Yuba is a soybean-based food. Soy milk is made and it is boiled, the thin film made on the surface is pulled up. That thin film is called Nama-yuba, and dried thin film is called Hoshi-yuba. There is no big difference between the Nama-yuba and the Hoshi-yuba in terms of recipe. However, Yuba in Kyoto is relatively flat, while Nikko Yuba is round and fat. Chinese character of Nikko Yuba is different from Kyoto Yuba.

Nikko Yuba has a long history. Many ascetics came to Nikko, as Buddhist training became popular around Rinnoji Temple. Vegetable dishes were served to the ascetics. Therefore, protein was absorbed through the soybean-based food. Also, the ascetics liked portable, preservable and nutritious food in order to travel around the mountainous area. The ascetics used the soybean-based foods such as soybean flour and Yuba.

The origin of Yuba was introduced from the urban, and it had been handed down as a food for priests. Yuba came to be eaten by general public after the Meiji period.