Who are the Four Heavenly Kings of Yokote Yakisoba? We tried the Yokote yakisoba from the four restaurants that made it to the final of the Four Heavenly Kings! [Yokote City, Akita Prefecture]

Yokote Yakisoba, a B-grade gourmet dish from Yokote City, Akita Prefecture, which gained attention after winning the B1 Grand Prix, was created as a new dish to replace Okonomiyaki, which helped alleviate the food shortages after the war

In Yokote, numerous restaurants have sprung up offering yakisoba as a "cheap and filling new dish," and they continue to compete to offer the best-tasting yakisoba

What is "Yokote Yakisoba"? Here's what makes it different from other yakisoba

Regarding the differences between Yokote yakisoba and typical yakisoba, the "Yokote Yakisoba Norenkai," which promotes Yokote yakisoba, defines its characteristics as follows on its official website:

• They use thick, straight, boiled square noodles
• The toppings consist of cabbage and ground pork, with a soft-boiled fried egg on top of the noodles, and pickled vegetables served on the side
• They use Worcestershire sauce and add their own original dashi-based sauces

The noodles used are from four noodle-making companies (members of the Norenkai association) located in Yokote City. The boiled, thick, square noodles have a chewy texture, and each restaurant's original Worcestershire sauce has a light flavor, but the use of various broths gives each sauce its own unique character

Boiled noodles and Worcestershire sauce create a moist and saucy yakisoba, and breaking the yolk of a fried egg and mixing it with the sweet sauce and thick noodles creates an indescribably delicious flavor

Tohoku Rokken Trivia Media NEFT

Is Yokote Yakisoba, Akita Prefecture's legendary B-class gourmet food, now popular nationwide?

https://jp.neft.asia/archives/3321

Many people have probably heard the term "B-grade gourmet." B-grade gourmet refers to inexpensive, down-to-earth, and somewhat nostalgic dishes—not traditional regional cuisine, nor high-end food. It can also refer to the kind of food that makes you think, "Ah, I want to eat that!" The term "B-grade gourmet" originated in Japan in the 1980s and quickly spread throughout the country. Currently, there are numerous examples of "cheap, casual, and distinctly regional B-grade gourmet" found throughout Japan, and many compete in B-grade gourmet grand prix competitions...

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Who are the "Four Heavenly Kings of Yokote Yakisoba"?

The "Yokote Yakisoba Grand Prix" was held with the aim of improving the quality of yakisoba restaurants affiliated with the Norenkai (a yakisoba association). The following year, it became the "Yokote Yakisoba Four Heavenly Kings Championship," and until 2022, the top four most popular restaurants were selected each year to become the "Four Heavenly Kings."

Every summer, there is a two-month qualifying round where masked judges visit all the restaurants, tasting the noodles, the balance with the sauce, the price, customer service, and so on, and then select the top 10 restaurants

The final competition in the fall will be held at Akita Furusato Village, where members of the public will taste and compare Yokote yakisoba from the top 10 restaurants and "vote" using disposable chopsticks. The top 4 restaurants based on the weight and number of chopsticks will be selected as the Four Heavenly Kings

The event was canceled in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and although it resumed in 2022, that was the last time it was held. From 2023 onwards, it evolved into the "Yokote Yakisoba Festival."

The 2026 festival will be held on September 26th and 27th, and will feature tasting events where attendees can vote, such as the "Favorite Noodle Election."

I tried the Yokote yakisoba from the four restaurants that made it to the final "Four Heavenly Kings"!

From here on, we'll bring you a taste test report of the yakisoba from the four restaurants in Yokote City that were selected as the final four in the 2022 Four Heavenly Kings competition

(Please note that the prices listed are as of August 18, 2026.)

Fujiharu Shokudo (Fujiharu Restaurant)

This renowned restaurant has been named one of the "Four Heavenly Kings" for 12 consecutive years since 2009. I arrived at 11:30 AM on a weekday, right when it opened, but the restaurant, which also has a tatami room in the back, was already almost full

As we were standing outside the entrance, wondering whether to go in or not, a staff member called out to us, "You can sit down," and my companion and I managed to slip in and get a seat just in time. After that, a line formed

The shop does not have its own parking lot, but you can park in the parking lot of the Sakae District Community Center "Sakae-kan" located across the street

The atmosphere was homey, with the mother cooking the soba noodles and her son (presumably) handling customer service. Perhaps because it was a weekday, there were more local regulars than tourists

You can add as much dried seaweed and extra sauce as you like from the table, allowing you to enjoy changing the flavor

Regular yakisoba (450 yen) / Special yakisoba (800 yen)

The most affordable "regular yakisoba" only contains cabbage as an ingredient, without ground pork or a fried egg, but it comes with fukujinzuke (pickled vegetables) and is served with plenty of broth, just like typical Yokote yakisoba

I enjoyed the simple, chewy texture of the thick noodles and the flavor of the Worcestershire sauce, but I realized that a soft-boiled fried egg is essential for Yokote yakisoba. However, I thought it was reasonably priced and good as a snack for children

The most expensive item on the menu, the "Special Yakisoba," consists of two servings of noodles, cabbage, ground pork, a fried egg, and a large slice of pork loin on top

Most customers ordered the "Special Yakisoba" and the "Double Meat and Egg Yakisoba," and everyone was happily devouring two servings of noodles

Minakita-tei

The roof of the shop, which stands alone in the car wash area, reads "Curry" and "Ramen House," and the sign also says "Curry House." It is one of the top four restaurants in the area, famous for its "Curry Yakisoba."

I parked my car on the side of the car wash near the shop and waited for it to open. Three groups of local customers came in between my arrival and the time I finished eating

Because it's a one-person operation, no one will come to take your order. You need to tell the kitchen staff your order loud enough for them to hear, and water is self-service

Meat and egg yakisoba (650 yen), meat and egg curry yakisoba (750 yen)

This restaurant serves yakisoba on a hot griddle, so you can enjoy it piping hot for a while, and you can also enjoy the crispy texture of the noodles that have burnt and stuck to the griddle

The fried egg is topped with dried seaweed flakes, and you can add extra sauce to change the flavor as you like

The "Meat and Egg Curry Yakisoba" offered both the flavor of Yokote yakisoba and the taste of curry mixed with diced pork, and I enjoyed it without adding any extra sauce

Kuidouraku Main Store

This izakaya (Japanese pub) specializes in local Akita sake and has a branch in front of Yokote Station. It's a renowned establishment that won the first Grand Prix in 2007 and has been named one of the "Four Heavenly Kings" for 12 consecutive years, alongside Fujiharu Shokudo

While Yokote yakisoba is the main dish at lunchtime, when I visited during dinner time, locals were ordering yakisoba as a final dish after drinking

Yokote Yakisoba (600 yen)

The "Yokote Yakisoba" at Kuidouraku is characterized by its sweet and fruity Worcestershire sauce seasoning, and comes with a fried egg topped with dried seaweed flakes from the start

The extra sauce on the table was like a thick tonkatsu sauce, and it might be more of a sauce for fried food that you'd find on an izakaya menu, rather than an extra sauce specifically for that dish

Of the four restaurants I visited this time, this one seemed to have the most minced pork, and the pickles that came later (complimentary?) were refreshing and delicious, making for a nice palate cleanser

The "Beef Rib Yakisoba (980 yen)" that the three regular customers sitting at the next table ordered as their final dish looked delicious, and I'd like to try that next time

Umami-dokoro Idehaya Akita Furusato Village Store

The main store is located in front of Yokote Station, but it was closed on the day of the interview, so I visited the branch located in "Akita Furusato Village" to try the food

While the main store is an izakaya (Japanese pub), the Akita Furusato Village store has the casual atmosphere of a food court, offering shaved ice and soft serve ice cream, but its main offerings are "Yokote Yakisoba" and the local ramen "Jumonji Chuka (700 yen)"

I glanced at the slightly extravagant "Kuroge Wagyu Yakisoba (1,000 yen)" but ordered the simple "Yokote Yakisoba."

Yokote Yakisoba (700 yen)

It seems they use a slightly thicker Worcestershire sauce, resulting in a spicier flavor with a stronger sweetness compared to other restaurants, which I personally like

The dried seaweed was already sprinkled on top, and there was extra sauce available some distance from the counter, but the dish was already spicy, so I didn't need to use it and it was delicious

[Sad news] "Ganso Kamiya Yakisoba-ya," the restaurant that originated Yokote yakisoba, has closed down

During this interview, I learned that "Ganso Kamiya Yakisoba-ya," a restaurant founded in 1955 (Showa 30) and known as the birthplace of "Yokote Yakisoba," closed its doors on July 31st of this year

I remember being deeply impressed by the deliciousness of Yokote yakisoba at the restaurant where I first tasted it over 10 years ago

It is very unfortunate that the owners, a couple who are now over 80 years old, have made this decision because they have no successor

summary

The standard way to write "Yokote Yakisoba" is in hiragana as "yakisoba," which is because the Yokote Yakisoba Noren Association recommended it and requested cooperation from various parties in order to make the kanji for "Yokote" stand out

In Yokote, there are currently 25 restaurants affiliated with the Norenkai (a yakisoba association) competing to offer the best yakisoba, and you can really appreciate their individual characteristics by trying them all and comparing them

I visited four different restaurants in one day, but the food went down easily. If you visit Yokote, I highly recommend trying out different restaurants and comparing their offerings

DaiwaConsilio

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!