"Gomu Yakisoba," a local gourmet dish from Fukuchiyama City, Kyoto Prefecture, is in trouble. Characterized by its chewy texture and rubber band-like noodles, this popular dish originated in an okonomiyaki restaurant in Fukuchiyama City after the war. However, the only noodle factory that had preserved the unique and time-consuming method went out of business in May 2025, and a number of restaurants have since given up on serving it. "I don't want the history to die out," says one restaurant owner, who has started making the noodles himself.
The dish originated at Kobeyaki, a long-time okonomiyaki restaurant in Fukuchiyama City. The founder, unable to forget the taste of Cantonese noodles he ate in Manchuria, China during the war, worked with a local noodle manufacturer to recreate the dish after much trial and error. By the 1980s, around 15 restaurants in the city were using these noodles to serve yakisoba.