Koshu Hoto Pumpkin Noodle Stew & Crisp Native Koshu White Wine

Recognized as the defining soul food of Yamanashi Prefecture, *Hoto* is a rich, hearty vegetable noodle stew whose historical origins trace to the Sengoku civil wars of the 16th century. Lore holds that the legendary daimyo Takeda Shingen created Hoto as field rations (*Jinchu-shoku*) for his samurai armies, using his personal sword to slice raw wheat dough into wide, flat ribbons. Unlike conventional Japanese udon, which incorporates salt and is parboiled separately, Hoto noodles contain zero salt and are simmered directly raw within an iron cauldron (*Tetsunabe*) filled with rich bonito-niboshi dashi and fermented local barley-soy miso. The heart of Hoto is thick wedges of sweet kabocha pumpkin simmered alongside crisp mountain forest produce: foraged shiitake, maitake, earthy burdock root (*Gobo*), Chinese cabbage, and sliced pork or chicken. As the kabocha softens and partially dissolves into the simmering miso broth, natural starches thicken the stew into a velvety golden gravy radiating rich, comforting sweetness that sustains body heat against the frigid alpine drafts of Mount Fuji’s foothills. Complementing Yamanashi’s table is indigenous *Koshu Wine*, born in the sun-drenched vineyards of the Katsunuma valley—the birthplace of Japanese viticulture in the late 19th century. Fermented from the pale-pink Koshu grape, which arrived along the Silk Road over a millennium ago, Koshu white wine is globally praised by sommeliers for its delicate yuzu-citrus acidity, mineral flintiness, and remarkably low iron content that avoids metallic clashes with raw fish, forming the ultimate pairing with delicate Washoku and seasonal mountain fare.