japan 日本
- 0 comments - 2011.03.08nakamuraya ebina
Nakamuraya is the flagship ramen shop of Shige “Sean” Nakamura, the bona-fide genius behind Los Angeles’ Ramen California and the mastermind of a budding ramen empire. If Ebina, Kanagawa is but a suburb of the all-encompassing Tokyo megalopolis, its claim to fame is surely as the hub of new wave ramen, where precision cooking reigns.
- 4 comments - 2010.05.12aurora cafe
Dudes like Moby and Thom Yorke would be happy to know that vegan ramen, though rare, does in fact exist at one Aurora Cafe, a bi-weekly occurence held in a decidedly bohemian coffee shop/art gallery space in Tokyo’s Nakano neighborhood. Meat-free noodling? Some broths work better than others, but it’s a solid start, and it’s about time.
- 3 comments - 2010.05.05chukasoba tomita
Tucked away in Matsudo, Chiba, Chukasoba Tomita quietly goes about its business as the top-ranked ramen shop of all time on Japan’s notorious Ramen Database. This lunchtime-only neighborhood joint, complete with a skeletal, shredded lantern, does indeed serve up an exceptional tsukemen dipping noodle, but is it the best ramen shop ever? The egg’s the thing, wherein your mind might be blown.
- 1 comments - 2010.04.28tanaka shoten
Deep in the suburbs of Tokyo’s northeast sits Tanaka Shoten, considered by many to be the Japanese capital’s top Hakata-style ramen shop. Is it worth the journey, from the action and the city lights to this quiet, sleepy corner of Tokyo, halfway to Saitama, for an authentic bowl of pork bone goodness? How does a sheet of seaweed say thank you in elevent different languages?
- 0 comments - 2010.04.21yamagoya
Yamagoya was where it all began, for hungry high schoolers and one gastronomically adventurous English teacher in particular, oh so many years ago. Fast forward to this Fukuoka-based chainlet’s satellite operation on the eastside of Tokyo; with seasonal twists on mukashii tonkotsu ramen, yuzu can’t go wrong.
- 2 comments - 2009.11.06TETSU
At TETSU in northeastern Tokyo, you can reheat your tsukemen dipping soup by dropping a scalding hot metal weight into your bowl. There’s actually a guy standing behind the counter, grilling these chunks of heavy metal on a robatayaki. It’s a fanciful concept to be sure, but it’s surprisingly effective. The noodles ain’t bad either!
- 0 comments - 2009.11.03tukumo ramen
Cheese in ramen may seem like a half-baked gimmick, but it’s more sensible than one would think at first. Proper noodling is all about the umami, and good cheese, like the “tomme tomme” served at Tukumo in Ebisu, Tokyo, injects a mighty amount of sensation into an ordinary bowl of miso ramen. It’s no wonder this limited quantity specialty sells out daily. Ramen chefs take note. The curd is calling.
- 2 comments - 2009.11.01ivan ramen
A native New Yorker in Tokyo overcomes adversity to open a ramen shop and become the toast of the town. An unlikely success story, a potential treatment for some Hollywood-style fairytale, or the achievement of a fantastic chef with exemplary skill and class, and an all around cool guy? All of the above and then some. Ivan is great.
- 3 comments - 2009.10.22bassanova
Bassanova serves up a heady stew of cosmopolitan fusion goodness in a quiet corner of Setagaya, Tokyo. How do Thai green curry and ramen noodles mix? Like Brazilian polyrhythms and jazz guitar, apparently. For those of you who have no idea what I’m talking about, let me put it in plain English for you. “Quite well, actually.” Quite well indeed.
At the edge of Nagoya’s old shopping district sits Misen, originator of Japan’s little known Taiwan-style ramen. A product of the area’s ethnically Taiwanese immigrants, stepping into Misen is like leaving Japan for an afternoon slurp.
Hot off the Tokaido Shinkansen, rameniac pays a visit to Japan’s shiny new ramen robots at Fa-Men. You’ve seen them on the news, now learn if assembly-line automation can truly
In the shadow of Canal City Hakata stands Ichiryu, a world-class tonkotsu ramen yatai that dwarfs the competition if simply by the size of its queues. Rameniac makes it a point to visit this modest tonkotsu ramen stand whenever he’s in town, sometimes once, twice, even three times over the course of a stay.
What could prompt an hour-long lineup on a small, residential side street in eastern Tokyo nearly every single day? How about Menya Kissou, a noon-only noodler with the #1 all time rating on Japan’s foremost ramen website?
Change is upon us, top-down, in the form of… Obama Ramen! This brand-new Tokyo noodle shop has been chosen to usher the world into a brave new future of global unwarming, diplomacy, and flying cars. Oh yea, some guy got elected president recently.
Hakata Ikousha represents the new wave of post-boom regionalized tonkotsu ramen, with a solid foundation in pork bone basics, innovative presentation, and the savvy to branch out across Japan.
Shinpuku brings a taste of Kyoto to the hallowed environs of Raumen Stadium 2. How do the mellow, shoyu-infused stylings of one of Japan’s oldest ramen shops play in a town known for its pork bones?
Ramen worth a ransom? You bet! Ever wonder what might happen when one jealous ramen chef accuses another of stealing his precious recipe? You get a double-soup doublecross that involves
Nestled in the heart of Tokyo, Ramen Jiro honten lands
A multi-meal afternoon at Yokohama’s famed Raumen Museum yields a bounty of noodle-slurping treasures, beginning with Asahikawa’s Hachiya. Sixty years strong and 







