Rakuichi Soba

Fresh, homemade soba omakase run by the cutest, most wholesome Japanese grandma grandpa power couple

Our 2nd Year back to this amazing restaurant. The food , the family , the zen energy of this place leaves you happy humble and filled with love and respect for this families story and journey to become one the the most famous and exceptional places to eat in Japan . There’s a reason you have to book so many months in advance .

We had an amazing dining experience at this cozy restaurant. Reservations are a must to experience its culinary delights. Despite initial hesitations about its focus on soba, we were pleasantly surprised. While the soba stood out, every dish was expertly crafted and delicious. We'll definitely be recommending and revisiting this gem during our next trip.

What an experience! The service was beyond amazing, and the owners were super friendly. We were able to reserve a table in advance for lunch and enjoyed a multiple course tasting. Everything was presented like beautiful art and you can tell they really take pride in their craft. I highly recommend to anyone stopping by Niseko to experience this wonderful meal!

We had very good time there and we did enjoy the dinner. Especially the soba, it’s the most delicious soba I’ve ever had! The lady served us is very pretty and funny, she helped us to take very good photos!

Exquisite kaiseki meal. Every course was sublime. Delicious and meticulously served. The soba at the end was the best part. The soba water and soup was the perfect finisher to this luxurious meal. We also had the gold leaf sake which was dry and perfect with the meal. Amazing service. Must book far in advance. Highly recommended.

Excellent soba noodle restaurant, they make it from scratch in front of the guests, the chef uses different kind of stick to roll the dough…... Owner is a very lovely old couples, lady boss is very elegant looking and friendly. Food overall is great, except the sabu sabu is not really our taste (but that’s just a personal thing as we prefer sukiyaki more than plain fish stock sabu sabu)………

Made a booking online after recommendation from a friend. Wasn't sure if to book for 3 pax dining or 4 pax as I was bringing along my 4 mth old baby. Appreciate the email communications (in English) to clarify. They even checked if my other child (<12 yrs old) prefers grilled/cooked vs raw food. It's run by a lovely couple and their son, Tatsuru Rai & Midori were SUPER friendly :) Precovid, it was one of the hardest reservations to score for Niseko. Thankfully as Japan just reopened and we had come before the ski season, we managed to get a reservation and were the only guests for the night. Every dish was scrumptious, oishi!! 👍🏼8 course meal with melon ice cream for dessert 😋😋 Watching soba master make fresh soba from scratch was a special experience. He made it look so easy, surreal. Definitely practiced to perfection. We enjoyed the dinner very very much! Highly recommended! His son will be running an izakaya next door from mid Dec 2022. Hope to check it out the next time we visit Niseko =)

On an unassuming road, in the area of Annupuri that is part of Hokkaido's famous ski area Niseko, lies an all wood bridge leading to a simple wooden Japanese chalet built all by hand . For over 40 years, chef and owner Tatsuru Rai and his wife Midori have run the singular soba restaurant to international acclaim . I had only found the restaurant while researching Niseko recommendations and had little if any expectations . Our original booking was for lunch but the Niseko Classic bike race and road closures made for a change of plan to dinner the night prior which they kindly accommodated . As we arrived near dusk, we weren't sure if we were lost as there are minimal markings and the doors do not open until precisely 7 o'clock . Fortunately, we were in the right place & time and soon Tatsuru-san, his wife Midori and their son served us an exquisite meal with the highlight watching freshly made soba by a master and then enjoying it minutes later . I enjoyed my meal immensely and the setting only enhanced the experience as did being there with my family . It was only after perusing the hand-built home did I notice the photos with Bourdain and Rene Redzepi of Noma as well as a book excerpt on Tatsuru-san and soba by author Matt Goulding . As we left, I felt even luckier that we had made it to Rakuichi and even more fortunate that we had gotten the opportunity to savor such a unique meal . Tomato Soup with Crab / Scallop foam, soy sauce, tomato and fish / Otoro negitoro / Radish soup Uni / Bonito Katsuo / Shabu Shabu with Hokkaido pork / Tempura vegetable /handmade Soba noodles with or without duck . Rakuichi Soba (Annupuri, Hokkaido, Japan) Rakuichi is reservation only and all dining is indoor only.

Highlight of our trip to Japan. Excellent service and artistic food experience. Everything was top quality products, placed in a creative and cohesive course. My kids ate everything. One of the dishes had a blanched peeled cherry tomato on it and it was so memorable because it was something so simple yet it was wonderful.

Oh. My. Lord. Best soba ever! Noodles in general are one of my favorite things to eat: from Japanese ramen to Italian spaghetti, I am a big noodle lover. Soba is one of the things I don't eat often outside Japan as I typically think there are more tasty options. However, during my visits to Japan I grew to appreciate Soba a lot. Enter Rakuichi: now cold duck soba rank amongst my al time favorite noodle dishes! After reading reviews online and knowing that Anthony Bourdain has visited the place before*, we went around 10.45 for lunch and were first in line. We really enjoyed chilling on the benches outside since it was a sunny winter day. Once 11.30 arrived we were friendly greeted and entered the premises. The restaurant is super intimate and cosy: you can watch the chef preparing the soba by hand. Both my friend and I went for the cold duck soba and tempura. The duck soba was a rare demonstration of how traditional craft en good ingredients do not need frills and bells. This dish was perfection: the noodles tasted amazing, the duck soup was pure and delicious. The tempura, which was a side dish, accompanied the soba amazingly. Never have I eaten tempura which was so airy and crispy (not even in upscale places in Tokyo), it was an amazing dish which was great on its own but even better paired with the soba. Overall this was a fantastically balanced meal, truly one of the best things I ever ate. In addition, the staff was witty and friendly (even with their limited skills in English) so kudos to them. I am really convinced I need to take another trip to Niseko, to try their evening menu, and have lunch again whilst being there :-) * side note: Anthony Bourdain is not the only famous person who has been there. There is a picture of Rene Redzepi (head chef at Noma) and Rakuichi chef on the wall.

I happened to come across MAD's video of Soba Master Tatsuru Rai making soba noodles on stage and decided I must go to his restaurant in Niseko and try it out myself. Back when I was in Hawaii, i had the best soba noodles at Matsugen but sadly, it shuttered so going to Rakuichi was one of the most anticipated restaurants I couldn't wait to go. Finally that date had come and over the mountains up the hills in the snowy snow, we arrived. Thought it opened at 11am but it was changed to 11:30am. but it worked out perfectly for us since we had the opportunity to admire the surrounding scenery and take lots of pictures. At 11:30am, we were invited into the restaurant waiting area, then to the eating area. Placed our orders (small menu and I already knew what I want) so it's just a matter of waiting for chef Rai to make the soba noodles from scratch (in front of you) and cooked fresh by the order. I can't tell you how good the soba noodles were. The duck soup, the tempura, the soba noodles, the setting, the little house hidden in the snowy mountains. I love them all and totally took every minute every second to savor the moment. It's totally worth the time and effort (drove from Hakodate to Niseko) just for this meal. Go if you can, I can only dream to go back one day!

There's only one rational move when it's pouring rain on the slopes in Niseko, beeline for Rakuichi Soba 2 hours before the first seating to secure a spot. My brother was adamant to try this soba spot a la Anthony Bourdain No Reservations and it's well-known that this place doesn't accept reservations for lunch; in fact, all of the spots were taken about an hour and a half before the seating. This two-man operation (chef Tatsuru Rai and his wife, Midori) is run seamlessly - Midori taking care of hosting, serving, and logistics while the soba master is left to his craft. I started with Unkai (JPY 800), a shochu distilled from buckwheat/Soba, and Midori cautioned me to how strong it was (editor's note: she was justified in doing so). Then I splurged and ordered the Cold Soba with Hot Duck soup (JPY 1600) with a side of seasonal vegetable tempura (JPY 700). All of the soba connoisseurs recommend going for cold soba and it was delicious with the slices of warm duck on top. The vegetable tempura was phenomenal - better than the tempura I had at a joint in Niseko that specialized in tempura. Seriously, don't skip out on it. The experience itself is one of a kind. After you order, you see chef Tatsuru Rai begin the process of making the soba right in front of you - rolling out the dough and precisely, almost mechanically slicing the dough into noodles. He makes this batch to completion and serves one half of the bar first to preserve freshness. The whole room is in awe at his craftsmanship so it's not weird to also geek out. One last note, definitely eat something light beforehand because it's about a 2-3 hour process of waiting before you get your meal.

This place was amazing, the service was warm, inviting, kind, and responsive. Our server was from the US teaching English in Japan so lucky for us we could communicate with her directly instead of asking our one friend in the group who spoke Japanese. Her Japanese by the way was amazing. The food was top notch, everything was so fresh and it was a 10 course meal. Everything in that meal was so good that I wanted more of each item especially the Toro Tuna, smoked scallop, pork loin, and Soba. I know I tend to overeat but by the end of the meal I was full but not overstuffed as I tend to get back in the states. It was an amazing experience overall, atmosphere, staff, quality of food, and Sake. To make reservations is not easy because they are booked out and you have to make reservations weeks in advanced. This was the best meal I had in Japan and we ate out every night and had amazing food everywhere. If you go to Niseko this is one place you have to go.

This place sells out real quick. If you feel like lunch at 11:30am then great, go for it. Otherwise it's a long and fruitless walk from the gondola and back, when you probably should have just grabbed something from the big red bus instead.