Tsuruten west branch｜Hanakuma, Minato-motomachi

I visited “Tsuruten West Branch,” a soba restaurant located inside Motomachi Shopping Street.

In the Motomachi area, there is another soba restaurant with a similar name called “Tsuruten Seiraku” near Nankin-machi, but it’s not a branch or franchise of that shop—it appears to be a completely separate restaurant.

The restaurant has seating on both the first and second floors, and for a soba shop it’s quite spacious. When I visited the other day, the first floor was fully occupied and only a few seats were left on the second floor. On weekends around lunchtime, it tends to get crowded, so if you plan to go at that time, it’s best to shift your visit a little earlier or later.

When you take your seat, you’ll find the menu on the table, and since there are quite a lot of options, I had a hard time deciding what to order.

I went there in mid-October, and it was a relatively warm day where it felt hot after walking a bit, so I decided to order the Ten-zaru (¥1,300).

The soba was a bright white variety, and I believe it’s made from first-flour (ichiban-ko), using the core part of the buckwheat grain. It has no strong aftertaste, is light and refreshing, and has a nice firmness, making it very easy to eat.

The dipping sauce was quite rich, with a noticeable sharpness from the soy sauce. Because of that, it’s best to dip only about half of the soba rather than fully soaking it.

The tempura included nori seaweed, shishito peppers, and two shrimp. The batter was nicely substantial, and in this case, the slightly stronger dipping sauce felt just right.

The prices are reasonable and it’s an easy place to stop by casually, so if you’re in the mood for soba in Motomachi, I definitely recommend giving it a try.