We had tofu right under Tokyo Tower, at Shiba Tofuya Ukai. It has even held one Michelin star in the Tokyo guide, they say.
As the name says, the sell is tofu. Carefully chosen domestic soy, water from a 120-meter well in Hachioji known as “famous water of Owada in Musashi,” and natural nigari from sun-dried seawater — a fussy piece. When we visited they said the beans were Hokkaido Tsurunoko soy.
Starters change with the season, but two specialties run all year. The main is “tosui tofu
” = photo above, with junsai swimming in the broth, clean and light. We went in summer, so it was probably a limited version; sites and gourmet pages suggest the usual feature is a creamy soy-milk broth — a pleasure for next time.
The other is “agedengaku
” = photo right, grilled at the garden dengaku stand. Fragrant and quite good.
Besides the food, the feature is the “vessel,” including the garden. The Tower sits on a slight hill; enter the gate = photo left, climb the stone path along the earthen wall as if climbing the Tower, and a 200-year-old sake brewery building moved from Yonezawa appears. Trees over a century old, a built hill, falls and a stream, a waterwheel, a pond with carp — they even made a Japanese garden (this used to be a bowling alley, I believe). Eating while looking at such a garden has another-dimension charm. A luxurious time.
Well, I fully understand the aim of the space. Whether you call it good or too much…
The nearest station to Tokyo Tower is Akabanebashi on the Toei Oedo Line. From Takebashi, change at Monzen-Nakacho; about thirty minutes.