Yes, it is, and no, it's very much to the Japanese taste.

There's no absence of non-rice main meals in Japan; Wafu pasta is an entire category of Japanese pasta dishes whose name literally means Japanese Style Pasta. Udon, Ramen and Soba abound, and Kansai in particular has a large number of Konamon, flour-based meals and snacks (resulting from Allied food aid after the bombings).

In some ways, the reaction to suggestions of swapping out rice are like that redneck uncle of yours who is mad his Cardiologist told him to cut down on red meat because "what else am I supposed to eat?!" even though his wife does all the cooking and they already have pork/chicken/fish 3 nights out of 7. It's an identity thing; in some ways to eat rice is to _be_ Japanese.

Yakisoba in traditional Japanese cuisine is noodles (“soba”), fried (“yaki”). Noodles varies but you can use ramen, udon, or others, and it’s stir fried up with vegetables, meats and a worcestershire based sauce and has been in japan since the 1930’s so like most things it means different things in different places.

This is my personal gold standard for yakisoba: https://sanyofoodsamerica.com/products/sapporo-ichiban-chow-...

But I’ve also seen “yakisoba” served up in US military mess halls and correctional institutions as little more than spaghetti noodles and hamburger as well.