Mar. 11, 2023 UPDATE
Soba and udon have always been loved by the people of Kyoto
Part 1

The soba noodle restaurants you just have to visit in Kyoto!

First I am going to introduce to you the most famous soba noodle restaurants in Kyoto! All the restaurants I am going to introduce to you are old and established, some having a history that goes back 500 years, always being a part of the lives of the people of Kyoto – the best of the best. The taste of the soba is of course great, but there is something in the atmosphere you can’t find elsewhere. The refined old machiya town houses with inner gardens offer a peaceful soba-experience you can only have in Kyoto. After tasting the soba, you can understand why people are lining in front of them even on weekdays.

Enjoy the taste and atmosphere with hundreds, even thousands of years of history.
Honke Owariya
The oldest soba restaurant in Japan, Honke Owariya – main shop
Honke Owariya is close to subway Karasuma Oike station. The restaurant is the oldest soba restaurant in Japan, and you can’t talk of soba in Kyoto without mentioning it.

The fairly soft, beautifully cut soba fit the soba soup, which gets it kick from a nice dashi, really beautifully. I really wish you get a chance to taste these authentic soba with 500 years of history in Kyoto.

There is always a line in front of the restaurant, so it might be a good idea to go right after they open. Or just not go during the lunch rush from noon to 1PM.
Kawamichiya
A restaurant also loved by celebrities – Misoka-an Kawamichiya
A 10-minute walk from Kyoto City Hall, this soba restaurant also boasts a long history, having served soba for over 300 years. This place was even frequented by Steven Jobs and David Bowie! The soba at Kawamichiya is white and a bit thicker than normal. I recommend their soba nanba, noodles with duck meat and green onion. A cup of clear, hot broth with spongy soft noodles, then add some Japanese pepper and voilà! You have yourself a bowl of soba you can’t find elsewhere.
Daikokuya
A restaurant always loved by the locals – Daikokuya
Daikokuya is close to Hankyu Kawaramachi station, located in the only bar district of Kyoto. The restaurant is always bustling with locals, and it feels like a real traditional soba restaurant. Still, the restaurant is easy to enter and the prices reasonable. Anyone can enjoy soba here.

Their soba is freshly ground every day using a water wheel, and they use vegetables grown in Kyoto, and they offer all of this at reasonable prices. I would like to recommend this restaurant as a break spot if you get tired when shopping or when you are on a walk.
Tagoto
Tagoto
Tagoto is a soba restaurant with an interesting history, good tasting traditional soba and some new soba dishes with a twist. The restaurant is easy to get to as it’s really close to subway Kyoto Shiyakusho-mae Station. The restaurant itself was founded in the first year of the Meiji period, which was over 140 years ago! What is special about this restaurant is their dedication to maintaining traditions while they also fuse some new elements into some of their soba dishes.
How was that? In this part I introduced to you only the best of the best that Kyoto has to offer in soba restaurants. These noodle places get customers from all over Japan, so you should be satisfied if you go to any of them. Because these noodle places are so famous, you must be prepared to wait in line if you go between noon and 1PM.

I want to enjoy soba at my own pace! I want to enjoy Kyoto’s soba until I am completely satisfied!

For those of you thinking that way, I recommend to you soba with a drink. Soba and a drink have come together a long way, this bar-style soba has its roots in the Edo period of Japan. Having a drink while it’s still not dark outside, slurping some soba, is what defines happiness for me.

In the next part I am going to delve into bar-style soba. I hope you will try the connoisseur’s way of enjoying soba too!
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