Tokyo guide: Part 3 RAMEN, SOBA, UDON
Some of my picks from the last trip to Japan.
In parts one and two, we looked at a bunch of my favourite sushi, wagyu and yakiniku spots that I stumbled across during my last trip to Tokyo. I hope you found those useful and that they could be of some use when you come to plan your next trip to Japan.
This week’s article is all about ramen, soba, and udon – the holy trinity of Japanese noodles. Whether it’s a steaming bowl of umami-rich ramen, springy udon in a creamy sauce, or ice-cold soba with dipping sauce, Tokyo delivers the goods and there are so many amazing spots to slurp your way around town.
Hopefully this little rundown helps you figure out where to go. As before, these are just a few places I visited during the week I was there so it’s by no means an exhaustive list. Just a vetted snapshot of what I enjoyed most.
Please be sure to check restaurant details before you go, as opening times, locations and details often change. Now then.. let’s get started.
Ginza Hachigou
For me, this was the best ramen I had in Tokyo. Definitely my favourite and a spot I would say is a must-visit. Chef Yasushi Matsumura brings a really unique finesse to his bowls of ramen, combining traditional Japanese ramen with super refined French technique that he picked up during his 30 years as a chef in Paris. It’s the level of refinement and east-meets-west fusion that makes this place so unique.
You get a sense of the chefs refinement from the moment you walk in. Only a few seats and such a zen-like atmosphere. The broth itself is described here as a consommé-style broth. It’s crystal-clear from the double clarification and so delicately layered - made from a blend of Nagoya Cochin chicken, duck, dried shiitake, kombu and shellfish. Elegant, rich and comforting – a lovely mouth feel and so nourishing to sip on. You feel really good drinking this stuff.
There were only two types of ramen on the menu when I visited, but you have to go for the Chef's Special. The chef’s special features an absolutely gorgeous foie gras dumpling just cradled between the noodles. The dumpling is wild – a combination of foie gras, chicken and duck – ultra silky and flavoursome. It’s one of the most luxurious bites I had on this trip.
There was also a rice bowl with chashu pork which I had on the side but meh, go for the ramen. Rice bowl was just ok.
The space is minimalist and intimate, with only six counter seats, so expect to wait. I believe there is now an online reservation system and the old ticketing system no longer exists. Check google, but bookings go fast.
Price: Around ¥2,000 (~$15 USD!!)
Address: 6 Chome-4-13 Ginza, Chuo City
Hours: 11:00am–3:00pm, closed Sundays
Ryan Soba
This is a solid upscale soba shop in Shibuya. A lovely open kitchen with counter seating where you can see the chefs prepping all the orders. Meticulous and skilled.
If you’re ready to fall in love with soba, this is the spot. The soba here is freshly hand-cut, made daily with a blend of Japanese buckwheat flour. It’s a modern, refined take on a traditional soba house, with clean aesthetics and calm vibes. In terms of food, there are a variety of soba dishes to choose from – plain chilled soba with dipping dashi, to more elaborate bowls with hot soba, uni, unagi and vegetable tempura.
One of the standouts here is the cold-soba with sesame/walnut dipping sauce. I realised how much I loved cold soba after trying this. There’s nothing quite like it. The chew on the noodles is incredibly satisfying and the creaminess of the sauce just allows it to cling to each strand. Craving this still today.
Lots of sides on offer here too. Can do a la carte as well as set menu for lunch and dinner.
Address: 1 Chome-2-10 Higashiazabu, Minato City
Hours: 11:30am–2:30pm, 5:30pm–9:30pm (closed Sundays)
Hashigo Ginza Honten
This spot was a real gem, introduced to me by a local friend of mine who’s been a chef in Tokyo for over 25 years. We were strolling around, and he said ‘You hungry bro? Let me take you to my local ramen’. It instantly felt like one of those “in the know” places. Definitely more of a local hangout but that’s exactly what made it special.
Hashigo serves up bold, spicy ramen with firm, springy noodles and an ultra-satisfying, full-bodied broth. It’s the kind of ramen that warms your soul and clears your sinuses in the best way. The ramen style here made a nice change to the very classic and clean options I was finding myself running to everyday. I’ll start by saying this place is not refined – very hole in the wall style casual but tasty. The tantamen and tsukemen were great and the ramen here was ultra spicy and rich. You can choose the spice level, but I let my friend do all the ordering and sat back whilst he went for it.
Would recommend to order their gyoza. Crispy, juicy, perfectly golden on the outside. Also: don’t skip the deep-fried crispy pork – salty, crunchy, and totally addictive.
It’s a relaxed but busy vibe inside, just one large counter and everyone chowing down – fast service, great for late-night eats or casual bites when you’re peckish.
Address: 6 Chome-3-5 Ginza, Chuo City
Hours: 11:00am–4:00am daily
Ramenya Toy Box
A chicken-forward ramen shop. This place is all about pure chicken ramen – and its next-level. One of the cleanest shio broths I had in Tokyo.
It’s a small, no-frills counter shop in a quiet part of town, and the focus is purely on the bowl. You get a straight hit of that chicken aroma as soon as you walk in, it’s amazing. The broth itself is super complex, I’m talking four different gold-standard chicken breeds for the base of their shio and shoyu. The shio was golden but clear in colour. A delicate layered flavour to the broth with four different salts being used alongside some sancho. The noodles were flat and springy. I really love chicken soup and the flavours in this bowl were so pure. On the top, a few drizzles of pure chicken fat to give you that sticky mouth feel and added essence/umami. As for the toppings, it’s chicken too, usually a combination of thinly sliced, ultra tender breast and thigh.
Delicious. It’s a favourite with ramen geeks for a reason. Yum! Need to revisit this year.
Address: 2 Chome-4-4 Nihonzutsumi, Taito City
Hours: 11:00am–3:00pm, 6:00pm–9:00pm (closed Wednesdays)
Konjiki Hototogisu
A big old bowl of ramen in Shinjuku, but a very good one. This spot holds a well-deserved Michelin Bib Gourmand. It used to have a star but lost it quite recently. Another place that can get quite busy so you may need to queue.
The signature here is their shoyu ramen. It’s a light yet flavour-packed broth made from a blend of pork, wa-dashi and hamaguri clam dashi – all enhanced with truffle paste and porcini oil. The level of depth in this broth was incredible. I love clam-based soups and broths, so the addition of the pork and porcini topped it off for me. Rich, earthy but seemingly light – a totally different ramen experience from the usual tonkotsu heaviness. Noodles here are on the softer side. Silky smooth. In a nutshell, broth was amazing, but I prefer firmer noodles so that lost points on my scale.
Overall, very good and I preferred the shio ramen – a little lighter made with sea salt instead of soy.
It’s small and popular, so line up around 10:30am if you want to get in for lunch without a long wait.
Address: 2 Chome-4-1 Shinjuku, Shinjuku City
Hours: 11:00am–3:00pm, 6:30pm–9:30pm (closed Sundays)
Menchirashi (Udon)
This little udon joint is in Harajuku, near to Omotesando. It’s a very chilled, casual lunch spot – perfect in between shopping and people-watching in the area. There are lots of cool vintage shops round here and I found this spot as I was walking the streets. No queue when I went but there were ropes outside indicating that queues are common. When I left, the queue was pretty big.
This place is known for their udon. They hand-make the thick, chewy noodles fresh every morning, and their texture is just amazing. Super buoyant and bouncy. Chewy and slippery but fun to eat. It’s a really casual spot, definitely more of a westernised feel than traditional.
Lots to order but the popular dish here is the Carbonara Udon – a fusion of Japanese and Italian cuisines, but replacing the spaghetti with their house made udon (might seem like a bit of a fad but i enjoyed and was hungry after walking around for hours). It’s a mix at the table situation, where they use thick cut Japanese pork, pecorino, parmesan, butter, a raw egg and lots of black pepper. Once mixed, it’s a dreamy bite. The noodle texture was great. Creamy, smokey, and rich. The cold udon with prawn tempura was the winner for me though.
Pro tip: There’s often a line around noon, so aim for 11:30am to avoid the wait.
Address: 3 Chome-20-16 Minamiaoyama, Minato City
Hours: 11:00am–3:00pm, 5:00pm–9:00pm (closed Mondays)
Tsuta
This place made headlines as the first ramen shop in the world to earn a Michelin star back in 2015. They’ve since expanded into a global chain (with sites in Singapore, HK, Taiwan and even the US) and have since lost this star – but don’t let that deter you from going. It’s still great ramen.
The go-to here is the Shoyu Soba – an aged soy sauce based broth made from a blend of chicken, seafood and vegetables. It’s clean, light and deeply satisfying. Truffle oil is also a signature addition here, it adds an aromatic lift without overpowering, but personally, I skip this. I’m not a truffle oil kinda guy. As for the noodles, they’re all house-made and have a nice firm but bouncy texture. Thinner than normal but satisfying to eat.
Overall, it’s not as refined as somewhere like Ginza Hachigou, but solid for a quick and casual bowl. The place itself is fairly modern and super accessible for visitors – it’s an easier place to visit than some of the rest on this list. You can book ahead online or just walk in – queues are not as hectic as they used to be.
Address: 1 Chome-14-1 Nishihara, Shibuya City
Hours: 11:00am–9:00pm daily
That’s it for this week – seven noodle spots that absolutely stole the show for me in Tokyo. I have one noodle spot at the top of my hit list next time i’m there though, DM me if you want it. Also got some picks from Kyoto too. Next week, I’ll be switching gears to talk about my favourite dessert since discovering it in Japan: kakigori. Yes, that shaved ice magic deserves a whole post of its own.
Until then, stay hungry. 🍜
Thank you for the recommendations. I am also headed to Japan next month. Do you have any recommendations for spots in Kyoto and Osaka? I will be heading there as well.
Thanks for these recommendations. I understand you have recommendation for Kyoto at well. I will be visiting there later this year. Could you post those or send them?