When I am not sure where to eat, I always go to Asakusabashi. I have arrived at the paradise of stand-in soba. Railway bridge of Sobu line is high. It crosses Sumida river from Ryoukoku, and the bridge becomes higher and higher as it gets closer to Akihabara. Underneath this bridge is the area where high quality stand-in soba shops exists. The number of the shops are lower now days, but this area was stand-in soba central in the Showa and Heisei era.
Hisago is located just outside Asakusa station east exit. Been in business for a long time in a perfect location for a stand-in soba shop. The shop is small and has only a counter section, so 6people will fill up the shop easily. Most of the customers here are repeaters, and most of them enjoy the conversation with the owners.
■Noodle: Raw noodle, already boiled. Little thick with nice chewiness. Has a slight smell of soba flour. Little soft. Surprisingly made inside the shop.
■Soup: Nice dashi（※2） with strong taste of soy-sauce from the rich kaeshi（※3）. Light on sweetness.
■Kakiage: Already made. Thick batter with great taste.
A small bowl of soba. Each part is quite simple, but it creates perfect harmony. Noodles, Soup, Tempura, and toppings each of them has a nice homemade feel. You can feel the perfection from the harmony created inside the small bowl of soba noodle.
The owner is very efficient at his work, but he can speak all the time too. You can say that is part of his skilled craftsmanship. With the radio on, the owner enjoys the conversation with the customers. Once a customer takes a seat, the conversation starts. If the customer was a taxi driver, the conversation becomes informative so just listening to the conversation is very entertaining. You can learn a lot from just having a soba noodle.
I think the best music for the stand-in soba shop is the radio. Not like a tv where you need to watch, radio can ease your mind with calm talks and does not need to take your eyes off from your soba noodle. There are a lot of preferences for radio stations, but I think AM stations match very well with stand-in soba shops since their target is busy workers.
One of the items at the Hisago that leaves an impression is the water pitcher with lemon slice inside. Once you have a cup of this water, it will cleanse your mouth with the refreshing taste of lemon. A small thoughtfulness, but it is hard to act.
The owner of Hisago has great penmanship. The menus and signs inside the shop are written by the owner with Chinese ink. Not only a great conversationalist, he is a great calligrapher.
When I exited the shop after great soba, a man on a bicycle passed by the shop. Then, he circled around and entered the shop like he was swallowed to the shop. It must be wonderful to have a great soba shop in your neighborhood. I envy the environment where you only need to walk a little to enjoy great soba and conversation.
Address: Tokyo-to Taito-ku Asakusabashi 1-17-2
Access: 1min walk from JR Sobu line Asakusabashi East exit
Open Hours: 6:30 – Unknown
Closed on Saturdays, Sundays, and Holidays. Also has irregular holidays
Grade: A Three-star Sobaya
（※1）Deep-fried battered mixture of seafood and vegetables
（※2）Seafood broth mainly made with Katsuobushi (bonito flakes)
Katsuobushi is dried, smoked, and fermented skipjack tuna
（※3）Soup base mainly made from soy-sauce
