One of my go-to tips for finding restaurants in a new city in Japan is to go to the local department stores. In Akita city Seibu department store has one of my favorite udon restaurants, Sato Yosuke. The 8th-generation restaurant serves Inaniwa udon that is stretched out by hand. The noodles are silky and easy to slurp.

The menu offers both hot and cold udon, tempura, and a variety of toppings for the udon. Sato Yosuke also has a branch in Ginza, Tokyo, but recently the queue to get in is long so I was so happy that we could walk into the Akita branch.

I tried three different toppings to the noodles. Niku meat and miso over warm noodles, nameko mushrooms with grated daikon, and umeboshi with oboro shaved kombu. The tempura with cold udon is served with a men tsuyu dipping sauce and a creamy and nutty goma sesame dressing.

If you love udon, put Satō Yōsuke on your radar (in Ginza or Akita).

Satō Yōsuke @satoyosuke_shoten

Seibu department store basement level

Akita-ken, Akita-shi, Nakadōri 2-6-1

Ginza branch:

Tokyo-to, Chūō-ku, Ginza 6-4-17