soba-dofu (Photo: JJ Walsh)

Kaori-ya Soba

Stylish noodle shop near Peace Park

soba-dofu (Photo: JJ Walsh)
JJ Walsh   - 3 min read

Fantastic soba (buckwheat flour) noodles made fresh everyday and served hot and cold. Tempura battered vegetables, shrimp and duck dishes too. This shop is a couple of blocks over from the A-bomb dome in Peace park, not far from Kanak Indian dining and Kemby's American style dining. As it is on the corner, you can easily find this nicely designed shop by the twine hanging over the windows. There is seating for up to 25 people at a time in a pleasant, wood and subtle lighting designed Japanese eatery.

Having discovered this place in 2013, soon after it opened, I was reluctant to recommend it to those who don't read Japanese as the menu was really hard work. But after a recent visit, I discovered that, not only do they have a good (although limited) English menu available, they also have great staff that can help in easy Japanese or even a bit of English at times to assist in ordering.

We all loved the cold soba noodles served in long wooden boxes of lightly boiled (and cooled) noodles with a dipping sauce. You can order sides of tempura vegetables, shrimp and duck (sets run around ¥1,000). The hot noodles are my favorite for a cold day, they are also tasty and served in big, handmade ceramic bowls filled with a wonderfully savory dashi soup and noodles.

My favorite topping on offer here is the ume (pickled plum) and wakame (seaweed) version available for around 1,000 yen. The soba-dofu is like heavier homemade tofu and there are many other grilled meat and seafood side dishes to choose from. In fact, they advertise themselves as a soba shop and izakaya pub so it's likely to have a lively atmosphere at night if you pop in for a few small dishes and drinks.

There is seating for up to 6 at the back of the restaurant is next to a lit wall of homemade Japanese paper and the rest of the dining area can seat around 20 people and feature strong wooden tables, wicker chairs and chopsticks resting on peanut shells.

  • Credit cards accepted.
  • No reservations accepted at lunch, but you can reserve tables in the evening.
  • No parking or parking discounts available.
  • There is an English menu available if you ask.
  • All non-smoking
JJ Walsh

JJ Walsh @joy.walsh

I've been living in Hiroshima since the mid 90's & still discovering new things to enjoy. I'm a big fan of both the old "wabi sabi" as well as modern and new designs, Japan offers both of these type of places to explore and enjoy. Even after many years here, I am still discovering surprising, fan...