Buckwheat noodles (soba) are served up as a lively eating contest. This local favorite began almost four centuries ago as an efficient way to provide guests with "all-you-can-eat" noodles, and continues today as one of Iwate's most famous food experiences. Count your bite-sized bowls as you down them, but beware! Slide the lid on your bowl quickly when you're done, or one of the servers will slide in a new portion for you to eat.

Wanko Soba Noodles is served with various condiments, such as: tuna sashimi; nameko, mushrooms with a slightly gelatinous coating, simmered in soy sauce; daikon radish pickled in miso with crushed walnuts; harako, or salmon roe. Sometimes people forget about the contest and take their time to enjoy the delicious soba and the condiments. Some restaurants offer a set menu of condiments and several bowls of soba, for those who opt not to eat them contest-style. In Iwate, there are many soba restaurants, each with different soba, condiments, and dipping sauce. A reservation is often required for Wanko Soba Noodles, so check before going to a soba restaurant.

Origins
Wanko Soba Noodles is said to begin when Nambu Toshinao (1599-1632), lord of the Nambu domain that encompassed most of Iwate, visited Hanamaki around 380 years ago. Soba was a local specialty, but afraid that Toshinao might consider it too rustic his retainers served an elegantly arranged bite-sized bowl of noodles first. Toshinao was delighted, and ordered seconds. Then thirds. And so on. This style of serving small portions until guests were satisfied became the accepted etiquette for hosts in the region, and evolved into the Wanko Soba Noodles we know today. The spirited calls of the servers and the element of competition were later additions, but have become irreplaceable parts of this unique experience.

Naming
But what about the name? Well, "wanko" is the word for "bowl" in the local dialect, and refers to the tiny bowls in which the noodles are served. Depending on the restaurant, about eight to fifteen bowls of Wanko Soba Noodles is the noodle equivalent of one regular bowl of soba.

Annual Competitions and Records
Wanko Soba Noodles is now mainly served in the cities of Hanamaki, Morioka, and Ichinoseki. Additionally, Hanamaki and Morioka host annual timed Wanko Soba Noodles competitions, the former in February and the latter in November. The 2009 Hanamaki champion downed 218 bowls in just five minutes, while Morioka saw an amazing "three-peat" by 2007-2008's defending champion, who put away 383 bowls in just ten minutes—a five minute handicap over her competitors.

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