The story
At Ittoan in Tokyo’s Kita-ku, the philosophy is simple: “To serve satisfying soba, you need time for it.” This patience is the foundation of every bowl. The owner, Kunio Yoshikawa, grinds just one kilogram of buckwheat a day by hand using a heavy stone mill—enough for only eight to ten servings. The restaurant’s back room functions as a laboratory, where raw buckwheat from contracted farms is stored, cleaned, and processed daily.
Yoshikawa began his career in hotel Western cuisine but changed course at 23, apprenticing at a soba shop in Komagome. There, he learned the craft of milling buckwheat in-house, a practice he continues today. After 16 years of training, he opened Ittoan in 2011. His dedication earned the restaurant a Michelin Bib Gourmand, a recognition of good quality, good value cooking that speaks to the integrity of each dish.
A soba restaurant’s pleasure extends beyond the noodles themselves. Ittoan offers a thoughtful selection of sake to accompany “soba-mae”—the small dishes enjoyed before the meal. The “cheese kaeshi-zuke,” for example, marinates processed and cream cheese in a savory soy-based sauce, blurring the line between Japanese and Western flavors. A “three-item soybean plate” showcases silken tofu, miso-marinated tofu, and fresh yuba, each highlighting the natural sweetness of quality soybeans. These dishes, born from the chef’s relentless curiosity, make Ittoan a destination for soba in Tokyo.
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