Uchiko is a small town in a valley between towering mountains. From a distance, it appears as just another minor agglomeration of houses and shops, strung along a river in the middle of nowhere. But running through the center of Uchiko is a street of houses dating from the 19th century, and in their size and extravagant decoration, they’re unlike anything you would expect in such a backwater, on Japan’s smallest island.
These buildings reflect the wealth of the wax merchants of Uchiko, principally the Haga family who left three buildings named after themselves in close proximity, the Shimohaga, Honhaga, and Kamihaga residences. Here we’re concerned with the Shimohaga-tei which has been converted into a restaurant. Shimo means ‘lower’, and this former residence is located lower in the town than the others. Up a small hill is Honhaga which is still a private residence, while Kamihaga is open to the public and is home to a fascinating museum about the international wax trade in the Meiji period.
The Shimohaga-tei is without exaggeration, an extraordinary place to have lunch. When you enter the large building, you find yourself in a spacious area with an earthen floor, the doma, a typical feature of traditional homes and shops. There are benches for waiting customers which fortunately we didn’t have to use this time. We took off our shoes and were ushered into one of the larger tatami-floored rooms at the back overlooking the beautiful inner garden.
Shimohaga-tei serves soba noodles with a variety of seasonal side dishes. I had the ‘Noasobi bento’ for 1,380 yen and elected to have the noodles cold with a dipping sauce and wasabi. A lacquered tray with the side dishes arrived first. Everything was highly decorative and there was even a little glass vase of seasonal flowers (guests are kindly expected to refrain from eating the flowers). There was mixed tempura with horsetails, a wild plant that appears only briefly in spring, tofu, sushi, and various vegetables. A little plate contained a variety of dessert items, my favorite of which was a slice of sponge cake flavored with local citrus. I’m rather a critic of soba noodles having eaten great quantities of them, and I can declare the noodles in Shimohaga-tei to be very good—robust and slightly earthy tasting, with a satisfyingly heavy sauce.
After your meal, you can open the sliding doors and go into the garden to enjoy the manicured serenity in the heart of this building, which has stood in Uchiko for over 140 years.
