Strange bamboo noodle shop in Japan, Vietnamese customers wait 3 hours to 'take a number' to enjoy

During her trip to Japan last July, Nguyen Thuy Trang (born in 1995, from Hai Phong) was delighted to experience many interesting destinations and activities. Among them, the female travel blogger was most impressed with Kifune - a cool green place suitable for "escape from the heat" in the summer, located about 16km from the center of the ancient capital of Kyoto.

“Among the popular tourist destinations in Kyoto, I feel that Kifune deserves to be the top choice for those who love natural beauty, experience sacred temples and enjoy unique dishes,” the 9X shared.

Along the cool stream and rows of green trees covering the main road, Kifune makes visitors surprised by the beautiful scenery like in anime movies.

Here, many shops turn on their lights from 10am. The sacred Kifune shrine is open all year round with the “legendary slope” leading up to the shrine always crowded with visitors coming to pray for luck.

The Vietnamese female tourist also revealed that, not only is Kifune impressed by its beautiful green natural landscape, it also attracts tourists with its unique bamboo noodle shop - Hirobun, which is only open in the summer and autumn. This is also considered the only restaurant in Kyoto that serves nagashi somen (bamboo noodles).

Thuy Trang said the noodle shop does not allow reservations. Although the shop opens at 11am, by 9:30am, there were already nearly 100 people lining up along the stream bank waiting to get a number.

Thuy Trang (left) and a long line of tourists in front of the noodle shop patiently and happily waited in the cool air even though it was summer.

Arriving at this noodle shop at 9am, luckily there weren't many customers yet, there were only about 35 people in front so Thuy Trang got number 14. However, the girl from Hai Phong still had to wait 3 hours to get to sit on the mat because the noodle dish is served in turns, each turn is only for 10 people.

“The number of customers is constantly increasing, they even patiently line up 2km long, waiting 1-3 hours just to enjoy this unique noodle dish,” the female travel blogger recounted.

Space blends with nature at the unique noodle shop in Kifune

9X also revealed that, not only do they have to wait in long lines and spend hours waiting, visitors who want to enjoy the unique noodle dish at this shop also have to go through a rather arduous process before "approaching" the bamboo tube and bowl of noodles.

First, after lining up and getting your turn to enter the restaurant, visitors go to the reception desk to pay 1,300 yen/meal (more than 210,000 VND) and receive a fan with their number. Visitors should note that losing the fan will result in a fine.

Next, the customers move down to the shop and wait on the waiting mats. Right below the customers' sitting area is a cool stream, making everyone feel comfortable and relaxed.

After the previous 10 people have finished eating, the staff will raise a numbered board to serve the next group of guests. As they get closer to their number, they will switch to another waiting mat, getting closer to the bamboo tube area and starting a fun and exciting time of eating.

In the past, the proper way to eat nagashi somen was to have the noodles flowed through a clean bamboo tube filled with cold water. But now, to ensure hygiene and to suit all customers, Hirobun noodle shop has switched to using aluminum tubes designed and decorated to look like bamboo tubes. Each customer will use a separate tube.

Although she did not appreciate the noodle dish in terms of taste, Thuy Trang felt satisfied because she had many other interesting experiences.

When the noodles arrive, diners will pick up the noodles and dip them into a Japanese-style broth called tsuyu, doing this about 4-5 times. Visitors can also eat the noodles with a special matcha-coated jelly from the region, slowly feeling the refreshing taste, overpowering the salty taste of the tsuyu broth.

“This unique culinary tour will officially end when the noodles flowing from the bamboo tube turn purple/red/yellow. That is the signal that the amount of noodles has run out and your service session has ended,” Thuy Trang added.

The female blogger admitted that the journey of nearly 2 hours by public transport to get here, plus about 3 hours of waiting in exchange for 15 minutes of eating instant noodles was quite a satisfying experience. With this noodle dish, 9X has the opportunity to understand more about the uniqueness and interestingness of the Japanese way of eating.

In Kifune, Thuy Trang spent half a day walking and exploring the area. In addition to experiencing bamboo tube somen noodles, she also went to Kifune Shrine to pray for luck, then walked around to eat mochi, ice cream and wandered around to enjoy the fresh, green natural space.

Phan Dau - Photo: Nguyen Thuy Trang

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