Yoshimura Soba describes itself as “soba ni umaizaki,” or “fine sake with soba,” and never was a tagline more honest. The restaurant is located in Kichijoji, which for denizens of central Tokyo can seem fearfully far. But those familiar with the secrets of the suburbs will understand that, if anything, distance merely adds to the allure.

Soba this fresh takes 30 minutes to prepare, but the menu includes a large selection of otsumami dishes for sake. The quality is high and so are the prices, but appropriately not excessively. After the initial draught beer (Heartland, ¥700) we had famed Juyondai from Yamanashi (¥850) with horse sashimi (basashi, ¥1,000), and grilled duck miso (kamomisoyaki, ¥950). The basashi, dipped in sesame oil with salt and grated garlic, was the tenderest and most flavorful we can remember. As for the kamomisoyaki, a warm paste carefully presented on a large wooden spoon, the mixture of sweet duck and salty miso was exquisite—especially together with grilled spring onions—alongside both Juyondai and Suige Yamadanishiki Nama (¥1,200). In this case “nama” meant “unpasteurized,” which made the sake fresh, young and fruity—controversial compared with the refined drinkability that makes Juyondai so desired.

We had ordered two dishes of cold soba, one with nine types of tempura (tempura seiro, ¥2,200) and the other with black pork (kurobuta seiro, ¥1,600), an unusual meat to use with soba. The noodles, presented in beautiful, worn lacquer boxes, were paler than commonly available varieties and lightly speckled with flecks of bean. Dunked in simple, cold soba sauce with wasabi, daikon and onion, or rich, warm black pork broth, the noodles were the canvas on which the other flavors came to life. Likewise, the fine tempura batter complimented the foods inside (shrimp, eggplant, mushroom, ocra, etc.) with each crispy bite without drowning the flavors in oil. Apart from the short, sharp slurps produced by each mouthful of soba, our enjoyment was evident in our silence.

At less than ¥5,000 per person (from our experience), Yoshimura Soba is worth every yen spent there—and every minute spent getting there, if you must. It possesses the understated finesse that makes food lovers who enjoy quality and craftsmanship above society and spectacle feel privileged to live and eat in Japan.