Customers leaving Azumi have been overheard saying, "They were the best noodles I've ever had in Kyoto." And while there is an abundance of soba restaurants downtown, few are open all afternoon. The two set menus at Azumi are zaru soba with takikomi gohan, jamaimo and pickles for Y1000, and hot kake soba for Y1200 (including a mini-tendon).

There are two kinds of soba handmade on the premises: nihachi (80% buckwheat, 20% flour) and towari (100% buckwheat). Towari are recommended for hot noodles, as they stay firm. The tenzaru (Y1600) includes an ample serving of tempura on a stack of deep fried vermicelli: extravagant in the humble world of teuchi soba.

There is a good selection of sake and either generation of the Ikeda family will make seasonal recommendations on request. The second floor has space for thirty people and when it's full it can cause delays in the kitchen. These noodles are definitely 'koshi ga aru.'