Traditional Japan in Kitakata

Ramen, breathtaking historical buildings, ancient shrines – what more could you want from a day out? Kitakata City has all of this, and more to offer.

Kitakata’s Warehouses

The warehouse-lined streets of Kitakata are a wonderful place to wander and explore traditional Japan.

Warehouses that became popular in the Meiji and Taisho eras were used both as places to store dried goods, sake and other foodstuffs, and as spaces where brewing and lacquer-work could be carried out. Some of the warehouses here even date back to the Edo period!

Many of these storehouses are still used today, and there are over 4000 still standing.

It’s said that, in the olden days, if you were a man from Kitakata, and you didn’t own a warehouse by the age of 40, that this was a massive source of shame for a family!

Sugiyama District

The style and shape of the warehouses depends on the district. Those in the Sugiyama district of Kitakata City look Japanese in style, many with covered wooden walls with unique shaped roofs.

Mitsuya District

Those in the Mitsuya district, on the other hand, are given a really European look due to their red brick walls. As well as walking, there is also the option of exploring the town by bikes that are available to hire!

You can definitely see the European influence that rapidly poured into many of Japan’s industries, although nowadays it feels like that influence stopped at the architecture, seeing as most of the warehouses still in use produce typically “Japanese” foods such as Japanese sake.

Kitakata Cuisine

During my visit, I was told that one of the reasons that Kitakata has so many warehouses is that its location gives it very high quality water, making food produced in the city popular across the country. For this reason, many families produced rice, miso paste, sake and, of course, the local delicacy, Kitata Ramen.

Kitakata Ramen is one of the big Top 3 ramens of Japan. (The other two being Fukuoka Ramen and Sapporo Ramen). Kitakata’s ramen differs from that of Fukuoka and Sapporo due to its famous slightly wavy noodles.

There are still a huge number of ramen restaurants for one town, including those specialisng in Asara (breakfast ramen).

If you’re a big ramen fan, you could do a tour of Kitakata, eating ramen for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

I was shown around Kitakata by Matsuzaki san and Yamada san, the respective chairman and vicechairman of Kitakata Global Club, who are both involved in the food industry.

They are both very active in the community and Matsuzaki san is also the owner of peanut and bean specialist store Okuya, which sells a really huge variety of snacks made from peanuts, including peanut ice cream (heavenly) and Camembert-covered nuts.

It was so interesting hearing from him about how he is friends with many of the sake producers from the area, and has known them since his childhood. Kitakata is really a great place to visit if you are a foodie.

Local Izakaya

I visited a local restaurant for dinner where I got to sample a large sample of local food (and sake!). Everything was delicious, but I think my favourite was the vegetables and fish topped with 5 different types of miso sauce (top left photo).

Shingu Kumano Shrine, Nagatoko

Another highlight of Kitakata is Nagatoko, the worship hall of Shingu Kumano Shrine.

This worship hall was built over 1000 years ago, and is completely open, with no walls, only pillars holding it up.

Matsuzaki san explained to me about how hundreds of people would gather at this one space on New Years Eve – the most special time of year for Japanese families.

I would love to come here at New Years one time, I can imagine the scene must be incredible with so many people celebrating together.

An extraordinary 800 year old ginkgo tree stands next to the worship hall. In Autumn (when I went) the ginkgo tree’s bright yellow leaves line the floor of the worship hall.

Here’s a little preview of what you can expect from Nagatoko during winter this year.

More Information

English information sheets were provided at Nagatoko, so that I could understand a little bit about this long history.

For more information on Nagatoko please click here, or if ramen is more your thing, click here! Here is a link for the warehouses of Kitakata.

For information on travelling to Kitakata City – including info on how to get around the city – please read my travel guide here.

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Here’s an example of a 1 day itinerary you could use to explore Kitakata

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