Restaurants
- Abram Plaut added a new meal Ramen at Hayashimaru (麺屋はやしまる) at Menya Hayashimaru (麺屋 はやしまる)
Recommended bowl: Crazy good wontonmen
Hidden down a tiny side street in the colorful neighborhood of Koenji, Hayashimaru serves some of the best wontonmen around. With its rustic wooden exterior, glass-plated doors and long wrap-around counter, the shop has a homey, old school Tokyo atmosphere. Customers range from school kids to salarymen to housewives... More
Recommended bowl: Crazy good wontonmen
Hidden down a tiny side street in the colorful neighborhood of Koenji, Hayashimaru serves some of the best wontonmen around. With its rustic wooden exterior, glass-plated doors and long wrap-around counter, the shop has a homey, old school Tokyo atmosphere. Customers range from school kids to salarymen to housewives and grandparents.
Hayashimaru’s wontons are exquisitely packaged, juicy and flavorful. But what really elevates this shop to an elite level is its take on the ramen fundamentals: soup and noodles. Made with a light flour, the house-made noodles are straight and medium-thick, served slightly on the chewy side. Offering up a niboshi-based shoyu and shio, this bowl is sweet and simple. Nothing extravagant, but deeply comforting. Hayashimaru's master apprenticed at Tantantei, the wontonmen institution in Hamadayama that has spawned multiple Tokyo wonton masters. Less
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- Abram Plaut added a new meal Ramen at Yamatoki (らぁめん山と樹) at Raamen Yama to Ki (らぁめん 山と樹)
Recommended bowl: Handcrafted excellence
Master Tomiyama-san previously worked at a solid shop in Hachioji before opening his own place in January 2017. He usually runs the shop entirely solo, including preparing the handmade noodles everyday at 8am. Shoyu or Shio tare are available, both paired with a light soup. Ramen and tsukemen are on the menu.... More
Recommended bowl: Handcrafted excellence
Master Tomiyama-san previously worked at a solid shop in Hachioji before opening his own place in January 2017. He usually runs the shop entirely solo, including preparing the handmade noodles everyday at 8am. Shoyu or Shio tare are available, both paired with a light soup. Ramen and tsukemen are on the menu. Each bowl comes with hand-pounded temomi noodles, which master Tomiyama-san personally pounds out on the counter before dropping them into the boil. The soup is chicken and pork-based, and the tare contains a blend of three varieties of shoyu, as well as flavor from dried oysters. There are two varieties of salt in the shio tare. Everything here is handcrafted at a high level. Less
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- Abram Plaut added a new meal Ramen at Rishiri (新・利しり) at Rishiri (新・利しり)
Recommended bowl: Spicy old school
Opened back in 1969 under the name Kameyoshi, this shop changed to Rishiri in 1977. The recommended bowl here is the Orochon Ramen, a massive, spicy, old school-style bowl. The standard Orochon comes with just a tad of heat, but customers can choose up to nice times the level of spice. The soup is made from suppon... More
Recommended bowl: Spicy old school
Opened back in 1969 under the name Kameyoshi, this shop changed to Rishiri in 1977. The recommended bowl here is the Orochon Ramen, a massive, spicy, old school-style bowl. The standard Orochon comes with just a tad of heat, but customers can choose up to nice times the level of spice. The soup is made from suppon (softshell turtle), chicken carcasses and kombu. Noodles are special ordered 'tamago iri chubuto men', meaning medium-width straight noodles made with eggs. The toppings included green bell peppers, wood ear mushrooms and slices of pork. The gyoza and fried rice also are recommended. Open until 5am. Less
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- Abram Plaut added a new meal Ramen at Tsumugi (らーめん紬麦) at Ramen Tsumugi (らーめん 紬麦)
Recommended bowl: Underground noodles
Tsumugi is located down a staircase beneath an office building, and the small sign at street level is tricky to spot. The recommended 'tsumugi ramen' comes with a chicken-based shoyu soup, topped w/ fried negi (Japanese leeks) and chili oil. The rich soup has just the slightest tingle of spiciness. All-natural... More
Recommended bowl: Underground noodles
Tsumugi is located down a staircase beneath an office building, and the small sign at street level is tricky to spot. The recommended 'tsumugi ramen' comes with a chicken-based shoyu soup, topped w/ fried negi (Japanese leeks) and chili oil. The rich soup has just the slightest tingle of spiciness. All-natural ingredients; no MSG. The noodles are house-made, in a style that's similar to sanuki udon, a popular style of noodle from Kagawa Prefecture. The master uses a specialized variety of Japanese flour from Kagawa, which seems to enhance the consistency and homemade feel.
The shop's interior design is thoroughly unremarkable. It's a plain little room nestled among a bunch of other outwardly uninteresting businesses beneath a typical Tokyo office building. You come here for the ramen and the ramen alone – and it's well worth the visit. The shop has just two staff, the master in the kitchen and his mother who waits on the customers. Also popular is the 'waraji katsu don' — fried chicken served with sauce over rice. Less
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- Abram Plaut added a new meal Dinner at Hatsudai at 麺酒家タケイメン
黒担々麺 / Kuro Tantanmen / Menshuka Takeimen — Hatsudai, Tokyo
Sesame based soup is paired with medium thick wavy noodles by Kanno Seimen. Topped with spiced ground pork, bean sprouts, negi, peanuts and togarashi. This black sesame offering is limited, regular tantanmen and a soupless version form the main menu.
Takeimen was founded by... More
黒担々麺 / Kuro Tantanmen / Menshuka Takeimen — Hatsudai, Tokyo
Sesame based soup is paired with medium thick wavy noodles by Kanno Seimen. Topped with spiced ground pork, bean sprouts, negi, peanuts and togarashi. This black sesame offering is limited, regular tantanmen and a soupless version form the main menu.
Takeimen was founded by actor and noodle enthusiast master Yousuke Takei-san. He first established the brand in late 2022 and operated as a pop-up at the Last Order Bar in Hatsudai for almost a year before finding his own space nearby. The new shop is both a ramen restaurant and a drinking bar. Open since April 1st, 2024 @takeimen_slurp Less
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- Abram Plaut added a new meal Ramen at CIQUE (ラーメン チキュウ) at RAMEN CiQUE (RAMEN CiQUE)
Recommended bowl: Light soup w/ tomato
Open since 2008, Ramen Cique is run by master Sudō-san, who works solo and does all prep himself. The recommended bowl is the shio, which comes with a light clear soup. But some ramen heads prefer the shoyu, which is served with a richer broth. The ingredients in the soup are mostly chicken parts and a lot of... More
Recommended bowl: Light soup w/ tomato
Open since 2008, Ramen Cique is run by master Sudō-san, who works solo and does all prep himself. The recommended bowl is the shio, which comes with a light clear soup. But some ramen heads prefer the shoyu, which is served with a richer broth. The ingredients in the soup are mostly chicken parts and a lot of vegetables, with a little bit of pork and fish. The noodles are supplied by Mikawaya Seimen. Toppings include a bread-like wheat puff, or as extras a grilled tomato or egg. The grilled tomato topping is recommended. Slight Italian touch. Less
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- Abram Plaut added a new meal Ramen at Koshin (煮干しそば 虎愼) at Koshin (煮干しそば 虎愼)
Recommended bowl: West Tokyo style
Open from 2012, Koshin is run by the ramen group Eternal Grow Inc., based in far west Tokyo. The shop has six seats, and serves a menu of clear niboshi, thick niboshi and tori paitan. The soup contains pork, chicken and niboshi, with noodles supplied by Kanejin Shokuhin. The bowls here slightly resemble a take on... More
Recommended bowl: West Tokyo style
Open from 2012, Koshin is run by the ramen group Eternal Grow Inc., based in far west Tokyo. The shop has six seats, and serves a menu of clear niboshi, thick niboshi and tori paitan. The soup contains pork, chicken and niboshi, with noodles supplied by Kanejin Shokuhin. The bowls here slightly resemble a take on Hachioji-style ramen, with thin straight noodles and diced onions as a topping. Less
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- Abram Plaut added a new meal Ramen at Poppo-ya (らーめん ぽっぽっ屋) at Poppo-ya (らーめん ぽっぽっ屋)
Recommended bowl: Jiro roots
This well known shop in central Tokyo is famous for Jiro-kei, or Jiro-inspired ramen. Sure enough, the master previously worked at a few Jiro shops before opening this one. Originally it was located in Kodenma-cho, but that branch closed and now they have this head branch along with one more outpost elsewhere. The soup... More
Recommended bowl: Jiro roots
This well known shop in central Tokyo is famous for Jiro-kei, or Jiro-inspired ramen. Sure enough, the master previously worked at a few Jiro shops before opening this one. Originally it was located in Kodenma-cho, but that branch closed and now they have this head branch along with one more outpost elsewhere. The soup contains chicken and pork, and has the fatty, salty punch one comes to expect with Jiro style. The noodles are supplied by Asakusa Kaikarou. Onions, spicy miso free upon request. Since 2000. Less
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- Abram Plaut added a new meal Dinner at 猪骨ラーメン at 猪骨ラーメン
醤油ラーメン / Shoyu Ramen / Shishikotsu Ramen — Ōmishima Island, Ehime
Wild boar ramen soup uses a broth made from local boar bones, which are slowly simmered along with other seafood ingredients for over eight hours to bring out their flavor. Noodles are made with a custom recipe using Yumechikara wheat from Hokkaido. Shoyu is sourced... More
醤油ラーメン / Shoyu Ramen / Shishikotsu Ramen — Ōmishima Island, Ehime
Wild boar ramen soup uses a broth made from local boar bones, which are slowly simmered along with other seafood ingredients for over eight hours to bring out their flavor. Noodles are made with a custom recipe using Yumechikara wheat from Hokkaido. Shoyu is sourced from the Setouchi region. Salt comes from neighboring Hakata Island, lemons are pesticide-free and are locally grown on Ōmishima island. Boar chashu uses boar meat that has been low-temperature-cooked and seasoned with light soy sauce. All boar meat is harvested and butchered by local hunters. Also topped with menma, negi and togarashi. Boar chashu rice bowl on the side. Shio Ramen and Miso Ramen also on the menu.
Master Ryo Yoshii-san was an office worker in Tokyo, after turning 30 he felt a strong desire for more self-sufficiency so he moved to Ōmishima Island in 2015. He soon became a hunter on the island and noticed there was a healthy population of wild boars but not much ramen available. Thus the idea of wild boar ramen came to him, through trial and error he produced over 600 prototype meals which led to the creation of the current menu. The wild boars on Ōmishima live off a diet of mountain citrus fruits and acorns, it is said that compared to other boars in Japan their meat is odorless and they have smoother fat. Open lunch only, 11:30am-2pm. 13 seats. Since April 2018 @shishikotsu Less
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- Abram Plaut added a new meal Ramen at Taihou (中華料理 大宝) at Taihou (中華料理 大宝)
Recommended bowl: Tanmen & Shumai
Located in super central Tokyo, an area mostly devoid of quality ramen shops, Taihou has been around since 1958. It's more of a Chinese restaurant than a pure ramen shop, offering up various bowls of old school Chinese-style noodles. The shop is open a mere four hours per day (two hours for lunch, and two hours at... More
Recommended bowl: Tanmen & Shumai
Located in super central Tokyo, an area mostly devoid of quality ramen shops, Taihou has been around since 1958. It's more of a Chinese restaurant than a pure ramen shop, offering up various bowls of old school Chinese-style noodles. The shop is open a mere four hours per day (two hours for lunch, and two hours at dinner), and patrons should note that opening and closing times can vary day-to-day depending on how the master is feeling. The master used to work as a chef at Maxim's de Paris. The shop's most famous item is tanmen, which most customers seem to order. Wok-fried veggies, such as bean sprouts and cabbage, are mixed with pork and a salty soup. The fried rice (yaki-meshi) and gyoza are also popular and delicious. Less