Japanese food culture guide
Wanko Soba History
Wanko 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.
In Shinjuku, Tokyo, Kurukuru Wanko serves this tradition on a revolving lane, as Japan's first rotating wanko soba restaurant. 40 minutes all-you-can-eat for ¥3,800 (tax included).
Updated: Published: Kurukuru Wanko
Photo: Koltonsmith (cropped) Wikimedia Commons（CC BY-SA 4.0）
Where wanko soba comes from
Wanko soba is a local food tradition of Iwate Prefecture in northern Japan. The Japan National Tourism Organization describes Hanamaki as the birthplace of the custom, and Morioka is also well known for it.
Source: Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) https://www.japan.travel/en/sg/story/unique-soba-eating-experience-iwate-prefecture/
The story from about 400 years ago
According to local legend, in the early Edo period a lord of the Nanbu domain stopped in Hanamaki, enjoyed soba served in small bowls, and asked for one refill after another. This is said to be how wanko soba began.
It is a legend, and there is more than one theory about the origin, including Hanamaki and Morioka.
What "wanko" means
"Wanko" means "bowl" in the local dialect of Iwate. The name comes from serving soba one mouthful at a time in small bowls.
It is said to come from Iwate's hospitality: serving soba little by little, again and again, so that many guests could eat their fill.
The wanko soba contest
In Hanamaki, a wanko soba eating contest started in December 1957. Today it is held every year on February 11, and participants compete to eat as many bowls as they can in a set time.
Source: Hanamaki Tourism Association https://en.visit-hanamaki.travel/event/article.php?id=315
One of Japan's three great soba
Wanko soba is said to be one of Japan's three great soba, together with Togakushi soba (Nagano) and Izumo soba (Shimane).
Japan's first rotating wanko soba, in Tokyo
Kurukuru Wanko opened on June 25, 2022 in Kabukicho, Shinjuku, as Japan's first rotating (kaiten) wanko soba restaurant. Instead of a server refilling your bowl, lacquer bowls with one mouthful of soba come to you on a revolving lane.
You stack your empty bowls, and the stack is your record. The shop record is 925 bowls. You get an original patch at 100 bowls, a gold patch at 200 and a gold medal at 300. In groups of three or more, whoever eats the fewest drinks the bitter penalty tea.
40 minutes all-you-can-eat for ¥3,800 (tax included). Open every day 11:00–18:30 (last entry), closing at 19:30. 1 minute from Seibu-Shinjuku Station, 4 minutes from the east exit of JR Shinjuku Station.
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
- Where is wanko soba from?
- Iwate Prefecture in northern Japan. JNTO describes Hanamaki as its birthplace.
- How old is wanko soba?
- It is said to have begun about 400 years ago, in the early Edo period. There is more than one theory about its origin.
- What does "wanko" mean?
- "Bowl" in the local dialect of Iwate.
- Can I try wanko soba in Tokyo?
- Yes. Kurukuru Wanko in Kabukicho, Shinjuku serves Japan's first rotating wanko soba: 40 minutes all-you-can-eat for ¥3,800 (tax included).
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.
- 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.
- How many bowls of wanko soba?Across 5,019 recorded 40-minute challenges at Kurukuru Wanko (May to October 2026), the average was 125 bowls and the median was 117.
- Kurukuru Wanko home