On a backstreet in Morioka, northern Japan, I take a deep breath and steel myself. I’m at a restaurant called Azumaya, about to be inducted into the world of competitive noodle eating. I’ve skipped lunch in preparation.
Wanko soba, literally bowl noodles, is a traditional dish in Iwate prefecture, and speed-eating competitions are held in the cities of Hanamaki and Morioka each year. On 6 November, Morioka will host the 31st All Japan Wanko Soba Contest, with 176 contestants from across Japan descending on the Nanak shopping mall for a feasting frenzy. (Hanamaki holds its competition in February.)
The practice dates from the 17th century, when a local lord arrived at an inn to find no food available other than cold buckwheat noodles. Ravenous, he wolfed down bowl after bowl. And so a tradition of cramming noodles down your throat until your insides beg for mercy was born. Today’s record stands at 559 bowls. When my eyes bulge at that total, I’m told those are small bowls, 15 of them equalling one normal-size noodle bowl.
Visitors can give wanko soba a go without entering the championship. Azumaya offers year-round all–you–can–eat deals for about £25. I take my seat in a packed tatami-matted room as waitresses arrive carrying trays of cold noodles with just a dash of soy sauce to help them go down. I’m motioned to hold up my bowl for a small serving. I slurp it down and, following the lead of locals, shout “hi” for another helping.
Things grow frantic. Chopsticks clack, breathing is laboured. The staff laugh as I slap the lid across my bowl and call time. I’ve eaten 75 bowls. Not bad, but a long way off that record.
• 1-Chome-12-1, Morioka, wankosoba-azumaya.co.jp
