Gou Umitora
This time, I felt like eating soba noodles, so I remembered a restaurant that opened last year on the street in front of the Tomitabayashi Tax Office that had "soba" written on it, and I decided to drop by just after 5 pm when dinner service was starting. That restaurant is "Tori to Soba. Gen." The official website mentioned "Tomitabayashi branch," but I couldn't confirm if there are other branches. The exterior of the building has a slightly traditional suburban restaurant feel, with a strong emphasis on chicken dishes and soba noodles. When it comes to "chicken and soba" in Tomitabayashi, there is the well-known Kawadaya at Yuzan, and it is indeed a great combination. The building used to be a chicken-focused izakaya called "Torihyobu," but even now, the parking lot is shared with the neighboring Doyaki and Okonomiyaki restaurant "Nanpu Tomitabayashi." Inside the restaurant, there are box-type table seats, private table rooms, and sunken kotatsu rooms, creating a calm atmosphere. The menu on the wall gives off an izakaya vibe, with options for hot pot dishes as well. The menu on the table also focuses on "sake accompaniments" such as yakitori. At Gen, there are various options available, including yakitori courses perfect for banquets and a self-service all-you-can-drink option for 880 yen (excluding tax). During lunch hours, there are great lunch deals available, so if you want to enjoy soba or udon at a good price, it's worth visiting for lunch. The soba noodles here are made from high-quality soba using stone-grounding techniques from "Sokon," a rare local variety from Fukui that is carefully prepared in the restaurant every day to enhance the flavor of the dashi. The strong texture of the soba noodles and the delicious broth unique to Echizen soba are something to look forward to. Upon entering the restaurant, I noticed that it was a restaurant specializing in Echizen soba, so I decided to start with that. Other customers also ordered noodle dishes rather than typical izakaya fare. The "Zaru Soba" (780 yen, excluding tax) is a specialty of Gen, allowing you to savor the natural flavor of fresh soba noodles. I ordered the "Oroshi Soba" (780 yen), which is my personal favorite when it comes to Echizen soba. It was the perfect choice! The strong texture and flavor of the soba noodles combined with grated daikon radish created an irresistibly delicious dish. The "Kitsune Udon (hot)" seems to be a classic dish of udon noodles with fried tofu, but the broth is similar to the hot soba. The "Gen's Choice Lunch" menu also allows you to switch soba to udon for a discount of 100 yen. The "Seared Mackerel" (480 yen) is a dish from the "sake accompaniments" section, which was delicious even without alcohol. Lastly, the "Yakitori Donburi" (480 yen) is a cost-effective rice bowl dish with plenty of sweet and savory grilled chicken, which was quite satisfying and filling on its own. ● Tori to Soba. Gen Website → https://gen-tondabayashi.gorp.jp/ Access: Approximately 50 meters east from the "Midorigaoka" intersection on National Route 170 (Outer Ring Road), and about 300 meters west from the "Wakamatsucho 5-chome" intersection on National Route 170 (old road). Parking available. About 500 meters north from the Kintetsu Nagano Line "Tomitabayashi" station.