Hisanoji, Takasaki (ひさのじ)

So I was still in Takasaki, and I went to Darumaji, and it was only two stops away on the train, and I needed some exercise, and I thought, "Eh, I'll just walk back." This was a stupid idea, but at least I got an hour of walking in.

And stopped along the way in a cute little soba place called Hisanoji. I've cropped the photo tight so you can't see how industrial the surrounding buildings are.

Inside was puuuure soba restaurant. The only element that I would say was missing from their style was thick, rough-cut wood tables and counters, but those are expensive. I sympathize.

Heck, it was already lunch time. They had a bunch of different grades from this brewery, Mizubashou. I was a little bummed that the waitress didn't go a little crazier with the pour, but it spilled a touch, and that's the important thing.

The menu was kinda cool; they had several kinds of soba. On the left is their 'country style', which is thicker and blacker (more husk left in? I didn't ask, because I probably couldn't understand the explanation.), middle is the thin and white one, and right is the normal soba. I had never seen multiple varieties like this before, and they seemed happy that I hadn't. The noodles were just a tiny bit overcooked by my standards; I liked the country-style one the best since it was chewier and had more flavor.

Noodle porn?  San-SHOCK!