tokyo food file

Noodles to go: breakfast up in the hills

A quiet rural railway station at 7:15 am. At least the food counter is open. What's on the menu? Noodles and rice balls.

 

First you buy a ticket from the machine…

 

Then you hand it over to the auntie behind the counter…

 

And in minutes flat breakfast is ready…

 

Sansai soba: buckwheat noodles topped with mixed wild herbs and fungi – basically warabi (young bracken), udo stems, and nameko mushrooms – plus a good mound of chopped negi scallions.

On the side is a heaping container of agedama – crisp deep-fried batter bits (I like to call them tempura "croutons") – and a shaker of ichimi togarashi "one-spice" (i.e. not shichimi seven-spice) chili powder.

Just grab a pair of those vermillion chopsticks and start slurping.

 

Nothing gourmet or artisan. Machine-made noodles; sansai preserved in brine – it's too  late in the season now to expect fresh herbs, even up here in the highlands – but it hit the spot beautifully.

For those with more of an appetite, there are also rice balls. Or as it says on the bright green noren: o.ni.gi.ri.

 

"Genki" means "healthy/full of energy". And that's what you are after a breakfast like this. Showing that fast food doesn't necessarily mean junk food.

And just to prove the point, there's a little stand of fresh-picked – well, the previous afternoon – produce, including small courgettes and genki-looking negi, all at prices that put to shame the supermarkets in the city.

 

And this was the view outside: what a great setting…

 

Anything good is worth waiting in the rain for…

Kagari certainly is.

 

Notwithstanding the sign over the door, Kagari does not serve buckwheat noodles. It specialises in Shina soba. That's another word for ramen, although it usually implies that it is classier than your standard ramenya fare, and also slightly closer to Chinese noodles.

Whatever, it's a brilliant little place. My column is now up in the Japan Times… Now here are a few more images.

Starting with the tori-paitan-soba. This is served with slices of chicken chashu; Kyoto bamboo shoot (not menma); a sprig of flowering nanohana greens; and as a garnish, kaiware daikon sprouts.

 

The special tsukemen – at Kagari they call it tokusei tsuke-soba – comes with a version of the niboshi broth, plus lots of good stuff on the side. From right to left, that's the aji-tama soft-cooked eggs with beautiful dark orange yolks; bamboo shoot; pork chashu; slices of roast beef; and chicken chashu.

 

And if you think you're still going to be hungry, you can order a bowl of the yaki-gohan – essentially a yaki-onigiri (grilled rice ball) – which currently is being served with a topping of fuki-miso and some mentaiko roe. This comes with dashi in a separate pot, which you pour over it to make chazuke. Absolutely outstanding!

 

Two things about Kagari:

1) The wait. There's no getting around it. Rain or shine, you get in line and wait. The good thing is smokers aren't allowed to light up (Chiyoda-ku rules); the bad thing is there's no shade from the sun or the rain.

2) The menu is all in Japanese. Here's what it looks like, so you can work out your order ahead of time...

One more thing: Kagari is quite hard to find. Here's a map link…

Where there's smoke there's fireside dining

 

It's getting to be that time of year…

Perfect temperatures for huddling around a charcoal grill. Or a grill of any description. Preferably with some sake. And good company.

More in my Japan Times column [which is now up — although the paywall may kick in]…