Recommended bowl: A comfy local spot

Koujitsu welcomes all comers with a laidback, homey atmosphere. The shop is run entirely by local middle-aged women, and one gets the impression that most of the customers are regulars who live or work nearby. Instead of the cramped counter seating common to most Tokyo ramen shops, here you find a large communal table as the shop centerpiece, with several smaller tables off to the side.

The house specialty is a comforting shoyu ramen and tsukemen with a light niboshi base and simple ingredients. The noodles are handmade and medium-thick; the toppings are very satisfying – especially the egg – if not particularly remarkable. The king here is the soup – a slight niboshi tingle, with an all-natural sweetness. Made with chicken, seven types of vegetables, konbu and niboshi, it's liquid delight. No MSG. Everything gels in this shop. It might not stand out to beginners as a mind-blowing bowl, but you will find yourself coming back again and again.

Koujitsu was among the 22 ramen shops featured in the Michelin Guide Tokyo 2015 – not that Michelin's Tokyo ramen knowledge is particularly deep. Less