We stopped at Futaba Shokudo in Daigo after our Fukuroda hiking trip. We had passed by this place before and were eager to give it a try. It was located along the main road leading to Fukuroda Falls. It just so happened to be next to Mukashi-ya which we went to the last time we were here.

The inside of the building was a mix of densely packed traditional tables and a large elevated platform with sitting tables. We were placed at one of the sitting tables on the elevated platform. We had to remove our shoes prior to stepping on the platform. The restaurant could accommodate quite a few parties at any given time. They did a number of things to help streamline their process like putting their menu on the Covid safety dividers or having water at a self service station.

Futaba Shokudo Menu

Like most of the restaurants in the area, the menu consisted primarily of udon and soba. They had a variety of toppings like mountain vegetables, mushrooms, various root vegetables, and tororo. In addition, each of the meals came with your choice of either udon or soba. All of the soba and udon were hand made in the restaurant, so we were eager to try them both. The menu also featured a number of side dishes like the grilled ayu (sweetfish), konnyaku, yuba sashimi, among others. They also had a good selection of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages to choose from. We decided to order the mushroom udon, the yuba and tororo zaru soba set, a grilled ayu (sweetfish), and a bottle of their locally produced apple juice.

Futaba Shokudo Food Review

First to come out was the apple juice and grilled ayu (sweetfish). The apple juice which was produced from local Daigo apples was good. It had a very mild flavor and was subtly sweet. The grilled ayu was a bit salty in our opinions. There was a large amount of salt on the outer skin of the fish. The skin was crispy and the flesh of the fish was nice and flakey. Both the soba and udon were delicious. They had an almost elastic type texture. The broth and dipping sauces were flavorful. The mushrooms were tender and had absorbed the broth well. In addition, each of our meals also came with a crispy and sweet Daigo apple slice.

We saw an advertisement for these konnyaku mochi and decided to given them a try. We were a bit surprised that they were only ¥200 for a set of three. They weren’t bad. The outer layer of chilled konnyaku had a neutral flavor and mochi like texture. The inside had a flavorful paste. The three flavors were green tea, strawberry and hassaku. Our favorite was the hassaku which was a citrus hybrid. It was comparable to an orange in color and a grapefruit in size.

They also had a stall outside selling freshly grilled ayu (sweetfish) and rice mochi cakes. It probably explained why they were able to get us our grilled ayu so quickly. From the outside we could also watch the soba and udon we had just ate being made fresh by hand. They also sold separate packages of their fresh soba and udon for sale.

Final Thoughts

We enjoyed our meal at Futaba Shokudo in Daigo. In our opinion, I think we preferred Futaba Shokudo over Mukashi-ya. The quality of the food was comparable, but the prices were a bit more reasonable. Either would be a fine option if your going to Fukuroda Falls.

More to Come…