Shoyu Tonkotsu at Machida Shoten in Tokyo

My bowl 14 of 2025: Shoyu Tonkotsu at Machida Shoten with chahan on the side

Keep your eyes peeled, I will upload a new podcast episode soon about investing in Japanese ramen companies with Rei Saito konichivalue on my “Ramen in Japan” podcast.
The companies we talk about include “Gift Holdings” which runs this iekei ramen chain called “Machida Shoten”, among other brands.
As I have put a bit of money into their stock, I get shareholders privileges like a free bowl of ramen. So I went and actually got it and it came with a free bowl of chahan.

Not gonna lie, I do not recommend eating there to ramen heads. It’s just not comparable to all the shops that make their own stuff. Here, everything comes out of central factories. It’s not bad food, but there’s so much better iekei out there that you don’t really have to eat here. But I get the appeal, since they are often the only iekei around and specifically target areas which are missing this style.
If that was the only iekei at my station, they would probably see me a couple of times per year with a hangover.
With that said, the chahan was a soggy mess and nothing even worth my stomach space for free.