Arakiya

Published: Aug 11, 2026

Updated: Aug 11, 2026

Izumo sobawarigoArakiyaIzumo Taishasince the 1780s

Representative image — not a photograph of this location.

There are a dozen soba shops around Izumo Taisha and Arakiya is the oldest of them, founded in the Tenmei era of the 1780s and run continuously for around 220 years. It sits on a side street behind the shrine rather than on the approach, which is part of why it has kept a local clientele rather than becoming a coach stop.

Izumo soba is milled with the buckwheat husk still on, which makes it darker, coarser and more strongly flavoured than soba elsewhere in Japan, and it is served warigo style — three stacked lacquered discs, with the broth poured onto the top one and then tipped down through the stack. Arakiya stone-mills its own buckwheat, draws its water from the shop's own well, and makes the broth from dried sardines, which gives it a cleaner and less sweet character than most. It is also credited locally as the place where the pairing of soba and zenzai began.

Essential Information

Opening Hours

11:00 AM – 4:00 PM (closes when the day's soba runs out)

Closed: Closed Wednesdays, or the following day when the Wednesday is a national holiday

Entrance Fee

Warigo soba around ¥1,080 | Sandai soba around ¥1,230

Best Season

Year-round | New buckwheat in late autumn

Visit Duration

45–60 minutes

Getting There

Access Information

409-2 Kizuki-higashi, Taisha-cho, Izumo, a short walk from Izumo Taisha. Open 11:00 AM – 4:00 PM or until the day's soba runs out. Closed Wednesdays, or the following day when the Wednesday is a national holiday. Warigo soba around ¥1,080; sandai soba, with egg and grated yam added, around ¥1,230.

Insider Guide

Premium

**Eat before 1:00 PM or after 2:30 PM.** The shop closes when the soba is gone and the shrine lunch rush concentrates hard around noon. Arriving at 11:00 AM or in the mid-afternoon avoids both the queue and the sold-out risk. **How to eat warigo.** Pour the broth onto the top disc, eat that, then tip the leftover broth from the first disc down onto the second, and again onto the third. Do not pour fresh broth into each. Locals will not correct you, but this is the format the stack exists for. **Order sandai if you want the full version.** The three-tier with egg and grated yam adds texture that shows what the coarse husk-milled noodle can carry. The plain warigo is the reference version. **Finish with zenzai.** The shop is associated with the soba-and-zenzai combination, and the sweet red bean soup after the noodles is a specifically Izumo way to end the meal. **It is behind the shrine, not in front of it.** The main approach is lined with newer shops. Arakiya is on a back street a short walk away — which is why it is quieter and why people miss it.

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