2 Best Restaurants in Chofu, Tokyo

Situated along the monzen-machi approach to Jindai-ji temple, this traditional-looking spot has its own spin on soba dishes. Here, you don’t get soba noodles, but rather "soba bread"—basically, a steamed bun made with buckwheat (soba) flour, sugar, and rice flour that comes with your choice of fillings consisting of sweet red bean paste (anko), mustard greens (takana), daikon radish, or the very nontraditional keema, or mince-meat curry.

Soba noodles, which are made from buckwheat, are a signature of the restaurants along the bucolic monzen-machi approach to Jindai-ji temple, perhaps because buckwheat was traditionally easier to grow in this area than rice. Here, toppings for the handmade soba, which is served in a variety of ways—including in warm broths or cold with a dipping sauce—change according to the season.