Down a back street in Jimbocho, Tokyo, there is a specialist Okinawa soba shop called Kiyoi Shoten. The signature soki soba is 1,000 yen, and at weekday lunch it came with jushi (Okinawan mixed rice) at no extra charge. Clear bonito-and-pork broth, ribs seared until fragrant, and straight flat noodles — this is a place to eat serious Okinawa soba without leaving Tokyo. I went and ate there, so here are the flavour, the menu and the prices.
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What kind of shop is Kiyoi Shoten?
Two minutes from Jimbocho Station
Kiyoi Shoten is an Okinawa soba specialist on the ground floor of THE CITY Kanda Jimbocho, at 2-10-14 Kanda Jimbocho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo — about two minutes from exit A2 of Jimbocho Station. It is relatively new, having opened in October 2024, and the sign leads with “special soki soba”.
The room is compact and counter-focused, with doubanjiang, koregusu (island chilli steeped in awamori), pickled ginger and shichimi on the tables. Having proper room to adjust the seasoning is exactly what an Okinawa soba shop should offer.
Hours and closing days
Weekdays run in two shifts, 11:00-15:00 and 17:00-20:00; Saturday is continuous from 11:00 to 17:00. Closed Sundays and public holidays. Queues form at the lunch peak, though a noodle shop turns over quickly. Checking the shop’s X account (@kiyoishouten) for the day’s hours before going is the safe move.
How does the soki soba (1,000 yen) taste?
A clear, dashi-forward bowl: light and yet deep
To put the conclusion first: this is not a heavy bowl but a clear broth with a sharply defined dashi. It looks almost transparent, a golden colour, with only a thin film of pork fat on the surface. The first thing you taste is bonito aroma, with the depth of pork bone arriving behind it.
The salt is restrained enough that you can finish the bowl without getting thirsty. Okinawa soba tends to suggest a heavy pork-and-bonito soup; this is closer in design to a Japanese clear broth. Fine strands of meat have dissolved into it, and the umami builds as you drink.
The seared soki collapses under chopsticks
The star here is the soki — pork spare rib. Three or four large bone-in pieces arrive, the surface properly torched, and that char carries into the broth.
It collapses when you lift it. Even the cartilage is fully softened, turning gelatinous as you chew. It is not the sweet-savoury braised style; the seasoning is restrained, so it stays out of the broth’s way and works on the flavour of the meat and the aroma of the sear. Anyone who normally avoids the pork in soki soba may find this version changes their mind.
Medium-thick straight flat noodles
The noodles are medium-thick, straight and flat, with the springiness typical of Okinawa soba and a clear wheat flavour. Nothing pre-boiled and mushy — just enough resistance to push back as you slurp, and they carry the clear broth well.
The garnish is spring onion and shredded ginger. The ginger is what stops the pork fat becoming heavy by the end. A few drops of koregusu partway through lifts the awamori aroma and effectively turns it into a different bowl.
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Lunchtime jushi comes free
On the weekday lunch visit, jushi came with the soki soba at no charge. Jushi is Okinawan mixed rice cooked with pork, hijiki and carrot, served here in a small bowl.
The seasoning is light and dashi-led, with spring onion scattered over. Eaten alongside the broth, the oil in the jushi blends with the soup and keeps you going to the end. It is 300 yen as a standalone item, so getting it free at lunch is a substantial saving.
The shop also advertises a student discount: free rice or a large-portion noodle upgrade on presentation of a student ID. These offers can change, so confirm when ordering.
The menu and prices
Soba and rice bowls (tax included)
Soba is 1,000 yen as standard, with the signature “Kiyoi soba” at the top of the range.
- Kiyoi soba: 1,350 yen
- Soki soba: 1,000 yen
- Double soki soba: 1,300 yen
- Aosa soki soba: 1,000 yen
- Grilled tomato soki soba: 1,000 yen
- Mozuku soki mazeyakisoba: 1,000 yen
- Spicy soki mazeyakisoba: 1,000 yen
- Japanese-style soki mazeyakisoba: 1,000 yen
- Seared soki rice bowl: 1,100 yen
Three kinds of “mazeyakisoba” (brothless) sit alongside the soup bowls, and Okinawan ingredients like grilled tomato, aosa and mozuku are pushed forward as toppings.
Toppings, sides and drinks
Toppings run 100-300 yen, with extra soki at 300 yen. Soki soba plus extra soki costs the same 1,300 yen as the double soki soba, so it comes down to preference.
- Toppings: extra soki 300 yen / aosa 150 / grilled tomato 150 / mozuku 150 / seasoned egg 150 / large noodles 150 / extra onion 100 / chilli 100 / nori 100
- Sides: fried soki 250 yen / seared soki 350 / half seared soki bowl 400 / jushi 300 / rice 200
- Drinks: bottled Orion beer 500 yen / Coca-Cola 200 / oolong tea 200
Bottled Orion is a properly Okinawan touch. In the evening shift (17:00-20:00) you could treat it as a quick drink: fried soki at 250 yen and an Orion.
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What should you order first?
Soki soba first, Kiyoi soba second
On a first visit, the 1,000-yen soki soba is the right call — it contains all three of the things this shop is built on: the broth, the noodles and the seared soki. With jushi at lunch, 1,000 yen is more than enough.
From the second visit, the top-of-range Kiyoi soba (1,350 yen) or the brothless mazeyakisoba are the interesting moves. The spicy soki mazeyakisoba runs in a completely different direction from the clear-broth bowl, so one shop gives you two experiences.
Avoiding the queue: before noon or after 14:00
Jimbocho is full of offices and universities, so 12:00-13:00 is the peak. Aim for just after opening or after 14:00. Saturday runs continuously from 11:00 to 17:00 and is calmer than a weekday.
Also worth reading
▶ EIBUN palette in Naha – a famous shop in Okinawa itself, running in a similar clear-broth direction
▶ Okinawa Miyakojima Shokudo Saiya in Fukuoka – Okinawan food outside Okinawa, same idea
Summary: the first place to try Okinawa soba in Tokyo
Kiyoi Shoten’s soki soba is not “Okinawa soba pushed by pork richness” but “Okinawa soba that works through the aroma of its dashi”. Melting soki with a seared edge, straight flat noodles, ginger in the garnish — everything is arranged so as not to interfere with the clarity of the broth.
At 1,000 yen for this, with jushi included at lunch, it deserves a place on the list if you are eating in Jimbocho.
- Name: Okinawa Tokusei Soki Soba Kiyoi Shoten
- Address: THE CITY Kanda Jimbocho 1F, 2-10-14 Kanda Jimbocho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
- Access: 2 minutes from Jimbocho Station exit A2
- Hours: Weekdays 11:00-15:00 / 17:00-20:00, Saturday 11:00-17:00
- Closed: Sundays and public holidays
Prices and hours are as of my visit in July 2026. Check in store or on the shop’s X account for current information.
