Imai Honten
Osaka, Japan
The read// why locals go
Imai Honten has been serving udon on Dotonbori since 1946, behind a wooden frontage that ignores every neon sign around it. The kitchen's reputation rests on the broth: dashi drawn each morning from Hokkaido konbu, clear and restrained in the Kansai manner rather than the darker soups found further east. Kitsune udon — soft noodles under a sheet of sweet fried tofu — is the order to judge it by, at around ¥1,200, and kishimen has been on the menu just as long. Dotonbori is Osaka at its most overwhelming, which makes stepping into a quiet room of pale wood a deliberate contrast, and one locals rely on.
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Dotonbori 1-7-22, 542-0071 — Osaka
Dotonbori 1-7-22, 542-0071 — Osaka
The read// why locals go
Imai Honten has been serving udon on Dotonbori since 1946, behind a wooden frontage that ignores every neon sign around it. The kitchen's reputation rests on the broth: dashi drawn each morning from Hokkaido konbu, clear and restrained in the Kansai manner rather than the darker soups found further east. Kitsune udon — soft noodles under a sheet of sweet fried tofu — is the order to judge it by, at around ¥1,200, and kishimen has been on the menu just as long. Dotonbori is Osaka at its most overwhelming, which makes stepping into a quiet room of pale wood a deliberate contrast, and one locals rely on.