Hosokawa (from the name of the chef/owner) is a small soba restaurant nearby the Edo-Tokyo Museum. Its artisan soba are highly appreciated by locals and there is usually a queue.
The visit
Arriving at noon was not a good idea… the queue outside the sliding door was daunting. So I went back to the Edo museum, visited one more exhibit, and went back to the restaurant. Lunch rush time was over but there were still customers waiting outside, but eventually we all made it inside.
Inside I was seated at one of the four communal tables of polished hardwood. The room, without fancy decorations, felt like a refectory in a monastery. From inside the plants in front of the windows gave the impression to look at a garden, but of course it was just a side street.
I was handed the menu with English translation and I went for the oyster soba. Oysters are a customary condiment for soba noodles during the winter (it was December 2019).
Customers line up for the artisan soba, but to me the highlight of the dish were the huge and juicy oysters that perfectly complemented the broth and the noodles.
Soba restaurants usually have on the menu tasty side dishes and this establishment was not an exception. From the list of sides, I had a marinated anago (freshwater eel) that was a delicious side.
The check
I paid 2,800 yen for my dishes. Soba is more expensive than ramen and oysters and anago added up. But definitely wort it.
Where in Tokyo:
1-6-5 Kamezawa, Sumida-ku.
In Japanese: 東京都墨田区横網2-5-14.
Website: https://www.edosoba-hosokawa.jp/.