I had some business to take care of, and on the way home afterwards I thought I would grab a late-night snack, so I stopped by Kawakamian, a soba shop in Azabu-Juban. Even though it is a soba shop it stays open until the small hours, which makes it really handy. I had been to the main shop in Karuizawa before, so I was all the more looking forward to it.
Tokyo Tower, shot on the way
It was pouring that day, so I could not get a decent shot. There were rain clouds hanging over the top of the tower.
The entrance
It is tucked away in a corner of Azabu-Juban. The place is in a basement, and the interior reminded me of a jazz bar. It seems to cater mainly to locals, and I saw quite a few people in loose, casual clothes. It was nearly 11 p.m. and yet every seat was taken. Very much Azabu-Juban, the wealthiest neighbourhood in Tokyo.
I ordered the ten-seiro soba. I was really curious whether it would taste the same as what I had at the main shop in Karuizawa.
Buckwheat tea
A white-balance test shot… It was so dark inside that it did not come out well. It is hard to get a proper photo with my camera in a place this dark. I have changed models now, so maybe things will come out better from here on…
Kokuryu for the drink
I was about to go to bed and had not planned on drinking, but there was a sake on the menu that looked good, so I ordered it… It is a sake that got even more famous after appearing in the manga Natsuko’s Sake (Natsuko no Sake). It was about 600 yen.
They pour it like this.
For an entry-level bottle it had a lovely aroma.
Then the otoshi came out.
Pretty tasty, in its way…
Ten-seiro soba
The soba was much more ordinary than I expected. If it is just about the soba, you are far better off going to Sarashina Horii.
Tempura
Not bad, but it fell well short of the amazing flavour at the main shop in Karuizawa. At this level there is no point recommending that anyone go out of their way to visit.
On the way out I noticed that the bill included the otoshi I had never ordered… So for all that I ended up paying close to 3,000 yen. It is on the level of a good neighbourhood spot the locals go to, but given the neighbourhood, the prices are pretty steep. If I had eaten this somewhere else, about half would have been normal. I cannot rate it highly as a place to eat well, but if I lived around here, I think I would come often. After midnight there really are not many places to get a meal, even in Tokyo — and all the more so in a residential area rather than a nightlife district…