Tsukuba's Gourmet Handmade Soba

I always said that the best soba I have ever had is soba made from newly harvested buckwheat that you can only eat once a year in the fall at the Chichibu Shinsoba Matsuri. We still make that yearly pilgrimage to Chichibu. However, my answer changed after visiting Soba Shin Ida (そば心 ゐ田). This is, hands-down, the best soba I have ever had in my almost decade-long stay in Japan. While the restaurant offers a variety of soba sets, there is really only one thing that you must absolutely order: Cold soba with duck meat that you will grill at the table. I hesitated ordering duck. I've had duck that was too tough and gamey. But the friendly master soba maker insists this is the best the restaurant has to offer. And it is. It is in eating the soba that I learned the word 風味 (fuumi which means "superb taste"), as in soba's 風味. The duck was tender and did not have any gamey smell or taste at all. If you're lucky enough to have the master soba maker serve your meal, he will teach you how to cook the meat and enjoy your soba at least five different ways.