#022 No time, but just one coin will do
Finding Japanese culture behind a small shop at the station.
When you are hanging around in Tokyo and get hungry, where and what are you going to eat? In central Toyo you have many choices, you always have a place for the final resort at the station. You may have recognized buckwheat noodle shops in most of the stations in the metropolitan area. These days businesspersons have more choices for a quick meal on the way to the office, but this noodle shop was the only place in my old days. This week I will write about tips to make use of buckwheat noodle shops at the station while you are hanging around in Tokyo.
As far as I can remember what we call “Ekisoba” which is a buckwheat noodle shop at the station was the only choice to eat when I started working. I used to get sucked into the shop when I was desperately hungry. After long years the forms of the shop, the menu, and the taste haven’t changed much, and the price tells you the passage of time. The price was doubled or even more, but Ekisoba remains a reassuring ally for the time-poor business people
Ekisoba has been located on the platforms of the station and people used to go to the shops before and after they board trains. Symbolic shops are still at one of the busiest rail terminals of Shinagawa. “Tokiwa-ken” started its business in the 1960s and there used to be 6 shops on platforms at Shinagawa station. One of the two remaining shops on platforms 1 and 2 can accommodate up to 12 customers in a very small space and up to 700 customers visit the shop daily.
This buckwheat noodle shop is small and simple but holds lots of symbolic Japanese culture.
Quick and cheap: You can complete your meal in 10 to 15 minutes. If it is not crowded the noodle will be ready in less than 5 minutes and finish in another 5 to 10 minutes. If you are not good at hot food, it may take longer, but you will recognize most people come in and leave so quickly.
Noodle and tempura combination: There are many theories, but at the same time as tempura shops were lining up as a matter of course during Edo Era, soba (buckwheat noodle) stalls naturally lined up next to them. It is thought that a customer eating kakesoba (plain buckwheat noodles) at a soba stall bought a piece of tempura from a neighboring tempura shop and put it on his soba, and word spread about how delicious it was.
Communications with shopkeeper: Now that customers have to buy tickets from a vending machine, there are not much interaction between shopkeeper and customers, but there used to be orders and payment. Frequent customers, they didn’t have to say what they want and this symbolizes the friendly relationship between these parties. It is a pity that vending machines made things easier, but, unfortunately, the daily heartwarming scenery is disappearing. It is like visiting the same coffee shop every day.
Additional menu: You may recognize some additional menus when you visit. Most of the shops offer Japanese curry and don such as a tendon. That should be one of the reasons why people keep visiting.
Ekisoba has been swallowed up by changes in the railway infrastructure. In recent years, many stations had renovation, and their business location had to change to keep the business going. Ekisoba has changed its location from the platform to other locations in the station such as the concourse. Shops look more stylish and give more temptation to a wider range of customers. I feel sad that the very peculiar situation of eating buckwheat noodles at the shop located on the platform is diminishing. And the more the shop becomes stylish the price is more expensive. I hope that “the culture of Ekisoba” will be preserved somehow.
I still remember one occasion when I was traveling, I used to get off from the carriage and rush into Ekisoba counting down the given time of the stop. I felt that ten minutes was as long as the normal time of eating Ekisoba 15 minutes. Sooner or later this kind of story may become a fairy tale.
The best way to fill up your stomach in 15 minutes is with one coin (500 Yen).
An easy way to feel the beat of Japanese people fighting to fill up their stomachs and save time.
You still can enjoy a variety of menus.
Please try Ekisoba when you have a chance to hang around Tokyo by train.