Hakata Udon Taira — 80-Year-Old Bowl

Hakata udon is the polar opposite of the springy, al-dente udon of Kagawa. The noodles are soft, almost yielding, designed to absorb the broth — a clear dashi of kombu and flying fish (agodashi) that is achingly light and deeply umami. Udon Taira has been serving the same recipe since the 1940s from a wooden building in the Kami-kawabata shopping arcade that hasn't been renovated since Hirohito was emperor.

The counter seats 12. The walls are covered in menus handwritten on paper scraps pinned over decades. The signature is the 'goboten' — udon topped with a large burdock root tempura, a Hakata specialty that you won't find in Tokyo cookbooks. It arrives in 3 minutes. You eat in 5. You think about it for the rest of the trip.