I heard that the hottest ramen shop in Tokyo right now is in Shinkoiwa, so one day I quite literally ran there. It is about 7 to 8 km from Asakusa, but maybe because the running route is so well laid out, I got there in no time. They open at 5, and when I arrived around 4:30 there were already about 40 people in line ahead of me.
Scenery along the run
You can see Tokyo Skytree way off in the distance. I ran quite a way in the opposite direction.
This is roughly what it looked like when I got to Shinkoiwa.
It was a cold day, and I waited 30 minutes just to get in, then stood outside for an hour until a seat opened up. Normally I would not wait that long, but since they say it is number one in Tokyo, I stuck it out to the end.
The sign
I had come dressed light for the run that day, so it was really rough.
The table
The atmosphere is neat and clean. It seems like the new generation of ramen shops these days all have tidy interiors.
Tsukemen set
Not sure when I would be back, so I ordered the tsukemen with all the toppings.
Tsukemen dipping soup
There is a bit of sourness and some yuzu in it, so the soup hardly felt heavy at all. With the flavors of scallion, yuzu and ume blended together, it even had a Japanese-cuisine kind of style. I could really tell why this is the most popular ramen in Tokyo.
Tsukemen noodles
The noodles were cooked just right, and the chashu topping was practically roast pork level. If you want to talk about being number one in Tokyo, this is the level it takes.
Getting to eat ramen at the very top level made the wait well worth it, but if you told me to line up again, I do not think I could. This kind of experience is enough about once a year.