Ikenohata Rengyokuan

(Source : )

The first owner came from Nagano, famous for production of buckwheat, started a soba (buckwheat noodles) restaurant beside Shinobazu Lake, Ueno, in 1859. It is an old, long-established soba restaurant that has been operating for about 160 years and continued operations even after changing their location post-World War II. It has been featured in works of famous Japanese writers and has been loved by food goers through the years. Japanese people have considered drinking sake (rice wine) at soba restaurants to be stylish and chic (iki in Japanese) since a few hundred years. Many regular customers who have been visiting over the years still enjoy soba and sake in broad daylight.

(Source: 食べログ)

Soba that you can eat everyday

The thin soba noodles and the slightly sweet sauce reflects the owner’s motto “Soba that you can eat everyday” and the pursuit of the original way of making soba. The continued efforts by the owner is the reason why people love this restaurant.

(Source: 食べログ)

Recommended dish “Seiro-soba”

The recommended dish here is the simple seiro-soba (seiro means wickerwork tray) and it has thin soba noodles called Edo-mae soba. Extremely smooth on the throat, the soba matches perfectly with the sauce. Japanese soba experts drink the sauce once it's thinned down with soba-yu, hot water that the soba was boiled in, served in a beautifully colored kettle.

(Source: 食べログ)

A blend of Japanese and modern decor

Soba choko, small bowls for the sauce, are beautifully displayed on the wall. With valuable soba choko that were used 300 years ago, the restaurant has an atmosphere similar to that of an art gallery.