One of the places we stop by whenever we go to Kawaguchiko, Yamanashi Prefecture, is this HŌTŌ noodle restaurant, “FUDŌ“. HŌTŌ is flat noodle in thick miso based soup with various vegetables such as Chinese cabbage, carrot, green onion, Japanese mushrooms, meat, daikon radish which vary depending on different recipes, with pumpkin being its indispensable ingredient. Unlike other noodle dishes where the noodles are parboiled before adding its soup, raw HŌTŌ noodles are cooked directly in the miso based soup along with other vegetables, thus making the soup very thick, and the noodles more starchy with tougher texture, resembling more of dumplings.

HŌTŌ noodle is known to have been preferred by TAKEDA SHINGEN, a famous warlord from the Kai Province, current Yamanashi Prefecture, thus making it one of their local dishes. You can find many HŌTŌ restaurants throughout Yamanashi Prefecture, but we particularly like this one, not only for its taste but for its unique architecture.

This restaurant, designed to resemble a huge cloud, probably makes you wonder what it looks like inside.
So let’s take a peek!

As you can see, the inside is one huge spacious dome, with numerous tables and chairs which can seat 300 people.

Something else we look forward to while we wait for our HŌTŌ noodle, is this yummy tripe miso stew, MOTSUNI.
The tripe is so soft and tender, and is one of our kids’ favorites.

So this is what their HŌTŌ noodle looks like! Just like most other HŌTŌ noodles, they are served piping hot in iron pots, with vegetables such as Chinese cabbage, green onion, carrot, NAMEKO mushroom, onion, ABURA AGE (deep fried tofu puff), and off course pumpkin!

If you ever have a chance to visit this restaurant, be sure to check out their souvenir shop where you can purchase HŌTŌ noodles to cook at home as well as their original goodies such as their pot stand, SHICHIMI (Japanese red chili mix) pot, and TENUGUI, Japanese cotton towel.