ASAKUSA Underground > How to enjoy Soba cheaply
There are so many must-see and must-do things when you visit Japan. One
of them is absolutely to eat Soba (pasta made from buckwheat).
The cheapest way to eat it is go to a railway station. You can find some Tachigui-Soba, which is a stand where they serve you a bowl of Soba or Udon for a small amount of money. There are no places to sit on. You eat standing.
That's why it is called Tachigui: tachi means "standing", gui/kui "eating" in colloquial speech.
You can have soba in hot soup and cold soba with savoury sauce aside. If you want, you can order some toppings.
<Menu at a Soba stand>
-Kake-soba:
Soba noodles in hot soup.
-Mori-soba:
Cold Soba noodles
-Tenpura-soba:
Soba in hot soup with a piece of vegitable tempura.
-Tsukimi-soba:
Soba in hot soup with a poached egg inside. The egg is cooked by the heat of the soup in the bowl. Therefore, it is almost raw. Tsukimi means "moon-sighting". Can you get the idea? The moon = the egg.
-Kitsune-soba:
Soba in hot soup with Aburaage. Aburaage is fried, thin-sliced tofu. Kitsune is the Japanese word for fox. Foxes are thought to be messengers of Inari, a Shinto spirit, and to adore eating Aburaage. The dish was named so because of this association.
-Tanuki-soba:
Soba in hot soup with smallish crispy pieces of deep fried flour-dough. Tanuki is a Japanese raccoon dog. We don't know why it is called so.
-Wakame-soba:
Soba in hot soup with see weeds.
#Replace "Soba" with "Udon" if you want the same topping with Udon, fat white pasta.
eg. Kitsune-udon, Wakame-udon.
<Caution>
The names of Soba dishes above mean something else in other areas. Those names are used mostly in Kanto area, where Asakusa is.
The cheapest dishes are Kake-soba and Mori-soba, naturally. Both prices are around 300 yen. There is an unwritten constitution of Soba and their prices must be the same.
There are also common laws of Soba. When you have Soba in a good establishment, you order cold Soba. When you stuff Soba in your stomach at a station, you go for hot Soba. It is because you can really tell the difference in taste when Soba is served cold.
Therefore, the author recommend you Kake-soba. It is hot and tasty enough.
First, you queue. Normally you don't have to unless you go there at lunch hour.
Then, you tell the cook in the other side of the counter what you want. In this case, "Kake!"
It is like a sandwich shop. They will prepare your dish literally in seconds. So, you should have your money ready in your hand. You receive your bowl with Soba in exchange with the money.
Now you will find some room by the bar fixed on the wall. It is exactly like what you do in an English pub. If you find your space, you put your bowl on the bar. If not, you have to hold it while eating.
Sliced spring onions on the bar are free. You can take as much as you want. So are water and tea. They are served in a machine on the corner of the Soba joint.
After you finish eating, please bring back the bowl to the cooks, even if you see some bad-mannered Japanese leave their dishes behind. They have a specific area of the counter designated for returned dishes, but if you find it too difficult to decode the Japanese characters, you can just hand it over to a cook, saying "Arigato" with smile.
---Pronunciation Tips---
"Kake"
Don't pronounce it like "cake". They will never get it. Say "car-k".
At a Tachi-gui-Soba in a station, it is enough. You don't need to add "kudasai (please)", because here time is more important than politeness especially when it is crowded. Of course, in off-peak hours, you can say "kudasai" or "onegaisimasu (I will ask you / I depend on you)". You can even talk about Ichiro, the best Japanese player ever in Major League Baseball, with a little bored cooks.
If you are from a non-baseball-playing nation, please note that football is not the most popular sport in this country, but baseball is. To gain some favourable treatments from a metre d', a flight attendant, a taxi driver, a ticket inspector, or anyone in Japan, small talks on football might not work. Nakata is retired now and Nakamura is less known. Therefore, remember a name like Matsuzaka Dice-K, a Boston Red Sox phenomenon, whose name all the country knows.
Car-k and Dice-K! Enjoy Soba!
<Address>
The closest train station to you.
<Business hours>
Except at some big stations, Tachi-gui-Soba stands close early. Some close even before 9 PM. They open about 9 to 10 AM.
How to enjoy Soba cheaply
There are so many must-see and must-do things when you visit Japan. One
of them is absolutely to eat Soba (pasta made from buckwheat).The cheapest way to eat it is go to a railway station. You can find some Tachigui-Soba, which is a stand where they serve you a bowl of Soba or Udon for a small amount of money. There are no places to sit on. You eat standing.
That's why it is called Tachigui: tachi means "standing", gui/kui "eating" in colloquial speech.
You can have soba in hot soup and cold soba with savoury sauce aside. If you want, you can order some toppings.
<Menu at a Soba stand>
-Kake-soba:
Soba noodles in hot soup.
-Mori-soba:
Cold Soba noodles
-Tenpura-soba:
Soba in hot soup with a piece of vegitable tempura.
-Tsukimi-soba:
Soba in hot soup with a poached egg inside. The egg is cooked by the heat of the soup in the bowl. Therefore, it is almost raw. Tsukimi means "moon-sighting". Can you get the idea? The moon = the egg.
-Kitsune-soba:
Soba in hot soup with Aburaage. Aburaage is fried, thin-sliced tofu. Kitsune is the Japanese word for fox. Foxes are thought to be messengers of Inari, a Shinto spirit, and to adore eating Aburaage. The dish was named so because of this association.
-Tanuki-soba:
Soba in hot soup with smallish crispy pieces of deep fried flour-dough. Tanuki is a Japanese raccoon dog. We don't know why it is called so.
-Wakame-soba:
Soba in hot soup with see weeds.
#Replace "Soba" with "Udon" if you want the same topping with Udon, fat white pasta.
eg. Kitsune-udon, Wakame-udon.
<Caution>
The names of Soba dishes above mean something else in other areas. Those names are used mostly in Kanto area, where Asakusa is.
The cheapest dishes are Kake-soba and Mori-soba, naturally. Both prices are around 300 yen. There is an unwritten constitution of Soba and their prices must be the same.There are also common laws of Soba. When you have Soba in a good establishment, you order cold Soba. When you stuff Soba in your stomach at a station, you go for hot Soba. It is because you can really tell the difference in taste when Soba is served cold.
Therefore, the author recommend you Kake-soba. It is hot and tasty enough.
First, you queue. Normally you don't have to unless you go there at lunch hour.
Then, you tell the cook in the other side of the counter what you want. In this case, "Kake!"
It is like a sandwich shop. They will prepare your dish literally in seconds. So, you should have your money ready in your hand. You receive your bowl with Soba in exchange with the money.
Now you will find some room by the bar fixed on the wall. It is exactly like what you do in an English pub. If you find your space, you put your bowl on the bar. If not, you have to hold it while eating.
Sliced spring onions on the bar are free. You can take as much as you want. So are water and tea. They are served in a machine on the corner of the Soba joint.
After you finish eating, please bring back the bowl to the cooks, even if you see some bad-mannered Japanese leave their dishes behind. They have a specific area of the counter designated for returned dishes, but if you find it too difficult to decode the Japanese characters, you can just hand it over to a cook, saying "Arigato" with smile.
---Pronunciation Tips---
"Kake"
Don't pronounce it like "cake". They will never get it. Say "car-k".
At a Tachi-gui-Soba in a station, it is enough. You don't need to add "kudasai (please)", because here time is more important than politeness especially when it is crowded. Of course, in off-peak hours, you can say "kudasai" or "onegaisimasu (I will ask you / I depend on you)". You can even talk about Ichiro, the best Japanese player ever in Major League Baseball, with a little bored cooks.
If you are from a non-baseball-playing nation, please note that football is not the most popular sport in this country, but baseball is. To gain some favourable treatments from a metre d', a flight attendant, a taxi driver, a ticket inspector, or anyone in Japan, small talks on football might not work. Nakata is retired now and Nakamura is less known. Therefore, remember a name like Matsuzaka Dice-K, a Boston Red Sox phenomenon, whose name all the country knows.
Car-k and Dice-K! Enjoy Soba!
<Address>
The closest train station to you.
<Business hours>
Except at some big stations, Tachi-gui-Soba stands close early. Some close even before 9 PM. They open about 9 to 10 AM.