Owariya: Long-Established Soba Noodle Shop That Serves Sensoji Temple

Founded at the end of Edo period, a long-established soba restaurant with two branches on Kaminarimon Dori

Asakusa’s soba restaurants have history!

There are several famous soba restaurants in Asakusa, and Owariya is one of the most representative long-established ones. Since olden times, the store was allowed to enter and sell in the precincts of Sensoji Temple, and the sign “Sensoji Goyo” still hangs inside the store, giving visitors a sense of its history. The restaurant is popular among tourists, but it has also long been a favorite of cultural connoisseurs and locals.

Owariya, a restaurant frequented by literary giants

There is a famous story that Kafu Nagai, a novelist active since the late Meiji period, frequented Owariya whenever he visited Asakusa. Among his favorite dishes, Kafu Nagai loved Kashiwa Namban, a dish filled with tender chicken meat and green onions in warm broth. Photos from those days are displayed in the restaurant, and it is a wonderful and emotional experience to savor the soba noodles loved by the great writers while thinking back to those days.

owariya-nagai-kafu

Specialties of Owariya

The most famous specialty of Owariya is Tempura Soba. The Tempura Soba is a dish of two large prawn tempura so large that they overflow from the bowl. The Ten Seiro (cold soba) and Tendon (bowl of rice topped with tempura of the same size) are also recommended, but my favorite, as a big fan of Owariya, is the warm soba. The sauce is a darker color than you would expect from the Kanto region, but the gentle aroma of bonito broth, sesame oil from the tempura, and a little bit of mitsuba and yuzu (Japanese citrus fruit) on top give it the perfect balance that keeps you going until the very end. The large pieces of tempura are not cloying at all, and the batter is crispy at first and tasty even after it has been soaked in the sauce.

owariya-tenpura-soba

Seasonal soba noodles are also popular, such as the bright green Chasoba (green tea soba) in early summer and the refreshingly flavored Shiso Kiri in summer (limited season).

owariya-chasoba
Chasoba (green tea buckwheat noodles)
owariya-shisokiri
Shiso Kiri
owariya-kaminarimon-st-shop
A tasteful signboard and menu outside the store.
owariya-menu

Access to the store

The main store is a short walk to the right from Kaminarimon, and the branch is a short walk to the left. The regular closing days are different, so even if one of the restaurants is closed, you can always go to the one that is open. If you stop by Asakusa, you should definitely visit this restaurant. Both are only a 2-minute walk from The Gate Hotel Kaminarimon.

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*For the latest information on business hours, holidays, etc., please contact the restaurant directly.

When you visit Asakusa

the gate hotel kaminarimon

THE GATE HOTEL KAMINARIMON

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R restaurant & bar

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