At the recent Tokyo Taste World Gastronomy Summit, the super-chefs assembled at Tokyo International Forum paid fulsome homage to Japan and its influence on their own creative vision. Their well-honed, technologically enhanced presentations were leavened throughout with buzzwords such as dashi soup stock, yuzu citron and umami savor.
They waxed lyrical about the inspiration gained from their visits to Japanese restaurants, from premium sushi counters (step forward, Ginza's Sukiyabashi Jiro) to exclusive kaiseki ryori (take a bow, Kyoto's renowned Kitcho and Tokyo's ineffable Mibu). But with all due respect to these stellar establishments, the essence of Japanese cuisine lies just as fundamentally in the earthy, undemonstrative food of places such as Nemuri-an.
You won't find this simple soba specialist in the Michelin (or any other) guide. Indeed, you may never find it at all, so well is it hidden among the back streets of Kanda's Suda-cho subdistrict. And even if you do, the chances are you will not get in without a considerable wait, such is the growing buzz on the grapevine of noodle connoisseurs.