Horokanai Town New Soba Festival

A food festival in Horokanai Town, Hokkaido, where visitors enjoyed soba from across Japan and the skills of soba makers. It ran for 30 editions from 1994 and ended with the 30th edition, “THE FINAL,” in 2025.

About Horokanai Town New Soba Festival

The Horokanai Town New Soba Festival is a food festival held in Horokanai, Hokkaido, a town known for its area planted with soba and its soba production.

It has showcased the town’s appeal as a soba-producing region through events such as the “Regional Soba Favorites Plaza,” where visitors can sample soba from across Japan, as well as soba-making demonstrations and competitions.

Residents have worked together to run the festival to revitalize the town, promote year-round tourism, and support local industries.

Festival highlights

A highlight was the “National Regional Soba Showcase,” where soba shops from Horokanai Town, elsewhere in Hokkaido, and Honshu gathered.

Past vendors have offered soba from different regions, including Echizen oroshi soba from Fukui Prefecture, mizusoba from former Yamato Town in Fukushima Prefecture, and Hitachi Aki soba from former Kanasago Town in Ibaraki Prefecture.

Another feature was the chance to see soba-making masters from across Japan demonstrate their skills and sample a variety of soba made with domestically grown buckwheat flour.

Source: 幌加内町新そば祭り – 幌加内町

A food culture festival in Horokanai, bringing together soba from across Japan and the people who make it

What to expect

At the festival, visitors could sample soba from different regions and watch demonstrations by soba-making masters.

Events that tested soba-making skills were also held, including the Zenkyo Association Amateur Soba-Making Rank Certification Competition, the National Women’s Soba-Making Masters Competition, and the Hokkaido Amateur Soba-Making Masters Competition.

The program also included activities for learning about soba culture, not just eating it, such as soba-making workshops, a photo contest, and a soba exhibition.

Location and access

Address: Horokanai Town

Host municipality 北海道幌加内町

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Dates and season

Season: Around late August to September
Frequency: Held annually until it ended with its 30th edition in 2025

Accommodation and hotels PR

Prices and availability are current at the time of retrieval. For multi-night stays, only the first night’s price is shown. Confirm the final price and directions to the venue with the booking provider. Select your dates again when using the area search link. Search area: within 3 km of Central Hokkaido / Horokanai Town (the search is not centered on the festival venue)

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Origins and History of Horokanai Town New Soba Festival

Horokanai Town had Japan’s largest area under buckwheat cultivation in Showa 55, but at the time, “Horokanai soba” was not widely known.

After visiting and studying events in places such as Togakushi Village, Nagano Prefecture, the first soba festival in Hokkaido was held in Heisei 6.

The festival continued for 30 editions, with its venue and program evolving over the years, and came to a close with the 30th edition in Reiwa 7.

Source: 「第30回新そば祭り THE FINAL」公式記録動画を公開しました – 幌加内町

Official information

The festival guide on the official Horokanai Town website provides information about the event’s purpose, features, and past editions.

The town’s official website also announces the release of a video documenting the 30th “New Soba Festival THE FINAL.”