Soba

Soba /ˈsoʊbə/ (そば or 蕎麦) is the Japanese name for buckwheat. It is synonymous with a type of thin noodle made from buckwheat flour, and in Japan can refer to any thin noodle (unlike thick wheat noodles, known as udon). Soba noodles are served either chilled with a dipping sauce, or in hot broth as a noodle soup. It takes three months for buckwheat to be ready for harvest, so it can be harvested four times a year, mainly in spring, summer, and autumn. In Japan, buckwheat is produced mainly in Hokkaido. Soba that is made with newly harvested buckwheat is called "shin-soba". It is sweeter and more flavorful than regular soba.

In Japan, soba noodles are served in a variety of settings: they are a popular inexpensive fast food at railway stations<ref "name= Mente">Mente, Boye Lafayette De (2007). Dining Guide to Japan: Find the Right Restaurant, Order the Right Dish, and. Tuttle Publishing. p. 70. ISBN 4-8053-0875-3. </ref> throughout Japan, but are also served by expensive specialty restaurants. Markets sell dried noodles and men-tsuyu, or instant noodle broth, to make home preparation easy.

Chiyoda, Tokyo

Chiyoda (千代田区, Chiyoda-ku) is a special ward located in central Tokyo, Japan. In English, it is called Chiyoda City.

Chiyoda consists of the Imperial Palace and a surrounding radius of about a kilometer. As of May 2015, the ward has an estimated population of 54,462 and a population density of 4,670 people per km², making it by far the least populated of the special wards. The total area is 11.66 km², of which the Imperial Palace, Hibiya Park, National Museum of Modern Art, and Yasukuni Shrine take up approximately 2.6 km², or 22% of the total area.

Often called the "political center" of the country, Chiyoda, literally meaning "field of a thousand generations", inherited the name from the Chiyoda Castle (the other name for Edo Castle, today's Imperial Palace). With the seat of the Emperor in the Imperial Palace at the ward's center, many government institutions, such as the National Diet, Prime Minister's Official Residence, and Supreme Court, are also located in Chiyoda, as are Tokyo landmarks such as Yasukuni Shrine, Tokyo Station, and the Budokan. Akihabara, a district known for being an otaku cultural center and a shopping district for computer goods, is also located in Chiyoda, as are fifteen embassies.