Tōsenkyō Sōmen Nagashi

Top choice in Kyūshū


This sprawling restaurant in a riverside gorge near Ikeda-ko gets an estimated 200,000 annual visitors (!), paying tribute to the 1967 birthplace of nagashi-sōmen (flowing noodles). Sōmen (thin wheat-flour noodles) spin around tyre-shaped table-top tanks of swiftly flowing 13°C water; catch the noodles with your chopsticks and dip them in sauce to eat. Lots of fun and ultra-refreshing on hot days.

It's such a pilgrimage site for many Japanese that there's even a Shintō shrine here.

Teishoku (from ¥1340) come with onigiri (rice balls), miso soup and grilled masu (trout), which swim (along with sturgeon) in pools around the restaurant.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Kyūshū attractions

1. Bandokorobana Shizen Kōen

6.75 MILES

Down a side road between Ibusuki and Makurazaki, this small-ish seaside nature park has been noted for its beauty since an Edo-period surveyor named it…

2. Seahorse House

6.84 MILES

This chill, seaside seahorse hatchery is unique, offering close-up looks at thousands of hatchling seahorses, plus information, videos, souvenirs and a…

3. Satsuma Denshōkan

6.95 MILES

This striking museum offers a history of Satsuma plus displays of Chinese ceramics and gleaming Satsuma-yaki in a temple-style building that seems to…

4. Chiringashima

8.86 MILES

Lovely Chiringashima is connected to the mainland by a thin land bridge that appears only at low tide, when hikers, beachcombers and tide-pool explorers…

5. Chiran Peace Museum

11.79 MILES

There is perhaps no more eloquent monument to the futility of war than this harrowing museum about WWII kamikaze pilots. Around 2km west of town, Chiran’s…

6. Samurai Houses

12.34 MILES

Seven of the mid-Edo-period residences along Chiran’s 700m street of samurai houses have gardens open to the public. Water is usually symbolised in the…

7. Arimura Lava Observatory

24.44 MILES

The name 'Observatory' is misleading, as there's no building here. The site is a shaded picnic area with some lava escape tunnels and walking trails that…

8. Satsuma Students Statue

25.08 MILES

This statue and landmark commemorates the students from Satsuma (the feudal name for Kagoshima) who went to study Western technology in the UK in 1865…