Sanbe Soba

Sanbe Soba is a native variety of buckwheat that has been cultivated, since old days, in Sanbe Town and Yamaguchi Town in Oda City, at the foot of Mt. Sanbe ⁽¹⁾.
　Compared to major buckwheat varieties cultivated in Honshu, the largest island of Japan, Sanbe Soba characteristically has small and firm seeds and rich taste derived from its strong bitterness.
　Its rarity as Sanbe's native variety and its qualities, such as its consistency when milled and kneaded and taste when processed into noodle, are highly appreciated by milling companies that deal in buckwheat across Japan and soba noodle speciality restaurants in other prefectures.

For the production of Sanbe Soba, a buckwheat variety native to Sanbe is cultivated in the designated producing area.

The producing area of Sanbe Soba, Sanbe Town and Yamaguchi Town in Oda City, is situated at the foot of Mt. Sanbe at an altitude of approximately 500 m.
　This area has the natural conditions suitable for buckwheat production, such as andosol soil consisting of volcanic ash deposits from Mt. Sanbe, an active volcano, and highland climate with large temperature differences between daytime and nighttime. Thus, buckwheat has been cultivated in this area since the Edo Period ⁽²⁾.
　With aging of farmers, production at one point dropped to the level of personal consumption. Since around 1998, however, local buckwheat lovers have continued their efforts to expand production, and, as of 2018, the number of producers has increased to 9 farms and 5 groups, and the area of cultivation has increased from 12.6 ha in 2015 to 18.5 ha in 2018.

1. Sanbe: A volcanic mountain with an elevation of 1,126 m, located on the Daisen volcanic belt in the central region of Shimane Prefecture. It is also a part of Daisen-Oki National Park. The Sanbe area, which includes Mt. Kotobiki and Mt. Oyorogi in addition to Mt. Sanbe, is a local tourist destination for mountain climbing and trekking.
2. The Edo Period: 1603-1867. It is a period of Japanese history characterized by the establishment of a shogunate (feudal military government) in Edo (now Tokyo). Political administration under the Tokugawa clan began when Tokugawa Ieyasu became the era's first shogun.