Recommended bowl: Smooth double soup

The master at Menya Ishikawa trained for six years at Aoba in Nakano, a rather legendary shop known as one of the first to offer the double-soup technique. Opened in 2012, Menya Ishikawa serves a velvety tonkotsu and a light niboshi-gyokai double soup, not so different from the Aoba school of thought. Egg noodles are supplied by the well known purveyor Kanejin. Standard extra pork and egg topping options are also available. Before boiling, the noodle portions here weigh out at a hefty 200g for ramen and 300g for tsukemen — pretty generous.