Looking for a peaceful, adult place to eat in central Shibuya is about as easy as finding a street without a karaoke box. So when you come across the understated, almost quaintly retro entrance to Negiya Heikichi, in a back street close to Tokyu Hands, it seems too good to be true.
A bamboo hedge flanks the path on your left; on the right, oil lamps flicker in alcoves in the wall. At the far end, you can just make out the kanji of the name crudely ink-brushed on the paper covering the sliding wooden door. The large character chalked on the wall is so faint it could have been here since the Showa Era. And don't jam your umbrella into that squat ceramic urn by the lintel -- it's home to two turtles.
On closer inspection, it becomes clear this antique look is only skin-deep. The building is barely a year old and that scuffed patina is mere facade. But that doesn't matter, because the illusion is just as good inside. Wooden beams and farmhouse furniture set the scene. A small irori hearth nestles beneath the stairs.