Honke Owariya - Kyoto, Japan

Kyoto is... Nothing like Tokyo. The pace is slower, the glut of tourists makes it easy to blend in, and the walk-slow-and-just-relax atmosphere is a stark contrast to the constant hustle and bustle.

There seems to be a struggle between the new Kyoto and the old. The classical architecture is well-preserved in tourist-town Gion, but move just a couple streets over, and skyscrapers dwarf the shrines. The temples and teahouses stand staunch, firmly defending the institutions that anchor Kyoto as a window into Japanese culture and all the tradition that entails.

Some traditions never get old, and Honke Owariya is one such tradition. Born in 1465, we can officially consider it a Kyoto institution, and today it still stands.

It's a pretty walk through a peaceful neighborhood from the subway, and the Rikyu-Fu is a warm-up to the soba of legends. Slices of spongy gluten, absorbent and squishy but firm, a harder, more assertive gefiltefish without the fish.

The Ten Siero features soba. Probably the common ancestor of all soba, textbook buckwheat, with tempura on the side.

Soba is not so filling, and tempura is light. Plenty of room for Tokoro Ten dessert. Gelatinous noodles that taste like nothing, adding texture to sweet red beans that taste like everything.

After seeing all the elegant women throughout my trip to Japan, I can only conclude that everything ages like Japanese women... so basically nothing ages. Honke Owariya is no exception. Good food is timeless, and it only gets better as it gets older.