Even during lunchtime, Higashiya is always empty. While other restaurants are almost full to capacity, for some reason this place is always quiet. Is there a reason for this? Let's find out. The lady in charge of the dining area is a cute 80-year-old mother. Her polite service leaves nothing to be desired. The interior of the restaurant is plain but clean and tidy, which is perfectly fine! - Tsukemen (dipping noodles) ￥1350 It looks like a very ordinary tsukemen. Oh, and the shrimp tempura is quite large! The soup has a subtle dashi flavor and a refined taste. The noodles are thin green noodles. The egg is relatively well cooked. The chicken meat is made from breast meat. This is where personal preferences may differ. The shrimp tempura is a bit tough, though. It was difficult to chew. (sweat) ~ Overall review ~ While the chicken meat and shrimp tempura have some distinctive features, this tsukemen is not bad at all. In fact, there aren't many places like Higashiya that serve such an elegant broth. It was so delicious that I drank it all up (laughs). Higashiya remains a mysteriously unpopular place.

I had lunch in Kushiro! The soba restaurant I was planning to go to was full, so I decided to try the Higashiya Mitsukazu branch, which I hadn't visited before. I arrived around 12:30 and the restaurant was about half full. There were table seats and a raised seating area. Looking at the menu, I noticed that cold and hot soba were not separated. I wanted cold soba, so I ordered the Muryojyu for 950 yen. It arrived in about 3 minutes. The portion seemed a bit small... Anyway, I started eating. The soba could have been a bit colder. It wasn't warm, but I wished it was colder. The soba was green because it was from Higashiya. The dipping sauce had a nice dashi flavor, typical of Higashiya. Since it was Muryojyu, the aroma of sesame oil was nice. Mixing in the raw egg yolk adds a creamy texture. They didn't bring soba-yu, but they might have if I asked. Since the portion was small, it's better to get the large size. Thank you for the meal!

The shop with just a name? It seems like flour dishes are profitable after all. You need to eat at least three bowls to feel satisfied. It feels like there is only a small amount in it, and the soup is too salty. I had to add water to be able to drink it. Is this really worth the price?

It's lunchtime. I decided to go out with my coworkers for a change, so we headed to Higashieya in Kawakita. Unfortunately, it was closed, so we went to the branch store of Kowa Toya in Kushiro Town instead. I had the Muryoju soba (large serving for an extra 150 yen), which had a rich green color. It was my first time trying Muryoju soba! The aroma of sesame oil was very appetizing. Slurp! This is perfect for the summer! Even though it's winter now, the firmness of the soba noodles and the balance of the broth were just right. The elderly lady who served us here had a very pleasant demeanor and made us feel at ease. It was delicious. Thank you for the meal!

On January 27, 2021 (Wednesday), it's the second stop for lunch. This is the final stop for the tour of Higashiya restaurants! I had the "Tane-komi Soba (1200 yen)" here. The soup had a slightly strong soy sauce flavor, which I didn't mind. The noodles here also use soba flour from Higashide Flour Mill in Asahikawa. They are green noodles. The cooking of the noodles was average. The half-cooked egg was nice and runny, which I liked. The shrimp tempura had a crispy batter, but the shrimp itself was a bit tough to chew. That was disappointing. The most unique part was the quail meat. It had a texture that was like eating gizzard, which was surprising! I wonder which part of the quail meat it is. This could be a divisive ingredient. It's interesting, isn't it? The floor manager at this restaurant is an elderly lady, and her gentle and kind service left a good impression on me. She's tiny and cute. I hope she continues to do well energetically. Now, I have conquered all 20 Higashiya restaurants that serve Tane-komi Soba in Kushiro City, Kushiro Town, and Akkeshi Town! I found it very interesting that some restaurants stick to traditional flavors while others actively develop and offer new menu items. Next time, I would like to explore my favorite restaurants more deeply.

The photo shows Natto Soba and Kashiwa Nuki. Nameko Soba (hot). The interior of the restaurant is clean and has a refreshing feel. It was a cold day, so I ordered something warm. It was a gentle taste that warmed me from the inside. They also have my favorite Muryojyu. A kind old lady explained the menu to me carefully (Hanamaki Soba).

Finally, I have achieved the complete conquest of all the stores of Higashiya. This is only in Kushiro City and Kushiro Town. I have no intention of expanding to the whole prefecture. I don't want to be disliked any further. The last store of Higashiya's conquest is "Higashiya Wakou Branch" in Kushiro Town. It felt like being released from exam study as a third-year high school student. Oh no! There are two stores in Kushiro Town? I knew about Kushiro Town's existence, but somehow I had the misconception that it was the same as Kushiro City. Oh no, it's a nightmare. It took twice as much mental strength to return as it did to go. I probably lost about two years of my life. There are two Higashiya stores in Kushiro Town, and this is the last store of the true Higashiya conquest. "Higashiya Wakou Branch" looks like a normal house. The setup is like Higashiya, though. There are four tables for four people and one table for two people connected, making it feel like two rooms. There are also two separate raised tatami seating areas. I guess they renovated a normal house. When sitting at a table for two, the old lady said, "You can move to the larger table," so I moved to the table for four. She said, "Not many customers come," but there was one group of three customers before and another group of three customers after. It's quite reassuring. The mori soba costs 600 yen, which is typical of Higashiya. I thought it would be warm soba, but ended up ordering "hiyashi tanuki" in the end. It came in five minutes. It's green, but not unnaturally green, so I can tolerate it. Oh no, it came with a lot of soup. I don't like that. I want to pour it myself. I don't like it. I want it in a tokkuri. The soba has a good texture. The Higashiya in Kushiro Town has a good texture. It seems like they don't get along with the Higashiya in Kushiro City. It's more Higashiya-like than the other Higashiya, but the flavor of the soba is hard to discern because it came with so much soup. I didn't understand it at all, and that's a good thing. The soup is average, and you don't really feel the dashi flavor typical of Higashiya, but it's delicious as hiyashi tanuki. The soba-yu is not served with the soba, it's kettle-boiled, and the soba doesn't come out. The tempura bits are still crispy until the end, so this place is also not quite Higashiya. The tanuki was delicious. Finally, I have completed the conquest of all Higashiya stores. I did it!

Visit date: September 7, 2019 For dinner on this day, I visited the Mitsukazu Higashike Bunten restaurant with a friend. After several attempts, we were finally able to dine there. It seems like we always tried to go on their regular closing day, which is Tuesdays. We arrived at 6:30 PM and there was one group of customers before us and one group after us. We ordered: - Kashiwa soba (soba noodles with chicken) for 900 yen - Zaru soba (plain cold soba noodles) for 680 yen The food was served in about 5 minutes. The Kashiwa soba was made with green soba noodles that had a light chewiness. The chicken used was from a parent bird. The broth was rich with the aroma of kombu and the flavor of the chicken broth. The Zaru soba had strong and chewy noodles. The flavor was unique, almost like chlorella. The broth was also rich and left a sweet aftertaste. The noodles mixed well with the broth and were quite delicious. The restaurant was run by an elderly couple, and the lady who served us was very charming. Thank you for the meal.

The food was delicious and the price was reasonable at 1550 yen.

Visited for lunch with my partner! Even though we had soba noodles yesterday, my partner miraculously said they wanted to eat soba noodles again! The interior of the restaurant was a bit narrow, and as we looked at the menu, I decided to have the two-piece shrimp tempura soba noodles, while my partner chose the grated yam soba noodles. The tempura shrimp in my soba noodles was large and well-fried, even the tail was delicious! The soba noodles were familiar to me from Kushiro, with a good texture and a great match with the dipping sauce. Even though our tempura arrived a bit later than the other customers, we didn't feel like we were kept waiting. Today was getting hot, so the cold soba noodles were delicious! Soba noodles are perfect for hot days!

Big Zaru Soba~ I'm so hungry now~ Alright! Today, let's eat soba properly! I'm satisfied with the big zaru soba (〜▽〜＠)♪♪♪ I visited Hikawa Tokeiya in Kushiro-cho. When I ordered "big zaru soba" to the chef in the kitchen, he quickly put the soba into the pot. Steam rising up. The soba dances in the pot. And finally, the big zaru soba is served. The soba is piled up like Mount Fuji in the center of the sieve. This has a good bite to it! Dip the soba in the thick soup, slurp it up, and quietly say to yourself, "Ahh, this is it." The strong soup tastes even better when mixed with soba water. I nod in agreement while eating, feeling full. Thank you for the meal (〜▽〜＠)♪♪♪ Hikawa Tokeiya Hokkaido Kushiro-gun Kushiro-cho Hikawa 7-1001 154-37-2239 Business hours: 11:00-20:00 Closed on Tuesdays