Tokyo / Akihabara & Kanda / District

Kanda's old noodle houses

神田の老舗麺処 かんだのしにせめんどころ

Soba since 1880, anago since Meiji, an eel house in a wooden building — the restaurants Tokyo argues about.

Worth itFood · History · Local life

Kanda kept more of its pre-war restaurants than any other district, and they are the ones Tokyoites cite when they say what the city tastes like. Kanda Yabu Soba, in a rebuilt wooden house with a garden, has served thin, faintly green soba since 1880 to the sound of the staff singing out orders; Matsuya (1884) is the working man's version two streets away; Botan does chicken sukiyaki over charcoal in a 1897 house; Isegen has served nothing but monkfish hotpot since 1830. Lunch queues are the sign of the right door. Order the plain cold soba first, then something else.

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A hand-drawn sketch for orientation — each place links to an exact map.
Tip
Arrive at 11:15, before the noon rush, and expect to share a table.
Best time
Weekday early lunch.
Allow
60 min
Station
Awajicho (Marunouchi line) or Ogawamachi (Shinjuku line), 3 minutes
Official site — hours, prices, closures
www.yabusoba.net · Map

Appears in

In this area: Akihabara & Kanda

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