling out hoto dough was considered part of a bride’s preparations. The name comes from a noodle dish mentioned as far back as the Heian period.
Hoto is served in an individual iron pot, still bubbling, and the pumpkin partially breaks down and sweetens the broth. In the south of the prefecture the dish is also called noshiire or noshikomi, and there is a sweet version made with azuki beans.
Eaten year-round, hoto is ordered more often in cold weather. There are many specialty restaurants across the prefecture, including in the Fuji Five Lakes area. The dish was selected among the country’s 100 notable local dishes by the Ministry of Agriculture in 2007.
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Where it comes from
Yamanashi
Yamanashi’s most representative local dish.
Ingredients
Wide wheat noodles (unsalted); pumpkin, potato or taro, carrot, daikon, scallion, mushrooms, fried tofu; dried fish broth (niboshi) and miso. Sometimes pork or chicken.
How it is eaten
In an individual iron pot, very hot, with chopsticks and a ladle. The noodles are tender and the broth is thick.
When it is eaten
Year-round, especially in autumn and winter.
Your questions
Questions about Hoto
What is the difference between hoto and udon?
Hoto noodles are wider and thicker, contain no salt, and are cooked raw in the miso broth together with vegetables and pumpkin, which makes the soup thick. Udon is cooked separately and served in broth.
Where can you eat hoto?
In specialty restaurants throughout Yamanashi Prefecture, including the Fuji Five Lakes area, where the dish is served in individual iron pots.
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Dish · Hiroshima
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Dish · Iwate
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Dish · Kagawa
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Satsuma shochu
Sweet-potato shochu from Kagoshima, distilled using rice koji or sweet-potato koji. Satsuma is Japan’s official geographical indication for the shochu of the prefecture, which is enjoyed with hot water, on the rocks, or with cold water.
Sweet · Kagoshima
Shirokuma
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Dish · Miyajima
Anago-meshi
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Dish · Miyazaki
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Iya soba
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Dish · Nagano
Oyaki
Dumpling made from wheat flour, sometimes mixed with buckwheat, filled with vegetables seasoned with miso or soy sauce, or with sweet bean paste; baked, steamed, or both. A dish from Nagano, from mountain villages.
Dish · Nagasaki
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Sweet · Nagasaki
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Miso-nikomi udon
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Drink · Okinawa
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Dish · Okinawa
Goya champuru
Stir-fry of goya, the bitter melão-de-são-caetano, with firm Okinawan tofu, egg and pork. It’s the best-known champuru from Okinawa, made at home and served in restaurants across the prefecture.
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Okinawa soba
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Dish · Osaka
Takoyaki
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Dish · Kyoto
Saba-zushi
Salted and vinegar-marinated mackerel sushi on a rice log, wrapped in bamboo sheath. A celebratory dish of Kyoto, tied to the Saba Kaido, the route that brought mackerel from the Wakasa Sea.
Dish · Sendai
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Dish · Shiga
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Izumo soba
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Beyond the guide
