Nagano Prefecture is famous for soba. The noodles are known as shinshu soba. One of the reasons for this popularity is that Nagano has natural features well-suited to soba production.The land has plenty of volcanic ash soil because of its highland location. It also has an extreme difference in temperatures.Many famous soba production centers can be found across the prefecture, from the Kurohime and Togakushi highlands in the north to the Kaida highlands in the south, and the prefecture boasts the second-highest production of soba in Japan.