Dosanjin Soba — Local services in Kobe

YOU ARE NOT WELCOMED IF YOU DON’T HAVE A LOCAL TELEPHONE NUMBER!!!!!

As the first tine to Arima Onsen, we wanted to explore the area and looking for restaurant for lunch, so we didn’t have table reservation.

I saw a walk-in form at the entrance and it requires local telephone number. I asked a male staff who speaks good English if we can queue as walk-in but I don’t have local telephone number. He just said NO. I asked if I still write down my name and I come back later, he said NO. I further asked if I can just wait outside the restaurant, he also said NO.

It was very frustrating and unexpected bad service in Japan. He didn’t provide any alternative how I can get a seats. He just turned me down and not welcomed tourists who don’t have local number.

This is ridiculous walk-in system which I never had in any other restaurant. Very disappointing and not recommended to go and...

If you enjoy cold buckwheat noodles, you might appreciate the refreshing soba this place is known for. Personally, I found it fairly average—not necessarily a bad thing, just not particularly memorable.

The ordering system is straightforward: you sign in on the kiosk and can link your LINE account using the QR code on the ticket. However, as a visitor from America, I never received a call when my turn came up. After waiting about 45 minutes and noticing that they were already on number 11, I approached the owner to ask about my spot (I was one of the first five to sign in). They were understanding and seated us right away, which I appreciated.

The soba itself was refreshing with interesting flavors, but it wasn’t something I’d go out of my way for again. If you’re a big soba fan, it might be worth trying, but otherwise, I wouldn’t necessarily...

We saw the front guy let in others who didn’t put names on the list (maybe because he knew them?) and asked folks not to stand by the front door rudely. We waited for over an hour for a table (not even a table as we had to share it with others) and then we’re seated at two seats with a big column between us. We asked to change seats but they refused. Not to mention that they placed some food items behind the column so we had to reach over to get them. Oh, we also had to ask for the tea while others were served with tea immediately. We’re polite but just because we didn’t speak Japanese, we’re treated differently? We won’t be back to this restaurant next time if we come back to...