Excellent udon noodles and tempura. Nice location near to Kitayama koen park, the ancient Shofukiji temple, and Totoro’s home of Hachikokuyama

The best udon I've ever had in 15 visits to Japan, I would certainly recommend it if you're in the neighborhood.

A 12-minute walk northwest from Higashimurayama Station. An udon shop in an area of homes and fields just before Kitayama Park. There are plenty of seats if you include the outdoor ones. It's especially popular on holidays, so you can get seated, but the food takes a while. You receive a numbered ticket after ordering. When paying, you report any extra tempura or oden you took yourself. It's also a shop that relies on honesty. Udon, broth, tempura, and various other items are available for takeout. There are kakiage, beni shoga tempura, chikuwa tempura, vegetable tempura, shrimp tempura, kisu tempura; oden with daikon, eggs, and kinchaku; and kayaku gohan. There are boiled eggs, raw eggs, and desserts including egg-rich pudding, tengusa tokoroten, anmitsu, and a coffee set with sata andagi made from local flour. Hot udon options include kamaage udon, Sanriku wakame udon, and kake udon. Cold udon is mainly bukkake udon, with sansai ume oroshi, kakuni ontama, mildly spicy options, and kake udon as well. The nikujiru udon uses noodles made from a blend of local wheat, with a choice of bear, wild boar, or venison. I had nikujiru udon with wild boar. I also had kakiage tempura. The noodles were slightly sticky and somewhat squishy, white in color, and didn't seem like typical Musashino udon or rustic inaka udon. The broth contained aburaage and cabbage, with a mellow vegetable flavor, restrained saltiness, and a light, simple taste. Portions can also be adjusted. Tempura, oden, and the like are self-service. There are just so many customers moving in and out of the shop. It's lively, like a rural event. 3.6

+3

Added 2026/03/15 ・There seems to have been a fire after 15:00. I hope it doesn't affect operations... ・The menu says “noodles made according to Sanuki udon methods.” Therefore, I think it falls outside the Musashino udon category. Looking at reviews, quite a few people seem to mistake it for Musashino udon. Written 2026/03/14 ■What I ordered ・Niku udon (dipping broth type), large [450g] ・Tempura (eggplant・chikuwa) ・Oden (beef tendon skewer・egg) ・Ramune ■Price I remember the total being 1,670 JPY ■Impressions I recall that the owner studied Sanuki udon. So saying it isn't Musashino udon may be correct by definition, but I don't worry much about details and visited it as an udon shop. They apparently serve udon made with local wheat flour, and I ordered udon with pork. The standard portion seems to be 300g [medium]. I was told many male customers order [large], so I followed the advice. It was appropriate advice: I ate the [large], but felt I could still eat more (even though I'd had various extras). The next size is 600g, so I might try that next time. Increasing the noodle quantity costs extra. Enough about portions; now for the taste. ▼Udon: Not particularly firm, but not soft either—somewhere in the middle, perhaps. I prefer noodles with more bite, so they weren't my preference, but that's about what you'd expect. ▼Dipping broth: A little salty, but basically delicious, simply delicious. It contains green onions, pork, and so on, and the broth alone feels satisfying enough. ▼Other items: The chikuwa and eggplant tempura were to my liking. I enjoyed them in the dipping broth. I could probably do without the oden.

+3

【First visit in June 2026=bacon cheese kamatama udon, regular (900円)】 I visited at weekday lunchtime and ordered bacon cheese kamatama udon, regular (900円). Inside, there is a large central table seating several people, counter seats, and raised-floor tables seating 4, with tables & chairs outside as well. A staff member told me, “If you see tempura or oden you like, help yourself and report it when paying,” so I looked, but nothing appealed. A plain tray arrived carrying a pathetic dish, a plate of condiments, and a pepper bottle, with the explanation, “Add soy sauce and pepper to taste.” Another reviewer wrote of this shop's udon, “It is neither Musashino udon nor Sanuki udon (but),” and I completely agree; that is exactly right. Going further, it's not even “udon” or “noodles,” merely “a lump of wheat flour,” unworthy of discussion as noodles. What's more, the feeble, amateur-level preparation consists of putting a few small pieces of thin bacon and a little cheese on top. There's no way it could taste good. Lamenting my first bout of bad luck in a while at having to pay 900円 for this, I paid, left, and trudged toward the already distant Higashimurayama Station…。

+3