Recommended bowl: Noodles handmade fresh

The master of Hayama hails from Yamagata prefecture. Self-trained, he does everything he does himself, from the handmade noodles to the soup, toppings prep, etc. The real draw here are the noodles, which are pounded using bamboo poles and fists, made to order after each customer orders. The soup is a light niboshi base, topped with katsuo dashi to finish. No MSG. If the bamboo pole is outside the shop, that means Hayama is open for business.