Ebiya Chozo

Locally knownKnown to people who live here. Not in the international guidebooks.

Researched and written by Hinato

Nikko yubatofu skinEbiya ChozoNikkosince 1872

Tochigi · Nikko

36.7506°N, 139.6087°E

Ebiya Chozo sits in a part of Tochigi's food scene that doesn't need a translation to be understood.

Nikko and Kyoto both make the skin that forms on heated soy milk, and they write it differently on purpose. Kyoto writes yuba as 湯葉, leaf, and lifts the sheet from one edge so it comes away thin. Nikko writes it 湯波, wave, and lifts it from the middle with a needle so it folds double — thicker, chewier, and a substantially different ingredient. The distinction is not pedantry; the two products behave differently in cooking.

Most of what it produces goes wholesale to the yuba restaurants around the shrines, so the quantity available over the counter is small and regulars order two or three days in advance. The forms it makes — sashimi yuba, rolled agemaki, shinomaki, flat and Shimada styles — are the range the temple kitchens use, and buying directly from the maker rather than eating it in a set menu is a different and cheaper way to meet it.

Plan your visit

Hours

10:00 AM – 5:00 PM

Closed: Closed Wednesdays

Time to allow

20–30 minutes

What it costs

Yuba priced by type and weight — confirm current prices in store

Best season

Year-round

Getting there

Getting there in detail

948 Shimohatsuishi-machi, Nikko, on the main street between the stations and the shrines. Because most production goes wholesale to restaurants, counter stock is limited — ordering 2–3 days ahead is recommended. Phone.

Beyond the guidebook

**Order ahead if you want a specific type.** The shop supplies the local restaurants first and what is left is sold over the counter. Two or three days' notice is the difference between choosing what you buy and taking what is there. **Know which form you want.** Sashimi yuba is eaten raw with soy and wasabi; agemaki is rolled and fried; hira and shimada are flat styles used in simmered dishes. Fresh yuba does not keep long, so buy for eating that day unless you are taking a dried type. **Nikko yuba is doubled, Kyoto yuba is single.** If you have eaten yuba in Kyoto and found it insubstantial, this is a different product. That is the reason to bother. **It is on the walk in.** The shop is on the main street between the stations and the shrine approach, which means it costs nothing to stop on the way up to Toshogu. **Closed Wednesdays.** Worth knowing if you have built a Nikko day around a midweek visit.

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