After Akihabara, I headed off to eat at Tokyo Ramen Street, under Tokyo Station. Tokyo Station is the starting point for the Shinkansen lines heading northeast and southwest, so it’s huge and there are crowds of people passing through. In a way it’s only natural that a ramen theme park representing Tokyo would open under Tokyo Station. Even so, what really surprised me when I first heard about Tokyo Ramen Street was that a branch of Rokurinsha, a super-popular ramen shop where you have to wait at least two hours to eat, was moving in. If something that takes two hours could be had in 30 minutes, wouldn’t that be tempting?
People waiting for Rokurinsha..
The queue was pretty brutal. It looked like it would take at least 30 minutes to an hour, but I’d already burned too much time in Akihabara that day, and I’d eaten at Rokurinsha’s main shop before, so I went to a different place.
The entrance of Nidaime Keisuke
I’d been to the first-generation shop before, but this was my first time at the second one. The first one tasted a lot like jajangmyeon, so it was just so-so, but the second one puts shrimp front and centre, so I had high hopes. The most famous item is the Ise-ebi (spiny lobster) ramen, but I ordered the tsukemen. At around 900 yen, it’s not exactly cheap.
The lighting
Very modern and stylish for a ramen shop, right? Seems to be the concept. It’s still a ramen shop at the end of the day, but the service isn’t bad and it’s clean, so I think women would feel comfortable here too.
The tsukemen noodles
Classic style. The portion isn’t skimpy, the thickness is just right, and the texture is excellent. The oval bowls at this place are pretty, though you probably can’t tell from the photo.
The tsukemen dipping broth
It had a very intense shrimp aroma. Apparently they make the broth from the parts of the shrimp that don’t get used otherwise, and it was really delicious and very rich, beautifully extracted. No wonder it’s popular. That said, a bowl with one side built up high was really awkward for eating tsukemen. Also, the noodles are cold, so by the time you’re nearly done the broth has gone cold. That’s the chronic problem with tsukemen, and they had nothing in place to deal with it, unlike tsukemen shops these days. I think it’s because regular ramen, not tsukemen, is their main thing. At a place like this you really should order what they do best, but that day I was craving tsukemen too much. If I get another chance, I’ll boldly take on the Ise-ebi ramen.
The entrance of Rokurinsha
True to its Taishoken lineage, the manager wears a white towel wrapped around his head. The taste is definitely Taishoken-style too, but with its complex soup plus springy extra-thick noodles, you could call it ramen right on the latest trend. It’s tasty, but I don’t think it’s worth queuing an hour or two for. If you’re visiting Tokyo Station and the line isn’t too long, it’s worth a try at least once. Right in front of the shop they sell kits you can cook at home. The best-before date is only two weeks, so I gave up this time and came back without one. If it lasted a bit longer I’d have taken some with me when I went back to Korea..
After eating, I wandered around Marunouchi and Ginza, doing some shopping and checking whether any new shops had opened.
Jo Malone
A slightly pricey perfume shop like this one had opened..
La Boutique de Joël Robuchon
A famous bakery has moved in too! There are more and more places to go in Marunouchi. I was a little moved.
Mikuni
It’s a famous French chef’s restaurant, though I don’t know if it’s doing well lately. Who knew there was a restaurant here.
A small cultural space has appeared.
Even somewhere as expensive as Marunouchi has a park like this. I was a little moved.
Seen from the other side
Right in the heart of the city there are places to rest, eat and shop. And all of them top-class! I got a little envious.
A museum or an art gallery, not sure which
This is a new building in Marunouchi. It looked like the construction work around here was more or less finished. Once it warms up, it might be nice to come out here at a quiet time.
The Häagen-Dazs café in Ginza
Cute interior, and lots of people. Not a long queue stretching outside like at Pierre Marcolini, though. Ginza and Marunouchi were both changing little by little. The Bvlgari bar was especially impressive, but I don’t have a photo. This trip was a really fun experience too. I was a bit sorry I didn’t have more to show you in photos.