Jimbocho’s Mikasa is a temple to yakisoba, even the noodles are made from scratch here. Yakisoba is a humble dish. Noodles stir-fried with vegetables and a protein and seasoned with a sauce or salt and dusted with aonori, an aromatic sea vegetable. It’s a messy dish and is not photogenic, but would win a congeniality contest as everyone seems to love yakisoba.
There is often a line at Mikasa, no matter the time. Weekends can have up to 50 people in line when the shop opens. It’s a cheap meal, 700 JPY, considering the handmade noodles are made with Hokkaido wheat. Each dish is made to order, starting with boiling the noodles. Boiling the fresh noodles allows them to keep a chewy texture. Just order the spicy sauce or salt and the size, an oomori extra portion of noodles is free.All of the sauces used are made in-house. For an additional 150 JPY you can add some squid and shrimp.
The owner, Nakata-san, realized that there were many udon and ramen shops in Tokyo, but that yakisoba specialty shops were lacking. His nickname is Jimbocho yakisoba god, kami-yakisoba, which is a nice play on kanji considering the area is in Jimbocho, using the same character for “god”. 神保町の神やきそば。
Mikasa is a sliver of a restaurant. Be sure to check out the space behind the counter where the chefs are. Tiny. The space for the customers is not much bigger. Imagine squeezing behind these folks to get to your seat. I don’t think this would pass any fire code in the US.
Note only 120 portions are made each day.
Order from a vending machine in the front of the shop. Below is some Japanese to help.
ソース焼きそば (so-su yakisoba) sauce yakisoba
塩焼きそば (shio yakisoba) salt yakisoba
イカ・エビトッピング (ika/ebi topping) squid and shrimp topping
大盛り (oomori) large portion
小盛り (komori) small portion
Jimbocho Yakisoba Mikasa 神保町やきそばみかさ
Chiyoda-ku, Jimbocho 2-24-3
千代田区神田神保町2-24-3
Food Sake Tokyo 