Protected local food
Ibonoito
揖保乃糸
Ibonoito is hand-stretched somen from Hyogo, named after the Ibo River. Hyogo makes more hand-stretched somen than anywhere else in Japan.
Key facts
- Registered as a protected name
- 27 August 2024
- Region
- Kansai
- Official name in Japanese
- 揖保乃糸
- Official area (in Japanese)
- 兵庫県
Smooth and firm
Ibonoito noodles are smooth on the tongue, have a firm bite and don't go soft soon after boiling. Hyogo produces more hand-stretched somen than any other area of Japan.
600 years on the Ibo River
The fertile Ibo River valley in Hyogo grew wheat, water wheels milled the flour, and good salt came from nearby Ako. Makers have used the hand-stretching method for about 600 years and age the noodles in special storehouses. In 1894 they introduced shared inspections and grades, and one name for all: Ibonoito, after the river.
Good to know
- Somen is the classic cold summer noodle: dip it in a light soy broth with spring onion and ginger.
- Compare it with Miwa Somen from Nara, said to be where hand-stretched somen began.
Questions travellers ask
What is Ibonoito?
A hand-stretched somen from Hyogo, protected as a GI product. The name means thread of the Ibo, after the local river.
Ibonoito or Miwa Somen?
Both are hand-stretched somen. Miwa in Nara is said to be the birthplace; Hyogo now makes the most.
Where it comes from
More protected foods from the same area
Crafts from the same area
Heritage stories from the same area
- Ako: the town that made Japan's finest salt
- Awaji: the first island in Japan's creation myth
- Inaba and Tajima: landscapes made by the Sea of Japan wind
- Itami and Nada: the birthplace of Japan's clear sake
- Kitamaebune: the merchant ships that made Japan's port towns rich
- Saigoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage: Japan's 1,300-year journey of the heart
- Tamba-Sasayama: a castle town in a folk song
- The Kanmon Strait: retro ports on both shores
- The Silver Carriage Road: 73 km to Hyogo's mines
- The Six Ancient Kilns: pottery born and raised in Japan
Sources
We checked the facts on this page against these sources.