| 虎ノ門 大阪屋 砂場（港区） Toranomon Osaka-ya Sunaba (Minato-ku) Toranomon, Shinbashi / Soba  Famous for being a favorite of Kaishu Katsu and Tesshu Yamaoka, the 400-year-old “Sunaba” taste has been passed down to the present day. Lunch:￥1,000~￥1,999 Dinner:－ (toranomon-sunaba.com) |
The Toranomon area, which is undergoing redevelopment, continues to change and develop with the completion of the Azabudai Hills Mori JP Tower, the tallest building in Japan, in June 2023.
In such Toranomon, there is a soba restaurant that continues to operate in a deeply historical building that is a registered tangible cultural property.
This time, we will introduce you to Toranomon Osaka-ya Sunaba, a long-established soba restaurant established in 1872.
Please check the official website and the Google map at the bottom of this page for business hours, holidays, and reviews.
One of the three best buckwheat noodles in Edo and representative of the many “Sunaba”.
Sunaba is known as one of the three major soba noodle stores in Edo along with “Yabu” and “Sarashina,” and “Toranomon Osaka-ya Sunaba” is a representative of Sunaba along with “Sunaba Sohonke,” “Muromachi Sunaba,” and others.
It was relocated by about 4 meters in March 2022 due to road widening construction.
I had always wanted to visit there when I came to Toranomon, and finally was able to visit in June right after the relocation.
Mysterious event experienced at a long-established buckwheat noodle restaurant
It was lunchtime, so I had to wait a bit, but while I was waiting, a man in his 60s came to talk to me.
He seemed to be a retiree from a government office in Kasumigaseki, and he talked to me about his working days, his illness soon after retirement, and many other things.
We somehow ended up sharing a table and had soba together.
Both he and I ordered the Tiger Prawn Ten Seiro Soba (2,000 yen) (menu as of June 2022).
The soba sauce was slightly sweet, which was just right for me.
The soba noodles were a little smooth and easily disappeared into the back of my throat.
The tempura was fried crispy and delicious.
The soba water at the end of the meal was a pleasant surprise, and I drank up all of the soba sauce.
When I was about to leave the table after finishing my meal, a man took the slip and said, “Please let me pay for today.
I was adamant that I could not be served by a complete stranger, but he said, “I’m sorry I approached you without permission and talked with you about various things.
Please let me pay for this place.” He said so strongly that I felt uncomfortable declining his offer, so I decided to take him at his word.
Perhaps I missed talking to a businessman after a long time.
It is truly a once-in-a-lifetime encounter.
My first visit to Osakaya Sunaba was memorable in many ways.
About “Toranomon Osaka-ya Sunaba
Toranomon Osakaya Sunaba” is a well-known soba noodle shop representing Sunaba, and when it was first established, it was favored by Tesshu Yamaoka and Kaishu Katsu, masters of swordsmanship in the late Edo and Meiji periods, who also left behind their heirloom calligraphy.
The current store was reconstructed in 1923, just before the Great Kanto Earthquake, and its tiled roof was designated as a Tangible Cultural Property by the Japanese government in 2011.
Toranomon Osakaya Sunaba is always crowded with businessmen from the neighborhood on weekdays and many people from outside the Toranomon area on weekends.
The restaurant offers a wide selection of sake snacks, from the standard egg yaki and yakitori to asparagus tofu and conger eel salad, as well as a wide selection of sake, including Tasake, Isobojiman Aiyama, and Tetorigawa.
It would be really chic to enjoy delicious soba noodles and sake in the historical building, which is a registered tangible cultural property.
Access, Reviews
Access to Toranomon Osakaya Sunaba, hours of operation, holidays, reviews, and more can be found on the Google map below.
