Tokyo New City Guide. Mayumi Yoshida Barakan

top-rated shabu-shabu restaurant has three branches. The atmosphere is suitably Japanese and the food excellent. Shabu-shabu from ¥10,000, sukiyaki from ¥ 14,000.

      CHIN'YA

      1-3-4 Asakusa, Taito-ku. Tel: [phone]. Hours: 11:30 A.M.-9:30 P.M., closed Wed. A famous restaurant since the Meiji period, the current restaurant is in a seven-story building (in the basement part, you don't have to take off your shoes). Sukiyaki-teishoku (B1) ¥2,400. Sukiyaki from ¥6,000. Shabu-shabu teishoku from ¥2,600. [M-12]

      HASEJIN

      3-3-15 Azabu-dai, Minato-ku. Tel: [phone]. Hours: 11:30 A.M.-10:30 P.M., closed Sun. A great beef restaurant, they have a gyu-kaiseki course (beef kaisekl) from ¥10,000. Sukiyaki courses from ¥12,000, shabu-shabu from ¥8,000. [M-1]

      SHABUSEN

      Ginza Core Bldg., B2 & 2F, 5-8-20 Ginza, Chuo-ku. Tel: [phone]-1717. Hours: 11:00 A.M.-10:00 P.M. daily. One of the most inexpensive shabu-shabu restaurants in town with courses from ¥3,200. [M-8]

      NARUSE

      6-8-17 Roppongi, Minato-ku. Tel: [phone]. Hours: 5:00-11:00 P.M., closed Sun. Sukiyaki and shabu-shabu, all-you-can-eat courses for just over ¥4,000. [M-1]

      BOTAN

      1-15 Kanda Suda-cho, Chiyoda-ku. Tel: [phone]. Hours: noon-8:00 P.M., closed Sun. & hol. Chicken sukiyaki served in private tatami rooms with charcoal braziers. Homey atmosphere. Sukiyaki course from ¥5,300. [M-14]

      Soba

      Soba is a very serious subject for many Tokyoites. The buckwheat noodles have been popular since the Edo period, when more restaurants served soba than any other type of food (sushi was a close second). Some Edokko still have to have their daily soba "hit."

      But soba restaurants are a hotly debated subject, and everyone has a favorite to which they remain stubbornly loyal. Yabu Soba in Kanda is probably the overall winner. The best soba is handmade, teuchi, and has a slightly hard and chewy texture. Fast-food soba tachigui served at stand-up noodle stalls is an almost completely different species of noodle. Noodles are served either in a hot soup or cold. A bowl of good soba will cost from ¥1,000-¥2,000.