I just had to have soba

I ate soba.

I'll post the photos and food review first. I always tend to have long introductions, after all.

The soba was firm and satisfying.
I heard that the grated yam used isn't regular mountain yam, but a type called 'Daruma-imo'. It's the first time I've heard of it.
The taste of that Daruma-imo didn't have any of the unique, pungent flavor of regular mountain yam; it had a deep sweetness and was very easy to eat. It was very sticky and coated the soba well, so I was able to finish it all without leaving a drop.
I'm usually the type who doesn't use wasabi, but the wasabi served as a condiment caught my eye because it seemed more translucent than the typical kind.
I tried a little bit, and it was fresh, refined, and delicious.

And then there was the rice. It was incredibly delicious.
The rice was great, but I wonder if they are also particular about the water?

I also had the sobayu (soba cooking water). The thick, cloudy water blended well with the dipping sauce, and it felt more like drinking soup than just hot water.
Living in the Kansai region, there aren't many opportunities to drink sobayu.
In fact, even when it's offered, I often don't finish it, but I drank every last drop of this one.

Everything that came out was delicious. It was the best.

From here on, it's just like a diary entry for today.

As I wrote in yesterday's post, I went to see the Conan movie yesterday with the secondary audio track turned on.

This year's Detective Conan theatrical film, "The Afterimage of the One-Eyed," is set primarily in Nagano.
There was a word that the cast members mentioned over and over again on the secondary audio track.

That word was soba.

The word 'soba' was stuck in the back of my mind.
However, I was just so hungry at lunch yesterday that I ended up eating a pretty hearty set meal.

A day later, today, I went to visit a grave with my parents and my grandfather, the four of us together.

There is a famous soba restaurant near that cemetery.

Yes. That's it.
The soba opportunity has arrived.

I usually stay quiet when the topic of what to have for lunch comes up.
However, today I spoke up eagerly.

"Definitely soba"

But we were told that the soba restaurant near the cemetery had a one-hour wait.
Hearing that, my grandfather said, "It's like the World Expo." Maybe he was right...

We felt that waiting an hour just for soba wasn't quite right.
As a result, we decided to give up on that shop.

But I wanted to eat soba no matter what.

In times like these, Google Maps is the answer.
Just by entering the word "soba," the soba restaurants in the vicinity pop up easily.

Among the few that came up, I found a shop name that really caught my attention.

"Soba-dokoro Yamanokami"

It clicked. This has to be the one!

I mean, it's "Mountain God," right? It has to be delicious, doesn't it?
The Google Maps rating is 4.2 stars.
That's good!
It's decided! It's decided!

Our family, in particular, is a group of people who get curious when something is called a god. (Though my grandfather isn't really like that.)

Well, anyway, it was 11:45 at that time.
Since it was just lunchtime, I got worried that it might be crowded, so I called just in case.
When I checked the congestion status, they said there were four groups waiting.
Four groups for a soba restaurant is nothing! We can wait, we can wait!
Thinking that, we headed straight to the shop.

I already posted the exterior of the shop, but it had such a great vibe that I took more photos. I'll post them here.

In the end, we waited in the car for about 15 minutes before entering. The inside of the shop had several table seats, tatami mat areas, and one horigotatsu (sunken kotatsu) table. We were guided to the horigotatsu seat. According to my mother, when she mentioned, 'My grandfather is with us, so we would appreciate a seat that is easy to sit in,' they suggested, 'In that case, the horigotatsu would be best.' Their thoughtfulness was wonderful.

The interior was purely Japanese-style and had a somewhat nostalgic atmosphere. Grandfather was delighted, saying, 'It's like the house I lived in when I was a child.'

On the wall, there is a hanging scroll with the words 'Wakei Seijaku' (harmony, respect, purity, and tranquility) written on it. Apparently, this is the guiding principle of the shop. It's explained in detail on their website, but I really felt that it is a magnificent shop, fitting for a name like 'Yama no Kami' (Mountain God).

Eating is essential for survival. How much of that do we actually treat with proper care? Sometimes, due to being in a rush, being busy, or various other reasons, we inevitably end up eating carelessly. However, we still cannot maintain our bodies without eating.

I was reminded that eating a delicious meal with gratitude is a wonderful thing. I hope I can go there again someday.