A note on the words: miso nikomi udon is a Nagoya specialty of thick wheat udon noodles simmered in a clay pot in a miso broth. Red miso (aka-miso) is a dark type of soybean paste. Motsu refers to offal, and “hair-of-the-dog udon” renders the writer’s mukae-udon joke, a play on mukae-zake (hair of the dog), a restorative drink the day after drinking.
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Tamacho Honten Yaesu ten on Tabelog (English) — opening hours, payment details and the Japanese address are kept up to date there, not here.
Miso lovers, thank you for waiting! It is time for Hangover Meshi!
I love miso dishes — miso ramen, miso nikomi udon, all of it — but I feel like there are not that many places in Tokyo where you can eat “miso nikomi udon” (if you know any, please tell me!). Misonikomin, where I went the other day, was delicious, and this place is another one I had my eye on: “Tamacho Honten”!
It is a specialty shop for Nagoya’s famous miso nikomi udon, in the Yaesu underground shopping mall at Tokyo Station. It apparently recreates the Nagoya original faithfully, and they say the udon noodles are made fresh, without any salt at all. Having no steam hole in the clay-pot lid is the Nagoya style too, and using it directly as a small plate is the way people in the know do it!
I had no Shinkansen to catch, mind you — I came just to eat miso nikomi udon!
It was a little past the lunch rush, yet a few groups were waiting. Popular place, clearly!
Finally inside, I took a breather first.
This one glass brings me back to life!
What I ordered this time was…!
Tamacho-mori Udon!!!
Put simply, it has everything on it. It was listed as a 20th-anniversary item! so I got greedy and ordered it — a large portion of udon topped with shrimp tempura, domestic beef offal (motsu) and Yamayuri Pork! I did wonder if I could eat all of this, but we shared the offal around.
When they lifted the lid for me, the aroma of red miso and bonito dashi rushed straight to my nose with the steam.
In the broth, the sharp saltiness and astringency typical of red miso come forward first, and then the savory flavor of the bonito dashi slowly spreads out. A slight bitterness from the miso lingers in the aftertaste, and I could not stop! Just when you think it will be nothing but rich and heavy, the dashi comes through and it is surprisingly drinkable. Though the offal is plenty rich, ha.
The noodles are made the Nagoya way without salt, so even after simmering, a firm core remains. That chewy firmness you really have to work your jaws through seems just like Nagoya’s own miso nikomi udon! First-timers might wonder, “Are these undercooked?” — it is that firm — but I think that is simply how they are! Naturally, it is piping hot, so the right move is to use the unvented lid as a small plate, blow on it to cool it down, and eat a little at a time.
Packed with toppings, the Tamacho-mori is seriously filling. The batter on the shrimp tempura soaks up the broth, turning partway through into soft tempura coated in miso. And the shrimp itself is quite large, too. The sweet fat from the offal melts out and adds depth to the broth, though if we had not shared it at the start, it might have felt a bit too heavy.
Save the soft-poached egg for the second half and break the yolk, and it takes the edge off the red miso and turns it mellow. If the firm noodles are not for you, closing the lid and letting them steam for two minutes apparently makes them softer, so do as you like.
Here is the miso nikomi udon ordered by someone who, unlike me, ha, did not get greedy.
And here is the shrimp udon, also ordered by someone who, unlike me, did not get greedy.
Ah, that was delicious.
It is a real pleasure to run into proper Nagoya miso nikomi udon right under Tokyo Station. Above all, Tokyo is easy to get to! The super-firm, chewy noodles with the red miso and bonito dashi broth were wonderful. Whether to go for the Tamacho-mori is a matter of taste, I thought, ha — for me the portion was a bit too much and gave me a little trouble. Good for a bowl before catching the Shinkansen, or for hair-of-the-dog udon the day after drinking. I recommend keeping it in mind as a Hangover Meshi spot in Yaesu!
Here’s hoping I run into something delicious again today!
Tamacho Honten Yaesu ten Menu
Miso nikomi udon
Nagoya’s flavor as it is. Served bubbling hot in a clay pot
Softer noodles available on request. Large portion +220 yen for any udon
Extra tempura
Toppings are only for customers ordering noodles
Kishimen (flat udon)
Large portion +220 yen for any hot or cold kishimen
Rice and pickles
Drinks
Highballs, tea-mixed shochu, sake and more also available
From the menu at the shop at the time of the September 2026 visit. Prices include tax (the menu at the shop shows pre-tax prices); the price for the Tamacho-mori Udon is from the receipt. Details may change; please check at the shop for the latest.
Tamacho Honten Yaesu ten (Udon / Tokyo Station, Kyobashi Station, Takaracho Station)
Tabelog lunch rating ★★★☆☆ 3.7
I ate here and paid for it myself. Nothing on this site is a comped meal.
One more for the road?
