This post was written in 2006. Shop details and prices may have changed since then.
The theme of this trip was shopping and checking out newly opened sights, so I barely paid any attention to food.
So I ended up visiting a lot of ramen shops, Japan’s own fast food that you can enjoy quickly and easily.
This is Kyushu Jangara Ramen in Harajuku, where I stopped before going to Omotesando Hills. It’s a hugely popular place..
I had a bad memory of their Akihabara branch, where I waited 30 minutes for ramen with soggy noodles in a peppery broth, so I’d
sworn never to go to Jangara Ramen again, but so many people said it was good that I visited the well-reviewed Harajuku branch.
Very Kyushu ramen. Tonkotsu broth with thin noodles.
It tasted much better than I expected. But sure enough, my mouth was tingling by the time I finished.. I guess it’s because it’s a street
where young people hang out. What stuck with me more than the taste was how good-looking the crowd was..
Next up is Tokyo Tonkotsu Ramen Tonchin, said to be the number one ramen shop in Ikebukuro. Ikebukuro has so many great ramen shops that when I heard this one was number one,
I had to go. The line was quite long, and surprisingly for a ramen shop, lots of couples were coming in.
The kitchen. Very lively.
I had to fit two meals into one outing, so I ordered the smallest size. Here the large, medium and small ramen all cost the same 600 yen.
It tasted good, but I thought it was a bit salty. The ramen I had at Naritake in Chiba was better; I suspect this place is more popular
because you get a generous portion at a low price. It’s probably best not to pay too much attention to Japanese ramen popularity rankings.
It’s not a place worth a special visit for someone traveling all the way from Korea.
Noodles with dongpo pork, which I love. It’s not ramen. It’s Japanized Chinese noodles. I ordered it at a shop I used to be a regular at.
The quality here goes up and down, so it’s a bit hard to recommend to others.
Last is the Shibuya branch of Kamukura Ramen.
Lots of people.
Well.. once again I was short on time, so I ordered the simplest one, the Oishii Ramen.
It was the best ramen I had on this Tokyo trip. Of course, it fell a little short of the main shop..
Even so, if they can keep it at this level, I’m happy to eat there often.
For a quick meal in Japan, I don’t think anything beats ramen. I used to eat it a lot because I had no money,
and these days I eat it a lot because I have no time.. I’d love to branch out to China, the birthplace of Japanese ramen,
but who knows when I’ll have the time and money.