Before coming to Japan I put together a list of ramen shops, and a few places caught my eye. One of them was Japanese Soba Noodles Tsuta. And the other one, which I picked after some deliberation as a late-night finisher, was Kagari.

The front entrance

It is a tiny place tucked away in a back alley of Ginza, and yet the line was incredibly long. I stood in line for about an hour and a half before I finally got to eat. Lots of Western tourists were there, apparently because it had been featured in some big-name media. Like Tsuta, the safest bet is to go right around opening time, but that day I had already been to Mitsumasa for yakitori as the first stop, so that was not an option.

The menu at Kagari

The most famous dish is the Tori Paitan Soba, with a broth made from chicken. I asked the staff which topping was good, and they said the seasonal vegetables go well with it, so I added those.

Tori Paitan Soba topped with seasonal vegetables

It is far too beautiful to call ramen. The clear broth was so good I wanted to dive right in. The seasonal vegetables were really fresh and tasty, and they went perfectly with the clean chicken broth.

Yaki gohan with fuki miso and mentaiko

Lately I have been ordering rice dishes as a side more and more often. I had somewhat high hopes for this one, but it turned out to be more ordinary than I expected. Pouring the ramen broth over it and eating it ochazuke-style would have been nice, but the broth was so good that there was not enough left over for ochazuke.

Ajitama

Since I had waited an hour and a half, they gave me an ajitama on the house. Needless to say, it was perfect.

The noodles

The thin noodles suit the clear broth and are delicious.

Not chashu but chicken breast

The chicken breast goes really well with the paitan broth. A combination like this must have come out of a whole lot of trial and error.

Yakumi

Add them later on and you can enjoy the broth changing in all sorts of ways.

As you would expect from a famous spot featured in the Michelin guide, I had no complaints at all about the taste. My only complaint is why Michelin has to make the lines at ramen shops, which are already long enough, even longer. I really liked this place, so next time I would like to get there a bit earlier and try some of the other dishes.

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