Kitakata (喜多方市; -shi) is a city located in Fukushima Prefecture, in northern Honshū, Japan. Kitakata was once written 北方, which means “northern place.”

A big tourist draw here is the city’s 2,600 kura, brightly colored mud-walled constructions distinctive of the region. Today, they serve as workshops, sake breweries, and homes.

The city is well-known for its distinctive ramen. With around 120 shops, the area within its former city boundaries has the highest per-capita number of ramen establishments in Japan. Ramen has such prominence in the region that locally, the word soba usually refers to ramen, and not to actual soba which is referred to as “nihon soba” ("Japanese soba"). Kitakata's ramen consists of rather thick, flat, curly noodles served in a pork and niboshi broth.

External links

• Kitakata official website in Japanese