Arashiyama Yoshimura

Arashiyama Yoshimura occupies what is arguably the finest restaurant view in Kyoto — a building directly above the Togetsukyo Bridge on the Oi River in Arashiyama, Ukyo Ward, with floor-to-ceiling windows framing the river, the bridge, and the maple- and cedar-covered mountain slope of Arashiyama rising behind. The restaurant serves handmade buckwheat soba in the traditional style: grown and milled in Japan, hand-cut on-site, and served in two principal forms — cold zaru soba with dipping sauce, and warm soba in seasonal broth. The tempura soba combines crisp seasonal vegetable and prawn tempura with a light dashi broth; the tori nanban (chicken and spring onion) soba is a warming autumn and winter staple. The quality of the noodles is genuine — nutty, slightly chewy, with the characteristic earthy aroma of freshly milled buckwheat. The view, however, is the reason most guests come, and the restaurant manages the unusual feat of matching it with food that justifies the visit independently. Arashiyama is best visited early in the day before crowds build in the Bamboo Grove and around the shrine area; Yoshimura provides an ideal lunch after a morning walk. Located at 3 Sagatenryujitsukurimichi, Ukyo Ward, Kyoto, Japan.