Located near Ochiai Station on the Tokyo Metro Tozai Line, about a 5-minute walk along Waseda Street towards the Kotakibashi intersection, is a soba restaurant called "Sawano" in Higashi-Nakano, Nakano-ku. It is relatively close to Chinatown Kono-ki. I visited for the first time around 12 pm on a weekday. The interior of the restaurant has a traditional soba shop atmosphere, with four 4-person tables and a 6-person tatami seating area. It was quite busy during lunchtime, with almost all seats occupied. The menu offers soba and udon dishes starting from 500 yen, with options like cold noodles and tempura. There are also various rice bowl dishes available as standalone items. Additionally, there are set menus available, where you can choose from soba or udon with a rice bowl dish (options include katsu-don, oyako-don, gyu-don, yakiniku-don, tanin-don, tamago-don). This time, I tried the set menu with katsu-don and mori soba for 950 yen. Since it was a cold day, the warm soba was a comforting choice. The food was served in about 10 minutes. The mori soba was firm and had a refreshing texture, with a small portion size. A mini pumpkin tempura was served on the side. The katsu-don had a well-cooked egg and a flavorful sauce, with a generous portion of katsu that left me feeling satisfied. Payment is cash only. I look forward to coming back in the warmer season to try the cold noodles and tempura.

Do you know the name of the station next to the private railway terminal station? From famous places to unexpected hidden gems, let's explore the neighboring stations of private railway terminal stations that are connected to the Yamanote Line. And let's enjoy a meal while exploring the neighboring stations. The target budget is 2,000 yen. It's a casual hobby, so feel free to take a look m(__)m (Casual hobby... enjoying things in a relaxed manner without too much effort) Let's start with Shimo-Ochiai Station on the Seibu Shinjuku Line. As a point of contention, isn't Takadanobaba Station next to Seibu Shinjuku Station? But let's enjoy exploring stations we don't usually visit! Instead of getting off one station after Takadanobaba Station, let's take a bus from Nakamurabashi Station to Saginomiya Station. From Saginomiya Station, let's walk along the Myojiji River to Shimo-Ochiai Station. Let's go! Snack time! (Mr. P... I'll pay you in beer for the copyright fee someday) The Myojiji River was very winding. It descends south from Saginomiya, heads northeast from Yamatocho, and then sharply heads north from Numabukuro, merging with the Egoda River at Aobadai Street, then heads south again. It finally reaches the north side of Shimo-Ochiai Station where it merges with the Shinjuku Line. Since we can't walk all the way there, let's take a leisurely walk to Todorikyo Station. Then, let's take the Shinjuku Line to Shimo-Ochiai Station. The quaint atmosphere is nice, isn't it? First, we walked around the station, but there weren't many dining options, so we went to see the Myojiji River. There was a wonderful café on the way there! I don't have the courage to go in. SS-san, how about you give it a try? lol Beyond that, the Myojiji side goes into a culvert. It seems that a branch waterway from the Kanda River is also connected there. We strolled along the Kanda River and saw a cola shop for the first time. The roads are intricate. Looking at the map, there is a small waterfall bus garage for the Toei Bus. I immediately headed there. Across the road, I saw the headquarters of the Kanto Bus. I wonder if there was plenty of land around here in the past? Let's look around for lunch. We discovered "Sawano" restaurant. We went in. It has an atmosphere of a Showa era establishment. I wonder if they moved to the first floor of the building due to redevelopment? The inside of the restaurant has tatami and table seating. When I visited, the owner was the only one working. I ordered the classic soba restaurant set meal "katsu-don + soba". The owner asked if I wanted the soba warm or cold. I asked for it warm. After a short wait of about 5-6 minutes, two dishes arrived on a tray. The size of the medium-sized bowl was just right. The katsu-don was good with a decent amount of sauce, just the way I like it. The thickness of the katsu was about 7mm, which was just right for a simmered katsu-don. It was easy to bite into and suited my taste. The soba, which was listed as tanuki or kitsune, came with a small onion tempura. I was pleasantly surprised by this! The soup had a good flavor with bonito dashi, but it was a bit strong. I thought it would be tastier if I could casually ask for some soba-yu (soba water) to adjust it. It was a typical local soba restaurant. It's an urban restaurant, so it would probably cost around 850 yen in Nerima, but it was 950 yen here lol. Still, I enjoyed a delicious meal and was full. Thank you for the meal. This time's budget: Bus... 210 yen Todorikyo Station... Shimo-Ochiai Station... 178 yen Takadanobaba Station... Ikebukuro... 136 yen Ikebukuro Station... Fujimidai Station... 210 yen Lunch cost... 950 yen Total... 1,474 yen The target budget of 2,000 yen was within budget!

Grandpa and grandma run the restaurant together. Grandma has a cute demeanor but seems to have trouble with her legs, so grandpa handles serving. Grandma takes orders and serves water. The katsudon and soba were delicious. The tempura was decent.

Set Menu: Katsudon with Tanuki (tempura flakes)

Regular soba and katsudon. You get what you pay for.

The parent and child bowl is delicious!

I had always thought that this place was in Shinjuku Ward. So, as a dedicated reviewer for Nakano Ward, I had been ignoring it. However, upon checking the address, I was surprised to find out that it is actually in Nakano Ward. Feeling apologetic, I decided to visit the restaurant. Normally, people go to a soba restaurant to eat soba. I also intended to have soba, but when I saw "Katsudon" on the menu, I changed my mind. Thanks to my habit of always drinking beer with my meals, the majority of my reviews for soba restaurants end up being about Katsudon. The combination of Katsudon and beer is excellent, but I have yet to confirm the reason behind it. Today, following the same pattern, I ordered the Katsudon set (tax included 950 yen). Although I could have chosen the Mori Soba as part of the set, I remembered a review mentioning that the Mori Soba set comes with eggplant tempura, and since I don't like eggplant, I opted for warm Kitsune Soba. I felt a slight unease when I didn't see beer on the menu, but when I asked, the proprietress informed me that they have bottled beer (tax included 550 yen). The set even came with a complimentary appetizer, providing excellent service. The Katsudon set arrived promptly, but I decided to start with the Kitsune Soba first to prevent the soba from getting soggy. The broth emphasized the sweetness of the seasoning over the dashi. The soba appeared to be Sarashina. The Katsudon, like the soba, was slightly sweet. Judging by the marbling, I believe the pork cutlet is close to shoulder loin. The egg added a subtle broth flavor, resulting in a Katsudon that is typical of a soba restaurant. Despite my usual confrontational nature, I found myself in an unusually pleasant mood. I believe this is due to the appetizer. The appetizer consisted of simmered hijiki, macaroni salad, and tamagoyaki. They seemed like leftovers put together, with their flavors mixing slightly. It reminded me of the bento boxes my mother used to make for me when I was a student. As I watched the slightly limping proprietress, I couldn't help but see shades of my hometown mother.

A 5-minute walk from Ochiai Station in Tokyo, you can find Sawa-no, where you can get a set of Hito-nandon (pork bowl) and Kitsune soba for 950 yen. Today, I decided to stop by this soba restaurant for the first time in over 10 years on my way back home from an outing. I got off at Ochiai on the Tozai Line, and remembered that my companion would be coming home late. The food arrived about 10 minutes after ordering, and I noticed that the female owner, whom I hadn't seen in a long time, seemed a bit weaker in her movements, making me nervous that she might spill something. The set here includes a single serving of rice and half portion of soba noodles. The soba noodles were thin and white, known as Sarashina. The Hito-nandon was generously topped with pork and had a slightly sweet taste. It was a delicious dinner tonight!

Yes. I went to a soba restaurant in Ochiai for a change of pace and a lunchtime walk from work. It's a traditional soba restaurant that has been around for a long time. The inside of the restaurant was nice and cool with the air conditioning. It was so refreshing. It was 12:30 and there were no other customers. I ordered the Katsudon and Kitsune Soba set. When the dishes arrived, I noticed that the portion of soba was smaller than I expected, but it was probably just right. Just as I was thinking that, three groups of customers entered the restaurant one after another. It was interesting how it suddenly got busy. And then, background music (like a piano sonata...) started playing out of nowhere. The mismatch between the music and the soba restaurant was kind of amusing. The soba was... well, it was decent. Nothing too special. The Katsudon had a moderately thick and tender cutlet, and the sauce was a bit on the sweet side. I sprinkled plenty of shichimi spice on top! Overall, it was just average. But you know, that's probably what makes it good. A place where you can relax and come without any pressure. A restaurant loved by the locals and has been around for a long time. I enjoyed a leisurely lunchtime with the soothing sound of the piano. Thank you for the meal!

I visited the soba restaurant "Sawano" near Odaki Bridge. It was around 12:00, and there were 6 customers already there and 9 customers waiting. The place seems to be popular as it faces Waseda Street. I ordered the katsudon and kitsune soba set (950 yen) from the lady owner, who had big hair like Tetsuko Kuroyanagi. The soba had a very traditional taste. When I lifted the fried tofu, I was pleasantly surprised. The katsudon was also traditionally sweet and the rice was delicious. The restaurant, which seems to have been around for a long time, gave me a sense of comfort. Thank you for the wonderful meal.

I believe that alcohol tastes best on an empty stomach, so I decided to have a light lunch at "Sa-Wano" in preparation for a night of drinking. I had been curious about this soba restaurant for a while. As I checked the menu outside the shop, I couldn't find any set menus that included both soba and a mini rice bowl, so I hesitated a bit. The prices for soba were 500 yen for mori or kake, and 650 yen for oomori. I wanted to try the soba, but I was worried about the portion size and presentation. The combination of soba and tempura seemed appealing, but both tempura soba and tempura zaru were over 1,000 yen, which was a bit too expensive. The tempura bowl was 1,000 yen, but katsudon was 900 yen and oyakodon was 850 yen, which were under 1,000 yen but didn't include soba. Adding soba to a rice bowl would cost over 1,350 yen. In the end, I chose the "Katsudon and mori soba set" for 950 yen. Surprisingly, they had soba and rice set menus inside the restaurant. The soba was average in terms of texture, but the dipping sauce had a nice bonito flavor. There was even a small eggplant tempura as a bonus. The katsudon was a full portion, with well-balanced flavors and textures. Although the portion was a bit large, I couldn't help but finish it all. Overall, it was a satisfying meal. The restaurant doesn't advertise set menus outside, maintaining a traditional soba shop image. Perhaps that's why, despite its 80-year history, there were no reviews on food review websites until today.