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Fukushima has 36 roadside stations in the prefecture, each selling its own unique original soft serve ice cream, making it fun to sample them as you stroll around
Some of the soft serve ice creams are so unique that you might find yourself exclaiming, " What?! Why do they have soft serve like this?! " In this article, I'll share my impressions after trying them
Please note that the prices (tax included) listed in this article are current as of June 15, 2025
Roadside Station Hirata: Their specialty is the incredibly spicy habanero soft serve! (Hirata Village, Ishikawa County: National Route 49, near the Hirata Interchange on the Abukuma Highway)
It's a small roadside station, but they have some amazing soft serve ice cream. Source: Fukushima Prefecture Tourism Photo Library
Located in the mountainous area of the Abukuma Mountains, this roadside station is also known by the nickname "Shibazakura no Sato" (Village of Moss Phlox ) because it is home to " Jupialand Hirata, " a forest park famous for its moss phlox
Soba Restaurant Takeyama
Hirata Village is also known as a buckwheat producing area, and you can enjoy it at an affordable price at " Soba-dokoro Takeyama " in the roadside station
This roadside station boasts many "Japan's best" features, and its "Japan's best toilet" is particularly popular because it's always kept spotlessly clean, making it a pleasant place to use.
Check out the best toilets in Japan here
Furthermore, as "Japan's No. 1 Village for Medicinal Cuisine," we have developed products such as "Medicinal Curry," "Dandelion Power," and "Good Sleep Support Tea," which we sell at roadside stations and other locations.
Even though they may not have faces, the "Habanero Sentai Karainger" protect the peace of Hirata Village
Furthermore, it is also known as " Japan's spiciest village, " where the extremely spicy " habanero " is cultivated , and it seems that the peace of the village is protected by the " Habanero Sentai Karainjer ."
For beginners, this is the amount of habanero powder you should use, but it's super spicy!
This is a regularvanilla soft serve ice cream topped with bright red habanero powder, but don't underestimate this habanero powder just because there's only a little bit.
Even with the beginner level, which has a small amount of toppings, the regular soft serve ice cream initially has a slight spiciness, but as you continue to eat it, the spiciness gradually becomes stronger
The hottest hell level is free if you finish it, but you need to sign a "promissory note" to order it
If I licked the powder directly, my tongue and lips would sting, so I took a spoon from the counter and coated the habanero powder in the cream before putting it in my mouth
However, the sweetness of the cream was quickly overpowered by the spiciness of the habanero, so I managed to finish it by alternating between the topping and the cream part
Many celebrities who took part in the challenge were defeated by the habanero
The alternating sweet and spicy flavors were a strange and delicious taste I'd never experienced before, but after eating it I started having uncontrollable hiccups and my stomach started to act up in shock from the spiciness, so I surrendered unconditionally to the "tyrant habanero."
Soft serve ice cream can be purchased at " Fast Food Juppy " located outside the building , but for those who don't like the spiciness of habanero, we recommend vanilla or seasonal fruit-flavored soft serve.
For more information on the Hellish Habanero Topping Soft Serve, please see this website
The large, thick minced meat cutlets are very satisfying to eat!
The minced meat is filled with plenty of asparagus, which goes well with the chopped beef, allowing you to enjoy its aroma and texture
As the name suggests, this minced meat cutlet is jumbo and packed with beef, making it very satisfying and priced at 400 yen
Chopped green asparagus adds a nice touch of flavor and texture
It is sold at Fast Food Juppy along with croquettes and other items, and comes with sauce so you can eat it in the car
When you think of Hirata Village, you think of soba noodles!
Zaru soba (800 yen), fried tempura bits are free and refills are unlimited, soba soup is included from the start
Hirata Village is famous for producing fragrant buckwheat
On the day I visited, there was a disclaimer that the noodles were "machine-made," but the uneven thickness made them feel like hand-made soba, and they were still delicious
It said "Today's soba is made by machine," but the 28% soba noodles had a chewy texture that felt like they were made by hand
The dipping sauce, which has a strong bonito stock flavor, brings out the fragrant soba perfectly, and the soba soup at the end is thick and rich, so you can enjoy it plain without diluting the sauce
Hirata Roadside Station <Information>
Facility name: Roadside Station Hirata Shibazakura Village
Address: 160 Yokomorigo, Kamiyoda, Hirata Village, Ishikawa County, Fukushima Prefecture
Phone number: 0247-55-3501
Business hours: Fast Food Juppie 10:00-17:00
Business hours: Soba Restaurant Takeyama 11:00-17:00 (last order 16:30)
Opening hours: Direct sales store: Weekdays 9:30-18:00, Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays 9:00-18:00
[Roadside Station Adachi] Soft serve ice cream made from washi paper that might make you feel like a goat! (Nihonmatsu City: National Route 4)
Adachi Roadside Station (upbound) and a convenience store (Family Mart) are also located on the downbound route
This roadside station, which offers views of Mount Adatara, is nicknamed " Chieko's Village " because it is close to the hometown of Chieko, the wife who appears in Kotaro Takamura's poetry collection " Chieko-sho "
The outbound facility and Mt. Adatara seen across National Route 4 from the inbound facility
This section of National Route 4 (Fukushima South Bypass) isa high-standard road without traffic lights, making it a rare roadside station where you can access the facility using the side roads on both the uphill and downhill sides.
When it was first built, it was only a facility for those going uphill, but in April 2013 it was opened for those going downhill as well, and people can now travel between the stations by using the public road that passes under the bypass
A specialty of the northbound route, washi soft serve: 460 yen
Entrance to the Nihonmatsu Washi Tradition Museum and the ice cream factory Two Three
On the way up, there is a museum dedicated to the local specialty, washi paper, and at " Ice Cream Studio Two Three," they sell soft-serve ice cream made with the leaves of the paper mulberry tree, which is the raw material for washi paper
Washi soft serve ice cream with small grains, fragrant and refreshing taste
The pale green cream contains small particles of kozo leaves, but it has a smooth texture and a milky flavor with a fragrant taste reminiscent of matcha or roasted green tea
The leaves of the mulberry tree are said to have medicinal properties such as a diuretic effect
This soft serve ice cream is made with precious ingredients from washi paper and can only be enjoyed here
Nobori Shokudo on the way up offers a wide variety of food options, including original soft serve ice cream
Other popular soft-serve ice cream options on the uphill side include " Rakuo Cafe au Lait Soft Serve " and " Onibaba Soft Serve ."
On the way down, try the original "Natto Burger" from "Nihonmatsu Bakery"
The popular natto burger can sometimes sell out by mid-morning
The natto burger(400 yen) is a burger with a patty made from localIwashiro Goyo black bean natto, okara (soy pulp), brown rice, hijiki seaweed, onions, and carrots. It is topped with cheese, kimchi, and shiso (perilla) leaves, and served with mustard mayonnaise.
The fluffy buns will whet your appetite
When you bite into the soft bun, you can taste the subtle flavor of natto in your mouth, and the combination of kimchi, cheese, and mustard mayonnaise creates an exquisite taste
When you open the bun, you'll find it's packed with ingredients
This healthy and nutritious burger is a must-try for natto lovers
The contents of the bread, which has the scary face of an old hag engraved on it, change daily
Nihonmatsu Bakery also sells other popular local breads such as " Oniba Bread ," which has a different filling each day, as well as " White Peach Soft Serve (for some reason, made with white peaches from Okayama)" and " CREMIA " soft serve ice cream
Adachi Roadside Station (Upbound) <Information>
Facility name: Roadside Station Adachi (Uphill)
Address: 33-1 Shimokawasaki Kamitaira, Nihonmatsu City, Fukushima Prefecture
Phone number: 0243-61-3100
Opening hours: Ice Cream Factory Two Three 10:00-17:00 (closed on Wednesdays)
Business hours: Nobori Shokudo 7:00-18:00 (last order 17:30)
Opening hours: Momentei 11:30-15:30 (closed on the 2nd and 4th Mondays)
Business hours: Musha No. 2 Midori Yu Shokudo (inside Eki Nato) 9:30-19:00 (last orders 19:00, or when soup runs out)
Opening hours: Direct from the farm and local products corner 9:00-18:00
[Roadside Station Bandai] Enjoy the aroma of local buckwheat flour with "buckwheat soft serve ice cream"! (Bandai Town, Yama District: Prefectural Route 7 Inawashiro-Shiokawa Line, Prefectural Route 64 Aizu-Wakamatsu-Ura-Bandai Line)
Roadside Station Bandai and Mount Bandai
Located on the southwestern foot of Mt. Bandai, this roadside station is a transit point between Urabandai and Aizu, and is a bustling information center for sightseeing in Urabandai and climbing Mt. Bandai
The shopping area seen from the Montbell section
Additionally, there's a Gundam corner run by toy manufacturer Bandai, and a sales corner for the outdoor equipment manufacturerMontbell, and it seems many people visit specifically for these items.
A spacious and bright restaurant
Furthermore, "ShokujidokoroAizune" offers a wide variety of dishes, including Kitakata ramen and Aizu's famous sauce katsudon.
Soba soft serve ice cream: 450 yen
Buckwheat soft serve ice cream with visible buckwheat grains
This soft-serve ice cream is made with organic buckwheat grown in the local Bandai town, which is ground on-site, roasted until fragrant, and then carefully kneaded by hand, resulting in a soft-serve ice cream with a subtle buckwheat color. When you take a bite, you first taste a sesame-like aroma, and as you enjoy the slightly grainy texture on your tongue, the flavor of buckwheat emerges in the aftertaste.
The combination of just the right amount of sweetness and the flavor of buckwheat is refreshing, and this buckwheat soft serve ice cream, which buckwheat lovers should definitely try, can be purchased at " Omusubi-ya Cafe Bandai "
Jelapan's legendary cream bun
We recommend you buy the legendary cream buns early
The legendary soft serve ice cream bun (190 yen) is fluffy bread filled with rich, creamy custard cream with a hint of vanilla. The aftertaste is light and not too sweet, so you could eat as many as you like
It's unclear why it's called a "phantom," but perhaps it's because it's a limited-quantity product that sells out immediately every day
In this article, we introduced three roadside stations in Fukushima Prefecture that offer unique original soft serve ice cream that is not often found in other prefectures
In addition to this, there are other roadside stations in the Aizu and Hamadori regions of Fukushima Prefecture that serve delicious and unique soft serve ice cream, so I will report on them on another occasion
I'm a former Edoite (Tokyoite) who loves Morioka and the six prefectures of Tohoku, and I'm a big fan of history, gourmet food, travel, sports, alcohol, and choral singing.
I'll introduce you to interesting things, delicious food, and great places in Tohoku!
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