Kyoya in Imabari: The Back-Street Chuka Soba Shop That Is Full From the Moment It Opens
Imabari is known for a ramen called Imabari Ramen, a clear shio broth made with small fish from the Kurushima Strait.
Kyoya is not that.
Kyoya serves chuka soba, the older style of Japanese noodle soup that came before ramen shops became a category of their own.
The broth is chicken bone and soy sauce, the chashu is chicken breast rather than pork, and the whole bowl is built to be eaten every week rather than photographed once.
Where it is, and why that matters
The shop sits in Sojacho, a residential district on the east side of central Imabari.
It is about a thirteen-minute walk from JR Imabari Station, which is close enough to reach on foot before you pick up a bicycle.
If you are using the local bus, the Enokibashi stop on the Setouchi Bus Asakura line is about two minutes away.
The approach is a narrow one-way street through old houses, and there is parking for exactly two cars in front of the shop.
That is not a complaint about the shop.
It is the reason the place has stayed the way it is, and it is also the reason you should not arrive by car.
It is full from the moment it opens
This is the single most useful thing to know before you go.
People who write about Kyoya keep reporting the same scene.
Arrive at eleven, when the shop opens, and the seats are already taken.
Arrive five minutes later and there is a line of five people ahead of you.
Arrive at half past eleven and it is close to full again.
Even at one in the afternoon, near the end of lunch, the seats stay filled and customers keep coming in through the door.
The room is small, with five tables of four and three counter seats, so sharing a table with strangers is normal here.
None of this is a problem if you expect it.
The turnover is fast, because almost everyone orders the same thing.
What is in the bowl
The broth is chicken bone and soy sauce, light on the surface but with more depth than it first appears.
Drink a spoonful before touching the noodles and the effect is less excitement than relief.
The chashu is sliced chicken breast, seasoned firmly and lean enough that you keep eating it without feeling heavy.
The rest is spring onion and menma, which is to say nothing unusual at all.
That restraint is the point.
You will be asked how firm you want the noodles, and a good number of regulars answer “firm”.
Inari sushi and oden sit on the side as self-service items, and the oden egg has been in the broth long enough to have taken the colour of it.
An honest note on the taste
Most people describe this bowl as gentle, clean and comforting.
Some describe it as thin.
Both are the same observation seen from different expectations.
If your reference point is a rich tonkotsu or a heavily seasoned modern ramen, this will taste restrained to you.
If you want the everyday noodle soup that a Japanese provincial town actually eats, this is precisely it.
Knowing which of those you are looking for will decide whether you enjoy the visit.
The opening hours are the trap
Read this part twice, because it is where visitors lose their chance.
The shop opens at eleven in the morning and closes at three in the afternoon.
It closes on Mondays, Sundays and public holidays.
That is three closed days in a normal week, and they fall on exactly the days a traveller is most likely to have free.
It also closes when the soup runs out, which can happen before the posted closing time.
So the safe plan is a weekday, early rather than late.
What it costs
A bowl here stays under 1,000 yen, and that is true even with a side of inari sushi and a skewer of oden.
Prices have moved over the years, as they have everywhere, so the exact figures are best checked on the day.
What has not changed is the position of the shop: this is a place where a full lunch costs less than a coffee and a pastry in a tourist district.
How to fit it into a Shimanami day
If you are starting the Shimanami Kaido from Imabari, the cleanest way to use Kyoya is on the day before you ride.
Arrive in Imabari, walk out to Sojacho for an early lunch, then collect your rental bicycle in the afternoon and check your route.
The other good slot is a rest day in the middle of a cycling trip, when you are not in a hurry and a small local shop is more interesting than a restaurant with an English menu.
What does not work is treating it as a dinner option, because the shop is shut by mid-afternoon.
Where it sits among Imabari’s noodles
Imabari has more noodle shops than a city this size normally would, and they are not interchangeable.
Imabari Ramen is the clear shio bowl made with local fish, and it is the one with the tourist-facing name.
Honebuto Mikaku is the back-fat shop where the toppings are free.
Soba Masa makes soba and Nagoya-style kishimen.
Matsu Seimensho is the udon place near the ferry in Hashihama.
Kyoya is none of those.
It is the chuka soba of the residential streets, the bowl that people here have been eating on ordinary weekdays for decades.
Practical information
Address: 1-6-7 Sojacho, Imabari, Ehime (愛媛県今治市蒼社町1-6-7)
Phone: 0898-22-2142
Hours: 11:00 to 15:00, or until the soup runs out
Closed: Mondays, Sundays and public holidays
Access: about 13 minutes on foot from JR Imabari Station, or about 2 minutes from the Enokibashi bus stop
Parking: two spaces in front of the shop
Questions visitors ask
Is there an English menu? Do not expect one. The menu is short, and pointing at the bowl in front of someone else works.
What should I order? Chuka soba. Add inari sushi or oden from the self-service side if you want more.
Can I go for dinner? No. The shop is closed by mid-afternoon.
Is it suitable for children? Yes, though the room is small and busy, so a quiet hour is easier.
Will I have to share a table? Quite possibly. That is normal at lunchtime here.
Should I drive? No. Two parking spaces and narrow streets make this a walk, bus or bicycle trip.
Nearby and related
Imabari Ramen: the clear shio ramen of this city
Honebuto Mikaku: how to order at the back-fat ramen shop
Soba Masa: soba and Nagoya kishimen
Matsu Seimensho: udon near the Hashihama ferry
The Imabari Guide for Shimanami Kaido Cyclists
Original article in Japanese: 京屋の美味しいラーメン〜今治でも老舗の伝統の味｜今治ランチ隊が行く！
