Is Himeji's Ekisoba Worth It? "Not Amazing — It Just Puts You at Ease," Japanese Riders Say

What Japanese visitors said — picked from the top 60 of 381 comments

• Himeji citizen here. Whenever there's time before my train comes, I always go grab ekisoba! It's really good!!

  姫路市民です。 電車が来るまで時間がある時は必ずえきそばを食べにいっちゃいますね！とても美味しいです！！

  — @tknie1226Most liked97 likes

• When I lived in Himeji I ate it like it was the most natural thing in the world. I still stop by every time I'm at Himeji Station.

  姫路に住んでいた時は当たり前のように食べていました。姫路駅に行くと必ず立ち寄ります。

  — @hiro-hollys061768 likes

• Himeji's ekisoba is best eaten standing on the platform while you wait for your train. Honest, everyday people's food — the best!

  姫路のえきそばはやっぱ駅のホームで電車待ちの間に立喰いで食べるのが一番ですなー。 ほんと庶民の味、最高てす！

  — @森まさ-y8u40 likes

• And it comes out the moment you order.

  しかも注文してすぐ出てくる

  — @habatakukami81 likes

• On freezing-cold days I'd stir in a whole spoonful of chili pepper and eat it half-choking on the heat, back in my student days. Warms you right up.

  極寒の日に七味とうがらしをスプーン一杯いれて、辛さにむせながら学生の時よく食べてたなぁ。 あったまるんよねー🍜

  — @えずきひろし24 likes

• The Harima region around Himeji has always been wheat-growing country rather than soba country — that's why it produces a somen brand as big as Ibonoito. Head north in the same prefecture to Tajima and you do get a proper Japanese soba culture, partly because the Sengoku clan arrived from Shinshu in the early Edo period and brought soba culture with them. Though I also recall a tradition of making somen in winter to eat in summer — it's from a book I read long ago, so my memory is fuzzy.

  姫路を中心とした播磨地方は日本そばよりも、小麦栽培の方が昔から盛んで、だからこそ揖保乃糸というそうめんブランドがあるくらいだから。これが同じ兵庫県でも北部の但馬地方になったら、江戸初期に信州から仙石氏がやってきて信州のそば文化も同時にやってきたこともあってか、普通の日本そばの文化がある。とはいえ、冬に作って夏に食べるというそうめん文化もあったような気もするが、昔よんだ本のことなので記憶が曖昧。

  — @立花蔵人87 likes

• Through seven years of high school and university, the 'soba' in my cafeteria was Chinese noodles in udon broth. Up until about 30 years ago that was common in school cafeterias all over Kansai.

  高校、大学の7年間学食では、そばはうどんつゆに中華麺でした。30年ほど前までは、関西の学食ではよくありました。

  — @ぞうさん-f5n49 likes

• The original version didn't just use buckwheat flour — they worked konnyaku powder into the noodles so they wouldn't go soggy. It's a good trick; they should keep it alive.

  そば粉だけじゃなく、こんにゃくの粉を使った元祖は伸びにくい工夫がされてた。 いい工夫だから引き継いだらいい。

  — @悪鬼-e5v16 likes

• Back in the day you were allowed to carry the bowl onto the train — you'd finish eating and leave it under your seat. As a kid, the first jolt of the train pulling out — GATAN! — sent scalding broth all over my knees. A memory I can still feel.

  昔は丼ぶり電車に持ち込んで良かったのよ、ほんで食い終わったら座席の下に置いとく。 子供の頃、発車の一発目「ガタン！」で熱々の汁膝に掛かって悶えた思い出があるわ。

  — @noaniki86 likes

• Maneki's ekisoba at Himeji Station is famous. Nissin even sells a cup-noodle version, Kinki region only. It really is good.

  姫路駅のまねきのえきそばは有名だね。日清食品が近畿地方限定でカップ麺を販売してるし、美味しいんだよなぁ。

  — @hotakky585441 likes

• For people with buckwheat allergies who can't touch soba, Maneki's ekisoba is the savior of stand-up noodle stands... seriously.

  食アレで蕎麦NGな人にとって、まねきのえきそばは、立ち食いそばの救世主…いやマジで。

  — @rittoboymamomamo_112 likes

• The underground mall at Himeji Station has more than ekisoba — akashiyaki they brush with sauce, Gozasoro's jumbo gyoza. If you've come all the way to Himeji, I'd love you to try those too.

  姫路の駅地下は他にもソースを塗っちゃう明石焼きや御座候のジャンボ餃子とかもあるので、わざわざ姫路にまで来てくださった方には一度食べてほしいな

  — @雨時-k4i65 likes

• I used to jump on the Special Rapid to Himeji whenever the craving for ekisoba hit — but now there's a branch at Snack Park in the basement of the Hanshin Department Store in Umeda, so I save the train fare. One bowl and you're hooked — it's seriously addictive!! (lol)

  前は姫路の『えきそば』を食いたくなったら、新快速に乗ってわざわざ食べに行ってけど、梅田阪神百貨店地下の『スナックパーク』にお店で来たらから電車代掛からず助かってます。 コレはいっぺん食べたらドツボにハマる程の中毒性があります‼️(笑)

  — @愛猫チィちゃんとの楽しい生活19 likes

• SaveManeki no Ekisoba (Himeji Station platforms)↗まねきのえきそば 姫路駅在来線ホームHimeji Station

  The original — stands on the conventional-line platforms at Himeji Station. The top hometown habit (97 likes): a bowl whenever there's time before the train.

• SaveEkisoba, Hanshin Umeda Snack Park↗えきそば 阪神梅田本店スナックパーク店Umeda, Osaka

  Branch in the Hanshin Department Store basement food hall — one commenter uses it to skip the train fare to Himeji ("One bowl and you're hooked," 19 likes).

• SaveGozasoro Tantan (Grand Festa)↗御座候たんたん FESTA店Himeji Station underground mall

  Jumbo gyoza twice the usual size plus tantan-men, from Himeji's own Gozasoro — the station-basement stop a commenter (65 likes) tells visitors to try alongside ekisoba.

• SaveHimeji Tacopy↗姫路タコピィ（旧タコピア）Himeji Station underground mall

  Akashiyaki-style takoyaki brushed with sauce and then dipped in dashi — the Himeji way. The "sauce-on-akashiyaki" shop commenters send you to in the station basement.

Named in the source comments. Where a note gives a price, opening status or rule, we checked it against the linked source on the date shown — everything else is what the comments said. All of it can change; check the map listing before you go.

What is ekisoba?

Ekisoba is Himeji Station's signature dish: springy Chinese-style noodles in a gentle Japanese dashi broth, usually topped with tempura and eaten standing on the platform. One Japanese viewer is quick to point out that "ekisoba" is Maneki Foods' registered trademark, so no other shop may use the name: a dish in its own right, not generic station soba. The original recipe even worked konnyaku powder into the noodles so they wouldn't go soggy.

Is Himeji's ekisoba worth trying?

Japanese commenters say yes, with disarming honesty. The most-liked verdict (72 likes) admits it isn't spectacular: "It just genuinely puts you at ease." The top hometown voice (97 likes) is a Himeji citizen who grabs a bowl every time there's a gap before the train. It's cheap, it's out the moment you order (81 likes), and it's the taste of home for the whole Harima region.

Can you eat ekisoba if you're allergic to buckwheat?

The noodles are Chinese-style rather than buckwheat, and one commenter calls Maneki's ekisoba "the savior of stand-up noodle stands" for people with soba allergies. That's the local understanding as of the comments — if you have a serious allergy, confirm ingredients with the shop before ordering.

Where can you eat ekisoba outside Himeji?

You don't have to ride all the way out: one commenter points to a branch at Snack Park, the basement food hall of the Hanshin Department Store in Umeda, Osaka — "One bowl and you're hooked" (19 likes). Nissin also sells a Kinki-only cup-noodle version. Purists still insist the platform at Himeji Station is the way to eat it (40 likes).