We visited Izushi town in Hyogo prefecture for a one day trip last Saturday instead of skiing, because most ski resorts in Shiga, Fukui and Gifu were closed due to lack of snow. Izushi is located in the north of Hyogo prefecture and has a long history with town an old area. Our trip started on board the JR train from Kusatsu station in Shiga and changed to an express train “Konotori” bound for Kinosaki Onsen at Shin-Osaka station. After two hours and a half we arrived at Yoka station in Hyogo and then boarded a bus for Izushi. Around noon we arrived at Izushi and strolled around in town for lunch. There were so many soba noodle restaurants and some were really crowded, but we were happy because we didn't have to wait in line for long. It was the first time we tried Izushi soba and we enjoyed it. They were delicious and unique soba noodles because they were served on small plates (basically five plates) with raw egg, yams, chopped scallion, radish and wasabi, you can try to eat as many as you want. In fact, we reordered five plates there and were fully satisfied. After lunch we headed to Izushi hot springs on foot and enjoyed a spa there. We enjoyed soba noodles and hot springs in Izushi town. I'd love to repeat walking around Izushi town next year.
