Two stops take no credit cards, and one books dinner only for guests with a Japanese phone number.
Choose by when you are eating and how much planning you want. If you are unsure, start with Daian in Shinjuku: soba at lunch and dinner, with wine and sake, one minute from JR Shinjuku Station. For a quick lunch, try Kanda Yabu Soba, Owariya or Konpira Cha-ya. Lunches that need planning are Soba Osame (reserve), Jiyu-san (it ends when the soba sells out) and Sato Yosuke Ginza Inaniwa Udon (no booking). The other evening choice is Dashin Soan, which takes no seat-only bookings.
A soba shop in Kanda-Awajicho whose menu lists seiro (soba served on a tray with a dipping sauce), tempura soba and duck seiro. The shop says it cannot accommodate vegan, vegetarian or gluten-free diets.
Rebuilt edo-style soba · Open from 11:30, last order 20:00; closed Wednesdays (changes when Wednesday is a public holiday). · Operator-listed: seiro soba ¥1,320; tempura soba ¥2,860; duck seiro (kamo seiro) ¥3,190.
Founded in 1860, about 5 minutes on foot from exit 3 of Asakusa Station (private railways). Its signature is the tempura soba with two large prawns. Owariya takes cash only: no credit cards, e-money or QR payments.
A hand-made udon shop that has been open since 1983, 3 minutes on foot from Meguro Station. Its signature is the beef curry udon. It takes cash or PayPay, a phone payment app, and no credit cards.
Beef curry udon · Daily 11:00–23:00; closed around year-end and New Year. · Operator-listed: beef curry udon ¥1,280. Cash or PayPay only.
Three lunches where one condition decides the visit: a course-only lunch in Mejiro that you reserve, a Nakano lunch that ends when the soba is gone, and a Ginza udon lunch that cannot be booked.
Soba Osame, 7 minutes on foot from Mejiro Station, uses only heirloom (traditional-variety) buckwheat, which the owner mills on stone each morning and makes into three kinds of soba. Lunch is a course built around the three, and you reserve it online.
100% buckwheat soba · Lunch 11:30–14:30, course only, by reservation; dinner 17:30–21:00; closed Mondays and Tuesdays. · ¥¥
A hand-made soba shop, 700 m from Shin-Egota Station, where the seiro is made from buckwheat flour and water only. Lunch takes no reservations and ends when the soba sells out.
Handmade soba haven · Lunch 11:30–14:30 or until sold out, no lunch reservations; dinner Wednesday, Friday and Saturday by booking only, arrival 17:30–19:00; closed Sundays, Mondays and public holidays. · Operator-listed: seiro soba (juwari) ¥1,400.
Sato Yosuke makes inaniwa udon, a thin, hand-drawn Akita udon. This Ginza shop was its first directly run shop in the Tokyo area, and its lunch cannot be booked.
Flagship inaniwa udon · Lunch 11:30–15:00, cannot be booked; dinner 17:00–22:00 weekdays and 17:00–21:00 Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, only weekday-dinner courses can be booked; open daily except Obon and year-end and New Year. · Operator-listed, tax included: seiro with two dips ¥1,400; green or red Thai-curry tsuke-udon ¥1,500; hot tempura udon ¥2,500; 10% service charge from 17:00.
Try the Tempura Seiro Futaaji for a full taste experience.
🔒 +5 more insider tips in vibe
Where can I have soba in the evening?
Daian has a wine and sake list at the counter, and Dashin Soan serves a booked kaiseki (multi-course) or nabe (hot-pot) dinner. Jiyu-san, in the section above, also serves dinner on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday by booking.
The owner is a sommelier, and the drinks list covers wine, local sake, shochu and craft beer. The soba is stone-ground in the shop and hand-made, and there are counters around an open kitchen and semi-private rooms. Dinner courses must be reserved two days before the visit.
Handmade soba izakaya · Dinner 17:00–22:00; lunch 11:30–14:30, weekends and public holidays to 15:00; closed Mondays (open when Monday is a public holiday), some Tuesdays also closed. · Operator-listed, tax included: seiro ¥990; Omi duck seiro ¥1,980; dinner otoshi ¥330 per person; dinner course ¥7,150; omakase course ¥8,800; 10% service charge at dinner.
Dashin Soan takes no seat-only reservations. It books only a kaiseki meal, a nabe meal, or à la carte meals that cost at least the kaiseki price per person and serves duck nabe. The soba can sell out, so phone first if you plan to arrive after 20:00.
Garden-view soba dining · 11:30–21:30; closed Tuesdays (next weekday off when Tuesday is a public holiday); no seat-only reservations. · Operator-listed: kaiseki lunch from ¥8,000; dinner kaiseki ¥10,000 / ¥12,500 / ¥15,000; duck nabe or duck shabu ¥10,000, from two servings.
Which of these need a reservation, and which can't be booked?
Soba Osame's lunch is a course only, reserved online. Dashin Soan books only kaiseki, nabe or à la carte meals above the kaiseki price. Jiyu-san's dinner on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday is booked on its website only, not by phone, and only for guests with a Japanese phone number the shop can reach that day. Jiyu-san's and Sato Yosuke's lunches cannot be booked, though Sato Yosuke takes course bookings for weekday dinners. Daian takes online bookings for up to four people. Kanda Yabu Soba takes ground-floor reservations up to the day before.
Roughly what will each stop cost?
Lunch is mostly one bowl, and each card lists the prices. Dinner is where the bill grows: Daian and Dashin Soan sell courses, and Dashin Soan's dinner courses cost more. Daian adds a small appetizer charge (otoshi) and a 10% service charge at dinner, and Sato Yosuke adds 10% service from 17:00.
Which of these stops close on certain days?
Six of the eight close one or more days a week: Kanda Yabu Soba, Owariya, Soba Osame, Jiyu-san, Daian and Dashin Soan. Konpira Cha-ya and Sato Yosuke are open daily, except around year-end and New Year, and Obon at Sato Yosuke. The days are on each card.
Which of these stops don't take credit cards?
Owariya takes cash only, with no credit cards, e-money or QR payments. Konpira Cha-ya takes cash or PayPay only.
Which of these stops are open in the evening?
Konpira Cha-ya is open until 23:00 every day, Daian serves dinner until 22:00, Sato Yosuke until 22:00 on weekdays, and Dashin Soan is open until 21:30. Soba Osame has dinner until 21:00. Kanda Yabu Soba and Owariya close at 20:00.
Where can I order duck or tempura?
Kanda Yabu Soba and Owariya both list tempura soba and duck seiro. Daian has Omi duck seiro and a prawn-tempura seiro, and Dashin Soan serves duck nabe and duck shabu. Jiyu-san has duck roast on its menu, and Sato Yosuke lists tempura seiro and hot tempura udon.
Before you go
Not sure where to start? Daian.
At Jiyu-san, come early: lunch ends when the soba sells out.
Dashin Soan asks guests arriving after 20:00 to phone first.
