The 11 Best Nagashi-somen Restaurants You Must Eat in Tokyo

The Golden-week has finished and the time to make a plan for the summer holiday has arrived. Many people have started thinking, “I’d like to go to the sea.”, “I’d like to have great fun on the pool-side.” or “I want to go camping.” I guess. Going to the sea or camping sounds of course nice, but this year, how about eating somen which is one of the summer gourmets you can enjoy more than usual? What do you think about the Nagashi-somen which you can hardly experience in daily life? I’m introducing the places where you can eat the Nagashi-somen more deliciously and enjoyably around Tokyo.

The spots where you can enjoy the Nagashi-somen with empty hands!

Here, I’m introducing the 9 recommended spots where you can enjoy the Nagashi-somen with empty hands. You can experience a little different somen from the one you usually have at home. They are the ones from the Nagashi-somen which you can enjoy in Tokyo to the ones in the nature around Tokyo. Please make an early booking and experience them.

1. There is only one place where you can enjoy the Nagashi-somen in Tokyo! [Kisetsu-ryori (seasonal cuisine) Funayado]

In Tokyo, the restaurant where you can enjoy the Nagashi-somen is actually in only one place, [Seasonal cuisine, Funayado]. The [Funayado] is a very precious spot for people who live in Tokyo. You can enjoy the Nagashi-somen from late June to late September for the price ¥1,600 for an adult and ¥900 for a child every year. This price includes tempura and chilled tomato. You can have more somen for an additional ¥320. It is very reasonable.

The permitted time is 90 minutes per group which is long enough to enjoy the Nagashi-somen to fill you up. Booking is accepted after mid-June. The restaurant has the good olden time atmosphere and it makes you feel as if you could be at your Grand-ma’s home. On this summer holiday, why don’t you have an exciting time with your family at Funayado where you can enjoy the Nagashi-somen, while being in Tokyo without going a long way?

2. Close to Tokyo! The Nagashi-somen being particular about the water, viewing the magnificent scenery! [Hana-no-omotenashi Choseikan] (Nagatoro Saitama prefecture)

In recent years, the [Hana-no-omotenashi Choseikan] located in Nagatoro in the Chichibu-county has been drawing attention as a sightseeing spot in the Kanto region. It is the popular place where you can taste the superb somen using the delicious water in Nagatoro in the Nagashi-somen style! It takes less than 2 hours by train from Tokyo to get there, so it is not too far away and you can enjoy it even on a one-day trip.

The more popular it becomes, the more seats they will prepare, so the waiting time seems to become shorter. Eating the Nagashi-somen, viewing the beautiful scenery of Nagatoro will be a good memory of the summer holiday, no doubt! The all-you-can-eat Nagashi-somen is ¥1,000 for a primary-school child and over! They are not accepting a booking in advance, so an early arrival is recommended.

Why don’t you go to the Choseikan and appreciate the nature in Nagatoro as well as the enjoyable Nagashi-somen? Please feel the nature which you can’t experience in Tokyo!

3. Eating the somen, dipping it in the 2 different kinds of sauce reminds everyone of summer! In the case of being around Tokyo, this restaurant is worth visitng! [Hanamigaoka-iwayasu Iwayasu Nagashi-somen-ten] (Mibu Tochigi prefecture)

The restaurant with the good olden atmosphere where you can taste the conventional Nagashi-somen named, [Hanamigaoka-iwayasu Iwayasu Nagashi-somen-ten] is in the Tochigi prefecture which is North of Tokyo, in the Northern part of the Kanto region. The restaurant is surrounded by many trees and even in summer, you can feel the cool breeze. Inside the restaurant, there are a lot of devices for tasting the Nagashi-somen!

The sizes of the devices are graded, from for a couple to a group of 10 people. You can enjoy it with your family friends or university friends. They provide 2 different dipping sauces, the soy-sauce base and the sesame one, so you won’t get tired of the flavour! When you visit the Tochigi prefecture full of nature, please extend your journey and go there!

4. Sample the Nagashi-somen which comes flowing through the bamboo container on the sightseeing site around Tokyo [Chayakado] (Kamakura Kanagawa prefecture)

At the [Chayakado] in Kamakura which is the popular sightseeing spot throughout the year in the Kanto region near Tokyo, you can enjoy the Nagashi-somen. Most people think that the ideal Nagashi-somen should come flowing through the bamboo container, don’t they? You can enjoy that ideal one here, at the [Chayakado].

You can enjoy the Nagashi-somen in its back garden. The shop-assistant makes the somen flow. The prices are ¥1,380 for the some with tororo ( grated yam paste), ¥1,880 with tempura and ¥2,180 with both of them. They don’t sound cheap, but you can enjoy them without any time-limit!

The seats are only for 10 customers at one time, so an early arrival for lunch is recommended. This place which is a short distance from Tokyo has a great deal of charm.

5. Enjoy the Nagashi-somen at the marble somen-table or the bamboo container [Nagashi-somen Kabutoyama] (Kabutoyama Yamanashi prefecture)

You can enjoy the Nagashi-somen at the [Nagashi-somen Kabutoyama] in the Yamanashi prefecture which is a 2-hour-drive from Tokyo. There are 2 types of ways to enjoy the Nagashi-somen at this restaurant. One is the flowing in the bamboo container and the other one is the flowing on the marble somen-table.

This Nagashi-somen is flowing in the cold, clean water which is pumped up from 100m below ground, so on a hot summer day, the somen can be tasted to be more delicious. The marble somen-table is a round one, so you can enjoy it with your family or friends with an exciting atmosphere.

As there is a waterfall on their site, you can feel the nature in your skin. One hot day in summer or using the summer holiday, why don’t you drive to Yamanashi and enjoy the Nagashi-somen?

6. Taste the Nagashi-somen in front of the mountain torrent of the Shosenkyo [En-emon] (Shosenkyo Yamanashi prefecture)

Speaking of Yamanashi which is a 2-hour-drive from Tokyo, many people remember the [Hohtoh] (local dish), but the Nagashi-somen with the delicious water is exquisite. At the [En-emon] along the river in Shosenkyo, you can enjoy the Nagashi-somen, viewing the clean water stream in front of you.

One portion costs ¥700 and an additional portion is ¥500. You are provided with the tempura made from the local vegetables as a side-dish. The marble somen-table is set on each table, but if you wish, you can eat it from the bamboo container.

Whichever table you take, you can enjoy the 2 different ways, so small children will be pleased no doubt! In front of the cool looking stream, forgetting about the hot summer in Tokyo, please enjoy the Nagashi-somen being chilled in the cold water.

7. Patented original The superb Nagashi-somen near Tokyo! [Momijien] (Tsukimachi-no-taki Ibaraki prefecture)

At the [Momijien], you can experience the unique Nagashi-somen, viewing the [Tsukimachi-no-taki](waterfall). There is the original some container which the owner has invented. This somen container has been patented. It is such a precious somen container.

The general Nagashi-somen comes flowing through one long bamboo container and we eat it from there, don’t we? Here, at the [Momijien], the bamboo container provided for each person. So, the scramble over the somen doesn’t happen and small children can eat it amicably. The price is reasonable, ¥1,000 for an adult and ¥700 for a child (up to a primary school pupil). It is the famous spot in the Kanto region, so it has been reported in the media. Let’s experience the Nagashi-somen coming through the original somen container! It is the recommended Nagashi-somen restaurant near Tokyo!

8. The spot near Tokyo where you can enjoy camping as well as eating the Nagashi-somen! [Arinomien Auto Camping Site] (Sanmu Chiba prefecture)

I believe that many people make a plan to go on a Camping holiday with their family or friends, when the summer approaches. The standard meal in camping is Barbeque, but are you interested in enjoying the Nagashi-somen on the camping site instead? At the [Arinomien Auto Camping Site] in the Chiba prefecture, the limited summer event in which you can experience the Nagashi-somen has been prepared.

You can make a reservation from the previous day and can enjoy the Nagashi-somen with the proper device. It would be special to taste somen outside on a hot-summer day! There is no doubt that children will be very pleased that they can enjoy the Nagashi-somen which they can hardly do in their daily lives on a camping site. The price is reasonable, which is ¥700 for both adult and child!

It is suitable not only people who have been thinking of camping in summer but also people who have been looking for the place where they can enjoy the Nagashi-somen. Why can’t you be greedy and enjoy both the camping and the Nagashi-somen?

9. Experience the Nagashi-somen in the middle of nature, leaving the bustle of Tokyo! [Santahills] (Nasu Tochigi prefecture)

As a summer enjoyment, camping has been enjoying a deep-rooted popularity for a long time, but recently, staying at a cottage is as popular as camping. Especially, in the Northern Kanto region, there are many cottage-sites. Staying at a cottage is much easier for people who are not used to the outdoor activities or who don’t own any camping tools.

At the [Santahills] either staying at a cottage or camping is available. A lot of events have been organised and one of the events is the Nagashi-somen games. At this event, when one could catch the coloured somen, one can receive some sweets. It is the event to make children excited. You can get there, taking half a day from Tokyo. Please take part in the event this summer.

Let’s enjoy the Nagashi-somen in the park or at home in Tokyo, using the Nagashi-somen kit!

Even if you want to enjoy the Nagashi-somen, there may be the cases that you don’t have enough time to travel or places are fully booked. In such cases, if you use the Nagashi-somen kit, you can enjoy the Nagashi-somen at home. I’m introducing 2 recommended items for this coming summer.

10. The rental kit is also available! The Nagashi-somen which you can enjoy privately in Tokyo. [Super rental-shop Darling]

To tell you the truth, there are few places where you can enjoy the Nagashi-somen in Tokyo. It is good to go to somewhere near Tokyo on a summer holiday and enjoy the Nagashi-somen while traveling. But sometimes it is difficult to adjust the whole day for that purpose. The rental kit of the Nagashi-somen is recommended for those people.

This rental shop, [Darling] has prepared a few Nagashi-somen kits. They are from the compact one for a small group to the large set which can accommodate many children in the neighbourhood. In the case of standard-set of 2.9m in length, the rental fee is ¥3,240 for 1 night 2 days. Being in Tokyo, you can enjoy the summer reminder, Nagashi-somen. This is the recommended product!

11. You can enjoy it on a rainy day! [Big-stream Somen-slider Extra-jumbo]

On a rainy day during the summer holiday, children only have their homework to do, so it could be a boring day for them. On such a day, what would make children experience at their meal-time which would remain in their memories is the [Big-stream Somen-slider Extra-jumbo] sold by the Takara Tomy Arts.

This is the Somen-machine which copied the famous water-slider in the Tokyo Summer Land. The design has been supervised by the Tokyo Summer Land, so it is made so well that even the Tokyo Summer Land would have been put to shame! The ice-making machine which can create a human figure is attached. It is really playful! There is no wonder that both adults and children can enjoy using this machine! Let’s enjoy the Nagashi-somen machine at home!

Let’s enjoy the feature in summer, the [Nagashi-somen]!

I’ve introduced the spots where you can enjoy the Nagashi-somen around Tokyo, the event and the Nagashi-somen kit which you can use at home. When summer comes, we want to eat somen, but why don’t you make having somen to be one of the events to enjoy together with family or friends? The taste of somen would be special when you share the time with your family or friends. Please satisfy yourself with the flowing somen!