From our records
How Many Bowls of Wanko Soba Can You Eat?
Across 5,019 recorded 40-minute challenges at Kurukuru Wanko (May to October 2026), the average was 125 bowls and the median was 117.
76.5% of people ate 100 bowls or more (about 3 in 4), 7.0% ate 200 or more, and 1.0% ate 300 or more (about 1 in 100). The all-time record is 925 bowls.
Updated: Published: Kurukuru Wanko
The average is 125 bowls
The average across 5,019 challenges was 125 bowls, and the median was 117. By gender, women averaged about 105 bowls and men about 150.
Each bowl holds a single mouthful of soba.
How many people reach each count
- 100 bowls or more: 76.5% (about 3 in 4)
- 150 bowls or more: 26.5% (about 1 in 4)
- 200 bowls or more: 7.0% (about 1 in 14)
- 300 bowls or more: 1.0% (about 1 in 100)
- The middle 80% of people ate between 72 and 181 bowls.
Rewards at 100, 200 and 300 bowls
- 100 bowls: an original patch (about 3 in 4 people earn one)
- 200 bowls: a gold patch
- 300 bowls: a gold medal
- Each month, the top man and the top woman each receive ¥10,000.
- The all-time record is 925 bowls.
About these numbers
We counted the 5,019 challenges recorded on our official LINE account between May and 27 October 2026 (challenges not recorded on LINE are not included). Monthly averages ranged from 112 to 139 bowls.
More than 45,000 people have taken on the challenge since we opened in June 2022.
Try it yourself
Kurukuru Wanko is Japan's first rotating wanko soba restaurant, in Kabukicho, Shinjuku. 40 minutes all-you-can-eat for ¥3,800 (tax included). Open every day 11:00–18:30 (last entry), closes 19:30. 1 minute from Seibu-Shinjuku Station, 4 minutes from JR Shinjuku Station (east exit).
Access
- Address
- 5F J-Gold Bldg, 1-22-9 Kabukicho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-0021
- Stations
- 1 min walk from Seibu-Shinjuku Station (main exit); 4 min walk from JR Shinjuku Station (east exit)
- Hours
- 11:00–18:30 (last entry), closes 19:30, open every day
- Phone
- +81-3-6265-9881
- Landmark
- 1 min walk from the Godzilla Head (Shinjuku Toho Building)
Online booking sites
Book a time on one of these online booking sites (¥4,700).
FAQ
- How many bowls of wanko soba does the average person eat?
- Across 5,019 recorded challenges at Kurukuru Wanko, the average was 125 bowls in 40 minutes. Women averaged about 105 and men about 150.
- Can I eat 100 bowls?
- About 3 in 4 people (76.5%) eat 100 bowls or more.
- How many people eat 300 bowls?
- About 1 in 100 (1.0%). 300 bowls earns a gold medal.
- What is the record?
- The all-time record is 925 bowls.
See the live waitOpen in Google MapsStep-by-step directions
More guides
- Unique things to do in ShinjukuFor a uniquely Japanese experience in Shinjuku, try wanko soba, the endless-bowl soba tradition from Iwate, at Kurukuru Wanko in Kabukicho, where one-mouthful bowls of soba come to you on a revolving lane.
- What is wanko soba?Wanko soba is a way of eating soba from Iwate Prefecture in northern Japan: small bowls, each holding a single mouthful of noodles, are served one after another, and you eat as many as you can.
- Halal-friendly food experience in ShinjukuKurukuru Wanko, a conveyor-belt wanko soba restaurant in Kabukicho, Shinjuku, is halal-friendly: halal-aware staff are on site at all times, and our ingredients have been checked.
- Unique food experience in Shinjuku & KabukichoFor a unique, traditional Japanese food experience in Shinjuku, try wanko soba at Kurukuru Wanko in Kabukicho — Japan's first rotating (kaiten) wanko soba restaurant.
- Things to do in Shinjuku on a rainy dayOn a rainy day in Shinjuku, Kurukuru Wanko in Kabukicho is an easy indoor plan: it is on the 5th floor of a building a 1-minute walk from Seibu-Shinjuku Station (4 minutes from the east exit of JR Shinjuku Station).
- All-you-can-eat in Tokyo for ¥3,800Kurukuru Wanko in Shinjuku, Tokyo, is a 40-minute all-you-can-eat for ¥3,800 per person (tax included, walk-in): Japan's first rotating wanko soba, where one-mouthful bowls of soba come to you on a revolving lane.
- Unique food experiences in TokyoFor a unique food experience in Tokyo, pick by what you want to do: cook monjayaki yourself on a griddle in Tsukishima, walk the stalls of Tsukiji Outer Market, make a replica food sample in Kappabashi, eat yakitori in the post-war alleys of Omoide Yokocho, or try a game-like regional dish such as wanko soba.
- Traditional Japanese food in Shinjuku & KabukichoIn Shinjuku you can try traditional Japanese food in several styles: yakitori and grilled offal in the post-war alleys of Omoide Yokocho, quick standing soba counters, department-store food halls (depachika), the Kabuki Yokocho food hall in Tokyu Kabukicho Tower, and wanko soba, a regional soba tradition from Iwate.
- All-you-can-eat lunch in Tokyo: how to chooseAll-you-can-eat (tabehodai) in Tokyo comes in many types: yakiniku and shabu-shabu where you cook at the table, sushi, hotel lunch buffets, dessert buffets, and wanko soba. Most have a time limit, and drinks are often charged separately, so check the time, what is included and whether you need to book.
- Food experiences in Tokyo for families with kidsFamilies with children in Tokyo often enjoy food experiences where kids can do something themselves: cooking monjayaki on a griddle in Tsukishima, making a replica food sample at a workshop in Kappabashi, picking plates at a conveyor-belt sushi restaurant, or taking bowls from a revolving lane at a wanko soba restaurant.
- Wanko soba historyWanko soba is a traditional way of eating soba from Iwate Prefecture: one mouthful of noodles in a small bowl, eaten one bowl after another. Hanamaki is known as its birthplace, and it is said to have begun about 400 years ago, in the early Edo period.
- Japanese food culture experiences in TokyoWashoku, the traditional food culture of Japan, was added to the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2013. In Tokyo you can experience it through sushi making, tea ceremony and wagashi, markets, kaiseki and regional dishes.
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