Actors and Japanese food
Tom Hanks at Kanda Matsuya: discovering old Tokyo through soba
In this article
When planning meals in Tokyo, consider the restaurant’s architecture and neighbourhood as part of the experience. Kanda Matsuya in Kanda Sudacho is a soba restaurant that confirmed Tom Hanks’s visit. This article separates the reported visit from suggestions for enjoying your own meal. Source: HuffPost Japan
Visited on September 16, 2016. What he ate is not disclosed
While in Japan to promote Sully, Tom Hanks posted a photograph taken inside the restaurant on social media. Responding to HuffPost Japan, the restaurant confirmed that he visited on September 16, 2016. It did not disclose what he ordered. Source: HuffPost Japan
We can therefore suggest enjoying a meal at the same restaurant, but cannot identify “the zaru soba Tom Hanks ate” or “his favourite tempura soba.” The soba illustration in this article is a general image of the cuisine.
A Kanda restaurant whose building is part of the appeal
Kanda Matsuya was founded in 1884. Tokyo’s official historic-building website describes the design and history of its wooden restaurant building. The address is 1-13 Kanda Sudacho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo. Source: With! Tokyo Rekiken PROJECT
Before or after your meal, stop for a moment and take a look at the roofs and entrances of buildings. In this way, the restaurant becomes not just a place to eat, but a destination for learning about the city of Tokyo. When observing from outside, please do not obstruct entry and exit or surrounding traffic.
Choose the soba you want to eat
Not knowing his order does not diminish the enjoyment of a visit. Would you prefer a hot bowl of noodles or cold soba? What suits your appetite? Taking time to consider the menu available on the day is part of the meal.
If you're visiting a soba restaurant for the first time, just ask the staff the name of the dish you don't know. We recommend choosing based on the day's information rather than the prices and business hours that appear in old news reports.
Plan a meal and a detour in Kanda
If you want to incorporate this restaurant into your trip, our suggestion from this article is to decide on a meal time in advance and leave some time before and after to walk around the town. Instead of taking a trip to recreate the path an actor walked, try making it a trip to explore the surrounding area based on your own interests.
When taking photos, please follow the store's instructions and be careful not to show other customers' faces in the photo. Rather than taking a photo of the same composition as the person's post, it's better to take the time to enjoy the meal while you're there.
Restaurant information and related links
Store name: Kanda Matsuya main store. Location: 1-13 Kanda Suda-cho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo. Location source
Store official website / Official access guide / Search on Google Maps / Search Kanda Matsuya on YouTube
YouTube is a search link, not a video of the person visiting the store. Due to the research environment at the time of manuscript creation, we were unable to obtain the main text of the official website, so current business hours, regular holidays, and prices are not reproduced in this article. Please check with the store before visiting.
About this article
This article is an editorial article based on published reporting and restaurant information, not a record of the author’s own dining experience. Past visits or related coverage do not establish a current endorsement, regular patronage or any affiliation between this website, the restaurant and the person discussed. Before visiting, check the restaurant’s latest hours, prices, menu and reservation arrangements. The references come from the manuscript prepared on September 28, 2026. Check the latest information before publication or a visit.
All images are illustrations. They are not photographs of the actual restaurant, its food or a visit. Signs, menus, prices, background scenery and people in the images are also illustrative and cannot establish the real exterior, interior, dishes or location. Before visiting, consult the restaurant links and maps in the article.