This post was written in 2004. Shop details and prices may have changed since then.
Taishoken is a famous ramen shop that’s been in business for 40 years, tucked away in a corner of Ikebukuro.
Apparently it’s No. 1 in the Ikebukuro ramen rankings.. ^_^;
Unusually, this place is only open from 11 to 3. They can clearly afford to be ^_^;
You have to queue for a good hour before you finally get to eat, and inside it’s cramped and not exactly clean.
The staff aren’t unfriendly, but they’re not especially friendly either.
Even so, the line never lets up. I took the photo below around 2 o’clock,
and even though I’d skipped the lunch rush, I still had to wait 40 minutes.
I’m not usually one for queuing, but that day I was so worn out that instead of wandering around I figured
I’d just go stand in line. I was also curious what No. 1 tastes like..
I ordered the tsukemen, which is supposedly what the shop is most famous for. I got the regular size, and it’s quite a lot, right? This is 650 yen.
Considering Japanese prices and how well known this place is, that’s an incredibly cheap price, no doubt about it.
So.. how did it taste.. As expected of No. 1, it was fantastic. You can see it clearly
in the photo too: when it first came out there was oil floating all over it, and I worried it’d be greasy.
But not at all. Just in case, I added a little pepper, and it got even more
amazing. The only gripes: the portion was so big that the noodles had gone a bit soft by the time I was nearly done,
and the water smelled of tap-water chlorine. Other than that, no complaints.
To be honest, the renowned shops where one bowl of soba costs over 1,000 yen (and at places like that one bowl barely makes a dent)
do taste better than Taishoken. But taking everything into account, value for money, satisfaction (especially the portion) and so on,
it’s definitely a pretty great place. My personal verdict:
I’d put it a notch above Kinryu Ramen or Kamukura in Osaka.
If you’re in Japan with some time to spare and want to try a special kind of ramen, it’s worth
a visit. Just note you’ll have to wait at least 40 minutes, so if you’re not used to waiting in line,
I definitely wouldn’t recommend it.