Kikutei

Kikutei Local Cuisine is a soba noodle restaurant operated by Mitsuoku-ya, a pickled vegetable shop founded in 1948. To reach it, visitors should proceed along National Route 13 from Sawayaka-bashi Bridge along the embankment of the Mogami River. The building is a repurposed traditional private house built in “chumon-zukuri” style with a thatched roof. The spacious interior, with its hearthside and tatami rooms creates a mood that makes customers feel as if they are visiting a friend’s home. Takahata Folk Museum is housed inside the same building and displays tools that were used in everyday life. The restaurant’s noodles are made with 100% buckwheat flour grown in Yamagata Prefecture. Other appealing dishes available at Kikutei include local specialties, such as stew made with wild plants or hiyajiru (chilled miso soup), and Gyudon (beef on rice) made with Yonezawa beef, so that customers are able to sample a wide variety of Yamagata cuisine. Kikutei is closed for the winter from early December to May.