Itaba

Great mabo noodles

Itaba is a restaurant in Niigata's Akiha ward and I really like the mabo noodles they serve up here -- they've got a good amount of spice to them, but they have plenty of other noodle-based dishes if you're not a fan of things with a kick. Ordering is done via a vending machine system so you will need to read some Japanese or at least have someone with you who does (or the help of Google Translate). Just a bit over 10 minutes driving time from the Northern Culture Museum which is a beautiful place to check out during the autumn months.