4 Local Foods to Try When You Visit Echigo Country Trail NEW

Hello! This is Staff K again. This time the theme is food!

If you are coming to Echigo Country Trail, we highly recommend trying some local dishes from the Nagaoka area.

Nagaoka is known for several unique local foods, and today I would like to introduce four of them.
These are all personal favorites, so please take this list as Staff K’s personal selection!

These local foods can be enjoyed in Ojiya and nearby towns within a short drive from the race area.
We will introduce some recommended local restaurants for these dishes in a future post.

Local Foods to Try When You Visit Echigo Country Trail

Category	Dish	What it is	Where to try
Ramen	Ginger Soy Sauce Ramen	A soy sauce–based ramen with a rich chicken broth and a distinctive ginger flavor. This style of ramen is said to have originated at Aoshima Shokudo in Nagaoka.	Ramen shops in Ojiya
Soba	Hegi Soba	Soba noodles made with funori (seaweed) as a binding ingredient,served in neat portions on a wooden tray called a hegi. They are known for their smooth texture and firm bite.	Famous soba restaurants in Tokamachi
Local Fast Food	Niigata “Italian”	A unique local fast food from Niigata. It consists of thick stir-fried noodles topped with a tomato-based meat sauce made with ground pork. Simple, inexpensive, and filling, it has been a familiar everyday food for people in Niigata.	Some shops in Nagaoka offer drive-through takeout.
Regional Dish	Soy Sauce Okowa	A regional dish from the Chuetsu area of Niigata. This sticky rice is seasoned with soy sauce for both flavor and color. Unlike traditional sekihan, it uses kidney beans instead of red azuki beans. It has a savory taste and is a local favorite.	Available at local confectionery shops and supermarkets.