Restaurants
- Abram Plaut added a new meal Ramen at Jun (らーめん 潤 蒲田店) at Ramen Jun Kamata Ten (らーめん 潤)
Recommended bowl: Tsubame-Sanjō style
This is the first Tokyo outpost of the popular Ramen Jun shop located in the Tsubame-Sanjō area of Niigata prefecture. Jun serves classic Tsubame-Sanjō style ramen: niboshi shoyu soup with thick noodles, showered in pork back fat. Traditional toppings include diced raw onions and iwanori (rock seaweed). Seaweed... More
Recommended bowl: Tsubame-Sanjō style
This is the first Tokyo outpost of the popular Ramen Jun shop located in the Tsubame-Sanjō area of Niigata prefecture. Jun serves classic Tsubame-Sanjō style ramen: niboshi shoyu soup with thick noodles, showered in pork back fat. Traditional toppings include diced raw onions and iwanori (rock seaweed). Seaweed lovers can opt for extra iwanori, and back fat lovers can opt for more back fat. Second Tokyo branch in Kameido, but this one is higher ranked. Open late night. Since 2005. Less
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- Abram Plaut added a new meal Ramen at Barikote (博多ラーメン ばりこて ) at Hakata Ramen Barikote (博多ラーメン ばりこて)
Recommended bowl: Legit Kyushu tonkotsu
Barikote has a few locations on the west side of Tokyo and all of them are known as legit spots for Hakata tonkotsu. The original Barikote shop opened in Machida in 1998, then moved to its current location in 2000. The master here Takasu-san learned how to make ramen himself. The soup is 100% pork bones and takes... More
Recommended bowl: Legit Kyushu tonkotsu
Barikote has a few locations on the west side of Tokyo and all of them are known as legit spots for Hakata tonkotsu. The original Barikote shop opened in Machida in 1998, then moved to its current location in 2000. The master here Takasu-san learned how to make ramen himself. The soup is 100% pork bones and takes 16 hours to make. The thin straight noodles are shipped in fresh from Hakata daily. Most of the ingredients used here are in fact from Hakata. Toppings such as negi, sesame, pickled ginger, with extra noodle refills. Open until 2am. Less
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- Abram Plaut added a new meal Ramen at Chūka Soba Nishikawa (中華そば 西川) at Chuka Soba Nishikawa (中華そば 西川)
Recommended bowl: Niboshi-based
The soup here is niboshi-based, with a light aroma and fragrance of dried Japanese sardines. Master Nishikawa-san previously trained at two shops with rich histories — Takechan Niboshi Ramen (three years) and Eifukuchō Taishouken (five years). Ingredients in the soup include: niboshi, kombu, pork bones, chicken feet,... More
Recommended bowl: Niboshi-based
The soup here is niboshi-based, with a light aroma and fragrance of dried Japanese sardines. Master Nishikawa-san previously trained at two shops with rich histories — Takechan Niboshi Ramen (three years) and Eifukuchō Taishouken (five years). Ingredients in the soup include: niboshi, kombu, pork bones, chicken feet, smoked iwashi, onions and even apples. Soy sauce varieties from Shōdoshima and Ibaraki are in the tare. Dutch lard put to good use. Noodles supplied by Mikawaya Seimen. No MSG. Less
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- Abram Plaut added a new meal Ramen at Tantantei (たんたん亭 本店) at Shina Soba Tantantei (支那そば たんたん亭)
Recommended bowl: Old school wontonmen
Tantantei has been serving ramen for over 35 years, and it is known for one thing: wontonmen. The shop is an institution, having trained numerous masters who went on to establish prestigious wonton-men shops around Tokyo. The masters of Yakumo, Hayashimaru, and Ishihara – all highly respected shops – got their... More
Recommended bowl: Old school wontonmen
Tantantei has been serving ramen for over 35 years, and it is known for one thing: wontonmen. The shop is an institution, having trained numerous masters who went on to establish prestigious wonton-men shops around Tokyo. The masters of Yakumo, Hayashimaru, and Ishihara – all highly respected shops – got their start working here.
Just one shoyu-based variety of soup is served, but it's made with a vast array of ingredients, such as saba, shiitake, konbu, niboshi, dried shrimp, pork parts, chicken parts, ox tail, and others. Various dishes are available, including ramen, wonton soup, wontonmen, chashumen, etc. Two types of wontons are served, one with meat filling and the other with shrimp. Order the "mix wontonmen" so you get to try both. Tantantei's chashu is prepared Chinese style, so it has a bit of that dim sum sweetness. The handmade wontons are immaculately prepared. A classic Tokyo shop. Less
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- Abram Plaut added a new meal Ramen at California (中華そば カリフォルニア) at Chuka Soba California (中華そば カリフォルニア)
Recommended bowl: Golden state vibes
The master of Chuka Soba California absolutely loves the rock group 'The Eagles', which apparently played a heavy part in the naming of the shop. California memorabilia can be found throughout the shop. The recommended dish is the niboshi shio ramen, which comes with a clear, golden soup topped with a piping-hot... More
Recommended bowl: Golden state vibes
The master of Chuka Soba California absolutely loves the rock group 'The Eagles', which apparently played a heavy part in the naming of the shop. California memorabilia can be found throughout the shop. The recommended dish is the niboshi shio ramen, which comes with a clear, golden soup topped with a piping-hot layer of oil made from ago (flying fish) and iwashi (sardines). The noodles are supplied by Tamura Seimen, based in Hachioji, Tokyo. The second recommendation after the niboshi shio is probably the shoyu wontonmen, also excellent. Open since 2015. Less
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- Abram Plaut added a new meal Ramen at Benkei (らーめん弁慶 浅草本店) at Ramen Benkei Asakusa Honten (らーめん弁慶)
Recommended bowl: Tokyo backfat style
Open for over 40 years, Benkei serves Tokyo-style tonkotsu shoyu soup with pork back fat. The soup is made from pork bones, pork meat and pig heads, along with chicken, onions, garlic and ginger, all boiled for seven hours. The noodles are supplied by Kaikarou Seimen. Popular toppings include thinly sliced pork... More
Recommended bowl: Tokyo backfat style
Open for over 40 years, Benkei serves Tokyo-style tonkotsu shoyu soup with pork back fat. The soup is made from pork bones, pork meat and pig heads, along with chicken, onions, garlic and ginger, all boiled for seven hours. The noodles are supplied by Kaikarou Seimen. Popular toppings include thinly sliced pork belly chashu or diced negi. Owner Nishikawa-san ran a yatai (street cart) for 10 years before opening Benkei. Nishikawa-san's policy has always been that a bowl of ramen should cost the same as the starting fare of a Tokyo taxi. His brand now has multiple branches in Tokyo, but this is the flagship. Less
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- Abram Plaut added a new meal Ramen at Waka Tokyo (中華そば 和渦 TOKYO) at Chuka Soba Waka TOKYO (中華そば 和渦 TOKYO)
Recommended bowl: Pi water & chicken
Master Takahashi-san trained at the ramen shop Tsukumo before opening Waka in Oimachi in 2016. In 2017 he completely changed the menu and since then the shop has ranked high on ramen heads' hit lists. The soup contains special 'pi' water, chickens from Akita prefecture, kombu, and dried fish. The noodles are supplied... More
Recommended bowl: Pi water & chicken
Master Takahashi-san trained at the ramen shop Tsukumo before opening Waka in Oimachi in 2016. In 2017 he completely changed the menu and since then the shop has ranked high on ramen heads' hit lists. The soup contains special 'pi' water, chickens from Akita prefecture, kombu, and dried fish. The noodles are supplied by Sankou Shokuhin, same as the shop Tsukumo. The shoyu tare contains 12 different ingredients, and the shio tare five ingredients. No MSG. They moved to a new location in Kita-Shinagawa in April 2019. Less
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- Abram Plaut added a new meal Ramen at Akasaka Minmin (赤坂 珉珉) at Akasaka Minmin (赤坂 珉珉)
Recommended bowl: Gyoza & ramen
Open over 47 years and still family run, with almost all of the staff and chefs homegrown. Tucked away in a quiet residential area devoid of ramen shops, Minmin is more of a Chinese restaurant than a ramen shop. In fact, the main draw is not ramen, but the yaki gyoza, and fried rice that most of the customers order.... More
Recommended bowl: Gyoza & ramen
Open over 47 years and still family run, with almost all of the staff and chefs homegrown. Tucked away in a quiet residential area devoid of ramen shops, Minmin is more of a Chinese restaurant than a ramen shop. In fact, the main draw is not ramen, but the yaki gyoza, and fried rice that most of the customers order. Indeed, the gyoza are the way to go, but feel free to dip into the ramen or any of the other numerous dishes available. Unrelated to any of the handful of other shops in Tokyo named Minmin. Old-school style and authentic. Less
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- Abram Plaut added a new meal Ramen at Ajisai (らぁ麺 紫陽花) at Raamen Ajisai (らぁ麺 紫陽花)
Recommended bowl: Elite chicken & shoyu
Master Toya-san was a simple ramen geek before becoming a master — he used to eat about 600 bowls per year. First he started making ramen at home. Then he trained at the shop Kanade in Tokyo for 3.5 years, then at Hachi No Ashiha in Nagoya for 1.5 years, then another shop, Maruwa in Nagoya, for six months.... More
Recommended bowl: Elite chicken & shoyu
Master Toya-san was a simple ramen geek before becoming a master — he used to eat about 600 bowls per year. First he started making ramen at home. Then he trained at the shop Kanade in Tokyo for 3.5 years, then at Hachi No Ashiha in Nagoya for 1.5 years, then another shop, Maruwa in Nagoya, for six months. Finally he opened Ajisai in 2015.
The noodles are housemade, using a Yamato noodle machine. The noodles are straight Hirauchi-style, and slightly flat. The soup is chicken based. The chicken chashu is marinated with yuzu; the pork chashu is smoked. The shoyu tare contains raw, unpasteurized shoyu. Chiyu (chicken oil) on the top. No MSG. Now one of the highest ranked shops not only in Nagoya but in all of Aichi prefecture. Elite level. Less
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- Abram Plaut added a new meal Ramen at Kiccho (麺壱 吉兆 ) at Menichi Kiccho (麺壱 吉兆)
Recommended bowl: Bamboo noodles
Opened in 2011, Kiccho's master trained at Shirakawa Chūka Soba in Yokohama. This shop is influenced by Sano style ramen, with light, chicken-based shoyu soup, teuchi noodles, choice toppings and no MSG. The noodles are made in the aodake teuchi old school style — a bamboo pole is used to press and flatten the noodles... More
Recommended bowl: Bamboo noodles
Opened in 2011, Kiccho's master trained at Shirakawa Chūka Soba in Yokohama. This shop is influenced by Sano style ramen, with light, chicken-based shoyu soup, teuchi noodles, choice toppings and no MSG. The noodles are made in the aodake teuchi old school style — a bamboo pole is used to press and flatten the noodles manually. This shop has a strong following and lineups are the norm. Less