The entrance of the shop has a beautiful handball decoration, it is a hidden gem of a restaurant. I love the soba noodles and the dipping sauce here. The slightly spicy and sharp flavor of the soba sauce is delicious. It's best to dip half of the soba noodles and eat them. I ordered the small bowl set meal (oyakodon). I was a little worried about the small size of the set, but both the bowl and the soba noodles were quite filling and enjoyable. And the specialty, the large inari sushi! It's huge! Two big inari sushi pieces, very filling. The soba soup for drinking is very light, I prefer it to be more concentrated. It's surprising to find such a great restaurant in this area. Personally, I would recommend it as much as Kogoro-san's place.

I had some thin and delicious soba noodles. The small zaru set allows you to choose a smaller portion of soba noodles and a half-size rice bowl. I decided to try the Kyo-style Inari rice bowl, which is topped with fried tofu, green onions, and scrambled eggs. The miso soup and pickles that came with it were also delicious. The large portion of fried tofu sushi provided plenty of satisfaction. Having a parking lot was very convenient.

A hidden gem in the residential area of Kitashirakawa. Recently, there have been many talented soba restaurants opening nearby, but this place has been loved by locals and tourists alike for a long time. The soba here has thin noodles that pair well with a slightly spicy broth. I personally love the warms of the noppé. They also have a variety of rice bowl dishes that are tempting to try.

I heard it was delicious, so I went with my friends. We had to wait a bit since it was lunchtime. It's a popular place. The soba noodles were thin and delicious. The tempura was crispy and the egg in the dipping sauce was rich and tasty. It had a hint of bonito flavor, which I liked. The atmosphere was calm with tatami seating, making it suitable for families with small children. Thank you for the meal.

The small set meal (small bowl dish, small zaru, red miso soup, pickles) consists of a base of rice bowl with fried tofu, egg, konbu, and kikyo. For an additional 50 yen, you can choose oyakodon, and for an additional 100 yen, you can have tendon or tempura donburi. This time, I chose oyakodon. I think the soba sauce is too strong. The chicken in the oyakodon is small, and the egg is cooked too hard for my liking.

Located on the corner of Shirakawa Street and Kitaoji Street, Gionmon is a popular soba restaurant known for its delicious warm and cold soba dishes. Both options are flavorful with a rich broth. The cold "yamakake" soba is a must-try, featuring plenty of grated yam on top of firm soba noodles for a refreshing and delicious combination. The warm tempura soba is another favorite, with crispy fried shrimp tempura that pairs perfectly with the savory broth. Overall, Gionmon is a highly recommended spot for soba lovers.

Soba set meal at Gion Kado @ Ichijoji Kamino-ko, accompanied by a traffic safety prayer (just buying a good luck charm though) at Tanukidanisan Fudo-in in Ichijoji. Also considered ramen, but ended up here for lunch as chosen by the kids (there's parking). Just before 2pm, one group of customers already there, followed by another. The restaurant has a calm exterior and a clean interior. The kids had a small zaru soba set meal (with tempura on rice). The large serving of zaru soba was not available. The soba was slightly softer compared to zaru soba, with large and plump shrimp. The broth was light yet flavorful, with an elegant taste.

We were driving around and feeling hungry when someone told us about a delicious soba restaurant in Ichijoji, so we decided to go to Gio Mon together. It was located a little east of Shirakawa Street, and we were happy to see that they had a parking lot. We were tempted by the set meals, but since it was our first time there, we both ordered the signature large portion of grated yam soba and kitsune soba. The food arrived promptly after a short wait. The fresh and rich grated yam mixed with the restaurant's broth made the soba noodles smooth and delicious! My companion really enjoyed the kitsune soba, with the fried tofu hidden under the egg being a highlight. At first, I wondered why they didn't serve soba broth here, but I soon realized the reason after finishing my meal. The perfect combination of grated yam and broth in the large portion of soba meant that both were finished at the same time, leaving me impressed. The amazing taste, portion size, and atmosphere of the restaurant made for a great dining experience!

The herring set meal was delicious, and the rolled omelette was moist and fluffy. The herring was also tasty. The quick service was appreciated.

Spicy oil soba for 1350 yen. It has a new and well-balanced flavor. Goes well with soba broth.

I visited this restaurant while walking through a residential area following Google Maps from Shisendo and Manshuin to Gion. The place was bustling with locals inside. I decided to try their summer limited tea soba, which was delicious. The slightly sweet soba sauce paired well with the subtle bitterness of the tea soba. Although the soba alone was a bit lacking, the side menu item, inari sushi, was exceptional. The fried tofu pouches were soaked in savory broth, and the vinegared rice also absorbed the delicious broth, giving it a moist texture. This hidden gem of a local restaurant is only discoverable by tourists on foot. I definitely want to come back again.

On our way back from Osaka, we always stop by my husband's favorite place here. Whenever we're in the Kansai area, we like to visit this place. My husband's top recommendation is the curry udon (chicken). Although this place seems to be a soba restaurant, they serve delicious curry udon! The service was relatively quick. I took a sip of the broth. Despite being curry, it was surprisingly light! The broth was prominent with a hint of spice. I could drink it endlessly. It was warm and comforting. Adding a bit of shichimi spice enhanced the flavor. The udon was soft but not mushy, with a nice chewiness. It complemented the broth very well. This makes me think that curry soba would also be great here! On this cold day, by the time I finished eating, my body felt warm and content. It was delicious. The tempura also looked tempting, but the tempura assortment comes with 15 items, so we couldn't order it. My husband ordered inari sushi, and it came with two huge pieces, one of which was yuzu-flavored. It was tasty. Thank you for the meal.

Total bill: 1360 yen including tax, 1310 yen excluding tax, total 2670 yen.

Having dinner at Ichijoji's "Gio Mon" restaurant. There are about 5 parking spaces in front of the restaurant, making it convenient for those arriving by car. The curtain reads "Soba Restaurant Shisendo Gio Mon". I've never tried Shisendo hot pot before, but perhaps they are targeting tourists visiting the nearby Shisendo Temple. Inside, there were only 4 customers in a group, as it was still early. I ordered the curry udon with chicken (¥920), which I had decided on beforehand. The curry udon here is of the Kyoto-style with a thick starchy sauce. The taste was average, with a good amount of chicken. The udon noodles were thick and round, similar to steamed noodles sold in supermarkets. The service was not unfriendly, but rather hands-off, with the employees mainly chatting amongst themselves. You have to ask for tea or water as they won't refill it automatically, so it's best to order early. The food was decent, but for ¥920, it felt a bit overpriced. Perhaps it's better to order soba here after all.

I love curry soba at soba restaurants, so this time I visited "Giomon" for the first time in many years. I had never tried curry soba at Giomon before, as I had only eaten chicken egg soba or katanuki soba there. There are three types of curry soba available: kitsune, chicken, and meat. This time, I chose the chicken curry soba for 920 yen. I also opted for the large size for an additional 150 yen because I really wanted to eat a lot of soba. The curry soba that arrived seemed to have plenty of curry sauce, but in reality, it had very little broth. The reason for the lack of broth was the surprising amount of soba in the bowl. Because I chose the large size, about 3/5 of the bowl was filled with soba, and when you lift the soba, it forms a big lump (laughs). Towards the end, the curry sauce decreased, lost its thickness, and became watery, causing the mixture of soba and curry broth to become less cohesive. Naturally, both the flavor and richness started to feel lacking. Even as a soba lover, I started to feel tired of eating towards the end. In terms of eating, I think it's better to avoid ordering the large size when it comes to curry soba. This is because having the curry sauce with a good thickness until you finish the soba makes the curry soba taste much better. This time, due to my choice mistake, the curry soba felt diluted. Unfortunately, my long-awaited visit turned out to be disappointing. Next time, I will go back to just ordering the regular curry soba. My rating during the visit in March 2015 was 3.4 overall, with specific ratings for food/taste, service, atmosphere, value for money, and drinks.

I visited the Domoto Impressions Museum to see the exhibition of Kyoto art giants. Although the number of artworks was not large, I had a great time at the museum. The museum itself is like a work of art. It's a bit of a shame that photography is not allowed inside. Now, I'm heading to have lunch at Shirakawa at Ninjin. Oh no, the parking lot is full and I have to wait behind one car. It might take a while. Before going to Ninjin, I found a soba restaurant with a parking lot. Let's eat here. I had the Nishin soba with extra noodles, and my wife had the tempura soba. The amount of soba was generous, and we were satisfied even without ordering a set meal. The broth was a bit spicy, I felt like a lighter taste with a Kansai style might be better. On the way back, I saw three sightseeing taxis in the parking lot. Are they part of a tour course? Thank you for the meal!