Recommended bowl: Top-class shoyu gem

A lifelong ramen fan, Shinagawa-san studied under master Sano-san, creator of Shinasobaya, a respected shop based in Yokohama (Sano-san passed away a few years ago — RIP). Shinagawa-san later spent some time working at a few of the legendary Taishouken shops, and later Jiraigen, before finally opening Basso Drillman in 2008. He launched this shop, Chuka Soba Shinagawa, in 2013.

A simple setup, the shop has one small counter and a solo ramen pro — one of Shinagawa-san's top disciples — prepping the bowls. The lunch specialty is a high-quality chuka soba. The clear, dark shoyu soup has a nice crisp punch, and the classic ramen toppings — buta chashu, negi, menma, nori and tamago — are refined and satisfying. There is also a very fine niboshi soba served at lunch, with tasty bits of se abura suspended in the soup. For dinner, the specialty changes to inaniwa chūka soba, a dish famous in Akita prefecture. All of the noodles here are handmade and impressive.