Recommended bowl: Kokubunji ramen king!

Muta-san apprenticed at Nagi Golden Gai and Gamushara in Hatagaya – both renowned ramen shops – before opening his own place, Mutahiro, in 2011. His lengthy apprenticeships left him well equipped for success. Mutahiro was an instant hit and Muta-san opened his second shop, Tori-Soba Muthiro, in 2012. In 2013, he launched Maze Mutahiro, followed by Kushiage Mutahiro in 2014. All four shops are within a five-minute walk from one another in Kokubunji. This guy has the Kokubunji ramen game on lockdown. In 2015, Muta-san unveiled his first shop in Osaka.

Tori Soba Mutahiro (Muta-san's second shop) is probably his best. The soup is a medium-dark shoyu, coated in a luscious layer of chiyu (chicken oil). The soup is straight bomb and the best thing about this bowl. The 'hirauchi' noodles – a flat, wide, mostly straight style of noodle – are specially ordered from Nagi Golden Gai's private noodle factory. The toppings are the ramen classics: soft-boiled egg, menma, tori chashu and nori. As is customary at all the Mutahiro shops, the staff here wears blue denim overalls, straw hats and colorful plaid shirts. Interesting touch.