Iwasakiya

Published: Aug 11, 2026

Updated: Aug 11, 2026

Ota yakisobablack yakisobaOtalocal foodsince 1957

Representative image — not a photograph of this location.

Ota yakisoba is not the pale, cabbage-heavy noodle dish sold at festival stalls. At Iwasakiya it comes out almost black — thick noodles coated in a house sauce dark enough that first-time customers assume squid ink is involved — and the flavour is deeper and less sharp than the sauce most people expect. There is no meat and very little vegetable. The dish is noodles, sauce, and a scatter of aonori, and it has been made this way since the shop opened in 1957.

The other reason locals come is the portion ladder. Iwasakiya sells the same yakisoba in ten sizes, from a small at ¥250 up to a plate that runs to ¥2,500, and ordering near the top end is a recognised local challenge. The shop also grills yakimanju, the miso-glazed skewers that are Gunma's other everyday food, so a stop here covers two prefectural specialities at once.

Essential Information

Opening Hours

11:00 AM – 5:00 PM (closes earlier if sold out; some sources list 6:00 PM — confirm by phone)

Closed: Closed Tuesdays

Entrance Fee

Yakisoba ¥250 (small) – ¥2,500 (largest) | Yakimanju sold separately

Best Season

Year-round

Visit Duration

30–45 minutes

Getting There

Access Information

697-8 Terai-cho, Ota. Seven minutes on foot from Jiromonbashi Station on the Tobu Kiryu Line. Open 11:00 AM – 5:00 PM or until sold out; closed Tuesdays. Yakisoba from ¥250 (small) to ¥2,500 (largest size). Phone 0276-37-0258 — reported closing times vary slightly between sources, so confirm before a long trip.

Insider Guide

Premium

**Order smaller than you think.** The size ladder is real and the steps are large. A 'chu' (medium, ¥375) is already a full lunch for most people. The famous oversized plates exist because regulars treat them as a contest, not because they are a normal portion. **The colour is sauce, not ink.** The blackness comes from the shop's own blend, and the taste is rounder and less acidic than standard yakisoba sauce. It reads as sweet-savoury rather than tangy. Nothing in it is squid. **Get the yakimanju too.** The same counter grills miso-glazed manju skewers. Ordering a small yakisoba plus one skewer is the efficient way to eat both of Gunma's everyday specialities in one sitting. **It sells out.** The shop closes when the day's noodles are gone, which on a weekend can be well before the posted time. Lunchtime on a weekday is the safe window. **Getting there.** Jiromonbashi is a small station on the Tobu Kiryu Line and the walk is about seven minutes. If you are driving between Kiryu and Ota this sits almost exactly on the route.

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