Gunma is not a prefecture that features prominently on most food tourism itineraries, but that is largely because visitors tend to pass through rather than stop. Those who do stop find a food culture built around mountain vegetables, hot spring eggs, premium beef, and one of Japan’s most revered noodle traditions. The ingredients are honest and locally sourced, the settings are often intimate, and the price-to-quality ratio consistently surprises.
Mizusawa Udon — One of Japan’s Top Three
Mizusawa udon is listed alongside Sanuki udon from Kagawa and Inaniwa udon from Akita as one of the three great udon traditions of Japan. Where Sanuki is elastic and Inaniwa is thin and silky, Mizusawa is thick, white, and substantial — noodles with real presence in the bowl.
History and Origins
The noodles take their name from the Mizusawa district near Ikaho Onsen, where they have been made for several hundred years. Local tradition holds that the clear mountain water flowing through the area is responsible for the noodle’s particular texture, and udon-makers still draw from local springs. The production is entirely artisanal: the dough is rested, stretched, and cut by hand in most establishments.
The Restaurant Street
Virtually all the classic Mizusawa udon restaurants are clustered on a single road leading up toward Ikaho Onsen from the valley floor. The street is compact enough to walk its length in ten minutes, which means you can survey the options before choosing. Most restaurants serve lunch only, opening around 11:00 and closing when the noodles run out — typically by 14:30 or 15:00. Arriving at 11:30 is advisable on weekends.
How to Order
The standard presentation is cold noodles served on a lacquered flat basket (zaru) alongside small dipping bowls of warm broth (usually bonito-based), sesame sauce, and a scattering of toppings such as sesame seeds, grated daikon, and shredded nori. You lift a portion of noodles with chopsticks, briefly dip in your chosen sauce, and eat. The experience is quiet and focused — Mizusawa udon is not a dish you rush.
Expect to pay ¥900 to ¥1,400 for a standard order. Some restaurants offer premium versions with additional toppings or larger portions.
Gunma Wagyu — Jomo Gyu
Gunma is one of Japan’s significant cattle-raising prefectures, and its premium beef brand, Jomo Gyu, has built a dedicated following among domestic food travelers. Jomo is the old literary name for Gunma, and the cattle that carry the brand are raised in the clean mountain air of the prefecture’s interior.
What Makes It Distinctive
Jomo Gyu is wagyu, which means the cattle are of the same genetic stock as Kobe, Matsusaka, or Yonezawa beef. What distinguishes regional wagyu brands is the feed, the environment, and the specific breeding lines maintained by local farmers. Jomo Gyu tends toward a well-balanced marbling — richly flavored but not overwhelming, which makes it well-suited to steaks and grilled preparations rather than the fat-forward styles associated with some other wagyu brands.
Where to Eat It
The best access to Jomo Gyu is in Takasaki and Maebashi, the two main cities of Gunma. Both have steakhouses and teppanyaki restaurants that source directly from local farms. Lunch sets are the economical option, typically running ¥2,000 to ¥4,000 for a steak with rice, soup, and salad. Full dinner courses with multiple cuts run ¥8,000 to ¥15,000 at upscale establishments.
Look for restaurants that display the Jomo Gyu certification mark. Several informal yakiniku (grilled meat) restaurants in Takasaki’s downtown area also use local Gunma beef and offer a more relaxed atmosphere at lower prices.
Takasaki Pasta
Takasaki pasta is one of those hyper-local food specialties that make regional Japan endlessly interesting. Somewhere in the city’s recent culinary history, a tradition emerged of preparing Italian-style pasta using local Gunma produce — mountain mushrooms, tomatoes from the prefecture’s farms, shiso leaves, and seasonal vegetables. The result is a category of pasta that feels distinctly Japanese despite the Italian framework.
Several dozen restaurants in Takasaki compete under a loose banner promoting the dish to visitors. The tomato-based sauces are bright and fresh; the vegetable preparations are often sauteed with miso or soy accents that give the dish a hybrid character. Portions tend to be generous, and lunch is the primary meal served.
The city even holds an annual pasta competition, and the winning recipes are sometimes added to menus at participating restaurants. A lunch set with Takasaki pasta, salad, and coffee typically costs ¥1,000 to ¥1,500.
Mountain Vegetable Dishes — Sansai
Gunma’s mountains produce an extraordinary variety of wild vegetables, known collectively as sansai. These seasonal plants — which include warabi (bracken fern), zenmai (royal fern), kogomi (ostrich fern), taranome (angelica tree shoots), and udo (mountain asparagus) — are gathered from early spring through early summer and preserved by pickling and drying for use through the year.
Sansai dishes appear most naturally at ryokan kaiseki meals, where they are presented as small side dishes alongside tofu, fish, and pickles. The flavors are earthy and faintly bitter, qualities that Japanese cuisine does not shy away from. Mountain restaurants along routes to Oze National Park and Shima Onsen often serve sansai as part of set lunch menus for ¥1,200 to ¥2,000.
If you are shopping rather than dining, look for jars of pickled sansai in the souvenir sections of roadside stations (michi-no-eki). They travel well and make distinctive gifts.
Onsen Tamago
Onsen tamago — eggs slow-cooked in hot spring water — are among the simplest and most satisfying foods in the Japanese onsen experience. The technique produces eggs with whites that are barely set, silky almost to the point of being liquid, while the yolk firms to a dense, custardy consistency. The contrast is entirely different from any other egg preparation.
In Kusatsu, vendors near the Yubatake sell onsen tamago in small cups with dashi broth, ready to eat while walking. A serving of two eggs costs around ¥200. The eggs are cooked in the actual hot spring water that feeds the town’s bathhouses, and buying one is a good way to understand the temperature of the springs before you climb in yourself.
Some ryokan in Kusatsu and Ikaho include onsen tamago as part of breakfast, but the street version, eaten standing at the Yubatake in the cool mountain air, is the more memorable experience.
Gunma Konnyaku
Japan produces konnyaku — the firm, gelatinous food made from konjac root — in quantity across several prefectures, but Gunma accounts for the majority of the national supply. The konjac plant grows well in Gunma’s cool volcanic soil, and the prefecture has been at the center of production for centuries.
Konnyaku appears throughout Japanese cuisine in various forms: sliced and simmered in oden stews, threaded onto skewers and coated with miso paste (dengaku), shredded into fine noodles called shirataki, and incorporated into hotpot dishes. It has almost no calories, a dense chew, and a neutral flavor that absorbs whatever broth or sauce it is cooked in.
In Gunma, look for fresh konnyaku at roadside stations and market stalls — it has a noticeably softer texture than the packaged product available in cities. Konnyaku dengaku skewers (around ¥100 each) are sold as snacks at markets and temple fairs and are worth trying.
Practical Tips
Timing: Most restaurant streets and udon shops in rural areas operate lunch hours only. Plan to arrive by noon and eat before 14:00 for the best selection.
Reservations: Upscale wagyu restaurants in Takasaki and Maebashi often require reservations for dinner, especially on weekends. Email reservations are usually possible; English inquiries are increasingly accepted at tourist-oriented establishments.
Ryokan meals: If you are staying overnight at a ryokan in Kusatsu, Ikaho, or Shima, the included dinner kaiseki will almost certainly feature sansai, local fish, and Gunma produce. These meals represent excellent value and are worth factoring into your choice of accommodation.
Getting between food spots: Mizusawa udon restaurants near Ikaho are accessible by bus from Shibukawa Station. Takasaki’s pasta and wagyu restaurants are a short walk or taxi ride from Takasaki Station. A rental car is strongly advisable if you want to combine mountain dining (sansai, roadside stations) with city eating in a single day.