Ramen Beast Introductory Tour of Tokyo
Ramen is an infinite constellation of stars. This mini-guide will help visitors to Tokyo to navigate some excellent examples across nine beloved galaxies. Each of these categories has dozens or even hundreds of examples and sub-categories. Try these 9 bowls of Ramen in Tokyo and you will have a solid foundation to continue exploring the ramen universe in the future.
1. Shio Salt Based from Hokkaido @ Ramen Matsui
Courtesy of hosh_mk
A superb example of the original Japanese “salt-based” ramen. It is a lighter ramen that will appeal to those seeking elegance and balance. A Michelin pick that is a great place to start your journey.
Click here to check location: https://tinyurl.com/5dkmxzn7
2. Shoyu Soy Based from Tokyo @ Ramenya Shima
Superb Sansui Dori chicken and pork broth also contain a variety of dried fish. The tare is made with a blend of craft soy sauces. Noodles are provided by Shinasobaya, a legendary ramen shop where the master here trained and topped with two styles of pork chashu, chicken chashu, pork and shrimp wontons, chicken oil, bamboo shoots, soft-boiled egg, Kujo negi and nori seaweed.
Click here to check location: https://tinyurl.com/y33k2dwz
3. Tonkotsu Ramen from Kyushu @ Kenta
Hakata-style tonkotsu ramen made from pure pork bone soup. Thin straight Hakata-style noodles are ordered and shipped in from Aoki Shokusan, a purveyor based in Fukuoka and topped with pork chashu, nori and negi. On the counter, you will find free hard-boiled eggs and other condiments like garlic, spicy takana, pickled ginger, wood ear mushrooms and sesame seeds. Master Kenta Yokoo-san trained at a yatai (street cart) in the Nakasu district of Fukuoka before coming to Tokyo. He first opened an izakaya with ramen on the menu, but later decided to focus on ramen exclusively. During the 2020 global pandemic, he went back to Fukuoka and trained at the popular ramen shop Komaya before returning to Tokyo in 2021. Originally opened in 2006, Kenta moved to the current location in 2013. Eight seats. Renewal from March 2021.
Click here to check location: https://tinyurl.com/4aedc3cv
4. Tsukemen Dipping Noodles From Tokyo @ Ramen Tomita
Rich tonkotsu-gyokai soup is made from chicken, pork bones and dried seafood, including niboshi and katsuobushi. The soup simmers over 8 hours, containing premium brand-name pork, as well as skulls. As the collagen and fats break down the gyokai components are added. Thick high-hydration noodles are homemade by master Tomita-san from scratch daily, using an aromatic wheat blend flour. Four different kinds of chashu are made using Tokyo-X brand pork, including traditional roasted rib chashu, hook-hung (and grilled) shoulder loin, soy sauce glazed thigh meat and low-temperature cooked inner thigh meat seasoned with salt, finished with ajitama soft-boiled egg and negi, with pork shumai dumpling served on the side. Master Tomita-san trained under the legendary ramen god Yamagishi-san of Higashi-Ikebukuro Taishōken. For many ramen heads, a trip to eat Tomita-san's tsukemen in Matsudo, Chiba is a pilgrimage. Nine seats. Open since 2006.
Click here to check location: https://tinyurl.com/27znnz2m
5. Miso Based Ramen @ San Tora
Courtesy of Ramen Guide Japan
From two kinds of white miso from Sapporo with lard that keeps the soup piping hot. The soup is a pork/chicken/vegetable/fish blend in line with the original Sumire style. Noodles come from Nishiyama, a supplier of curly noodles around the world. The master previously worked as the manager of the famous shop Sumire in Sapporo.
Click here to check location: https://tinyurl.com/5ymm6reu
6. Abura Soupless Ramen From Tokyo @ Ramen Benten
This unusual soupless ramen features gorgeous noodles sitting in a pool of aromatic oils in a shoyu tare base, with menma (Bamboo Shoots) and pork chashu. Mix the noodles thoroughly in the oils and enjoy! This legendary Tokyo ramen shop opened in Takadanobaba in 1995, where it developed a cult following with long lines daily. In mid-2014 the shop closed (with 4+ hour waits during its final days), only to reopen in 2016 in Narimasu, Itabashi-ku. Noodles are house-made. Ramen Benten is still run by the original master Tanaka-san. Ramen and tsukemen are also available, both equally popula.
Click here to check location: https://tinyurl.com/yn6auxp2
7. Spicy Ramen @ Karashibi Miso Ramen Kikanbō
Shinshu miso is fermented in wooden barrels and mixed with cheese, peanut paste, and fish sauce. Soup is a blend of pork and chicken bones, several vegetables, herbs, spices and six kinds of red peppers. Heat and numbing levels can be customized.
Click here to check location: https://tinyurl.com/4mrcztua
8. Early Morning Ramen @ E-Chan Shokudo
Courtesy of ramenguidejapan
Noodles are housemade on an udon noodle machine, topped with pork chashu, menma, negi and nori. Master Eiichi Sato-san previously aspired to be a comedian and went to school at an entertainment academy, working part-time at a ramen shop. Over time he became obsessed with the world of ramen. He worked for several years at Ramen Nagi, eventually becoming the shop manager of Chūka Soba Emoto in Nakameguro. He learned how to make homemade noodles from the Kyoto-based Menya Teigaku. Eh-chan is open mornings only, 6:30 am to 11 am (or when the soup runs out). Sato-san arrives at the shop around 3 am every day and starts making the soup. Limited specials appear on the menu weekly. Six seats. Open since April 24th, 2023.
Click here to check location: https://tinyurl.com/yxvwhx8u
9. Late Night Ramen @ Hashigo Ginza Honten
Courtesy of hhhtttmmm
Hashigo serves late-night, spicy Chinese-style Tantanmen in central Tokyo, sesame-based soup with chili oil and various seasonings. Get your bowl topped with some deep-fried sizzling curry-spiced pork cutlet (aka Paiko), or opt for a side of plump gyoza and rice. There are other Chinese dishes on the menu as well. Hashigo has a few outposts in central Tokyo, but this is the flagship. Open five days a week until 5 am.
Click here to check location: https://tinyurl.com/3trzh88m
Category:
Recommended features by ExtremeFoodies
