This is a real, old-fashioned salaryman soba lunch hangout…which makes it quite sensible that I went there with my company’s CEO (and that’s pretty funny isn’t it? The American equivalent would be ‘just grabbing a burger with Lloyd Blankfein’.) If you go, expect to be elbow-to-elbow at formica-topped tables with middle-aged and older guys in […]
soba
Fumotoya, Marunouchi (麓屋)
Originally I was thinking of just going for a walk today (it’s a health thing) but in the end decided to squeeze a quick lunch at a relatively faraway destination (MY Plaza, in south Marunouchi) into the middle of 40 minutes of walking. Fumotoya seems to have a learning disability, but its soba-based food is […]
- Kanda
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Matsuya Soba, Awajicho
When I said to Big Bird, ‘Let’s get soba in Awajicho’, this was the place I meant. It was in Japan Times, after all. It is not the place that Bunny recommended, as well as my colleagues, because that was Yabu, and they were right, because Yabu is better. Where the Japan Times makes it […]
- Kanda
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Yabu Soba, Awajicho
After the trip to Nakano, Big Bird and I planned to get together again. Due to his irregular schedule and extravagant expat lifestyle, it ended up being lunch today. Due to my silly work schedule, it ended up being postponed by an hour. Due to my frustration, and his flexibility, it ended up being held […]
- curry
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Ippuku, Tokyo (一ぷく)
Linji is a kind and accommodating soul, and besides I could tell from her demeanor that she was practically bursting with good news and I wouldn’t be able to get many words in…so I just picked this place proactively. I think it’s the last place under the tracks, so today could have marked a historic […]
- Other treats
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Shuzo Collection, Togura (酒造コレクション)
It was nice walking back from Kamiyamada to Togura – just across the river, but it’s a big river and was a decent walk on a brilliantly clear day (if you’ve followed this whole series, I’d also like to mention that the hill at the end of the stretch of water in this picture is […]
Hiyoshiya, Morishita (日吉屋)
This place has always been on my radar to some extent, and after 5 years I finally made it in. Great experience, decent food. Hiyoshiya looks like it’s been doing the same thing forever. In fact it’s since Showa 5 (1931), although you could easily be mistaken and think it was Taisho 5. Somehow I […]
- Kanda
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Daiichian, Kanda （更科大一案）
Hmm, somehow I expected this place to be a touch better than it was. It’s on the main drag of Kanda’s east side, and has just been sitting there for over a year, daring me to come in for lunch. Today I did, along with my colleague Felt from London. They were out of two […]
- Other treats
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Hisanoji, Takasaki (ひさのじ)
So I was still in Takasaki, and I went to Darumaji, and it was only two stops away on the train, and I needed some exercise, and I thought, “Eh, I’ll just walk back.” This was a stupid idea, but at least I got an hour of walking in. And stopped along the way in […]
Momijigawa, Nihonbashi (紅葉川)
For a solid year of workdays, I’ve visited a different restaurant every day (except two times when I had bentos, and a third time when I didn’t eat). And on those nights when I went out after work, I generally managed to get to new places also. Minus vacations and holidays, that means better than […]