I've been in Tokyo for the past month or so on travel and have eaten at 40 ramen shops during that time, meaning that I've finally finished my goal of visiting over 100 different unique ramen shops in Tokyo!
The ramen shops in the first image are the 40 shops from this trip. The shops with a blue label there are the ones I liked the most, and within that category, the ones with yellow text and a star are the "best of the best" shops that I'd make a special effort to go out of my way to visit and/or queue in line for a long time to eat there again. I've also included higher-res images of my favorites from this trip as well.
For background, before the pandemic, I came to Tokyo occasionally for work trips and tried to go to as many different ramen shops as I could after work, arbitrarily setting a goal of getting to over 100 different shops for fun.
I originally posted 57 shops in the thread linked here in 2020 with most of the shops I'd gone to from 2017-2019. While those work trips stopped during (and after) the pandemic, I also stayed in Tokyo for a couple of days in 2023, with a follow-up post with eight additional shops here, and now this post makes it 105 shops in total… so far…
I'll post comments below with some thoughts on my favorite shops from this time around, too, in case anyone is interested in those shops!
by RamenIsDelicious
12 Comments
The million dollar question is which one have you been back more than once / would go back again in a heartbeat.
Below are my thoughts on the “best of the best” with the blue labels and yellow text (part 1 of 3):
* **Hotate Biyori (Tokyo Style Noodle ほたて日和):** Hotate Biyori, a scallop and konbu-water tsukemen specialty shop in Akihabara, reached #10 in Tabelog’s top 100 ramen shops in Tokyo for 2024 and was the #1 overall ramen shop in Japan on Ramen DB in 2023, among other accolades. Intrigued by the scallop tsukemen concept, I dutifully went at 7:30 a.m. on a Sunday, and about 50 people were already in line. After an hour, I secured a lunchtime slot for 1:40 p.m. I ordered the “white” tsukemen, which was accompanied by a dish with a scallop carpaccio and, as noodle toppings, katsuo-salt, wasabi and truffle oil. As instructed by the detailed guidelines at each seat, I first ate the carpaccio, which was tossed in a tasty, earthy dressing. I then followed the shop owner’s suggestion to vigorously mix the noodles in the viscous kelp water to bubble everything up. The noodles were great: thick, perfectly springy and flavorful. The katsuo-salt and wasabi complemented their flavor, though the truffle oil was a bit out of sync with the rest. The dipping broth showcased the delicate flavor of scallop, with a sake-like sweetness. The toppings were all first-rate, particularly the lightly seared scallops, which had a fresh oceanic flavor. This month’s rotating soup-wari was a rooibos tea-infused firefly squid and katsuo soup, making a savory sea-brine tea that matched well with the leftover dipping broth. While it’s fair to be skeptical of investing so much time to go to one ramen shop, I was touched by the cheerful and earnest demeanor of the shop owner (who was also personally managing the early-morning line) and by the care and attention to detail with which each element of the tsukemen was developed.
* **Tonari (鶏そば・ラーメン Tonari):** Tonari is a sleek shop in the Shinsen area of Shibuya, about 10 minutes away from the Shibuya crossing area. Despite the emphasis on chicken in the shop’s name and logo, and the delicious-sounding beef tongue daily special, I ordered the oyster ramen. It came with three plump oysters, some oyster wontons and chicken chashū. The broth was delicious, prominently carrying the deep, umami flavor of oyster juice while also balancing the rich chicken and dried sardine flavors in the background. The sliced yuzu peel topping added a nice citrusy aroma to the soup that matched well with the oyster. The noodles were slightly firm thin-straight noodles. Of all the excellent toppings, I particularly enjoyed the delicate wontons filled with diced oyster meat. The depth of flavor of the broth and high quality of all of the toppings made me want to come back to try their other core offerings.
* **there is ramen:** This very literally named shop, on a quiet street in ramen-rich Ogikubo, opened in 2022 and has since gained much acclaim, including the #1 overall ramen shop in Japan on Ramen DB in 2024, #52 in Tabelog’s top 100 ramen shops in Tokyo for 2024 and a Michelin Bib Gourmand distinction. Despite this, there is ramen doesn’t seem to attract massive queues or many tourists, so when I came at lunchtime on a weekday, there were only five people ahead of me in line and I was able to get a seat within 15 minutes or so. I ordered the chashū-ajitama chūka soba. The egg came first, followed by the ramen a few minutes later. The bowl was filled all the way to the very brim with the yellow-brown broth, with an old-school naruto-maki resting on top. The broth was a light, clean-tasting niboshi-shōyū ramen, with faint bitterness but a pronounced fish umami balanced with what tasted like a chicken and pork broth combination. The pork chashū were thick, large slices of fatty pork belly. The noodles were thin-straight noodles with some soft chew to them, and noticeably softened in the broth over time, absorbing even more of the tasty broth flavor. Everything here was deeply satisfying. Bonus points for the fluorescent naruto-maki neon sign out front!
Now below are my thoughts on the other “favorites” with the blue labels but not in the top-top-tier (1 of 4):
* **Nagao Chūka Soba (長尾中華そば 東京神田店):** Nagao is a niboshi ramen shop in the Kanda area that I saw recommended on a recent Reddit thread for niboshi ramen. The “MAX” niboshi was sold out by the time I came for a late lunch around 3:00 p.m., so I instead ordered the next-highest-intensity “nibo” ramen. Despite the time, the shop was busy with groups of salarymen seated at the tables and other solo dudes at the counter with me. The broth was rich and fishy, and the thick, chewy noodles stood out since most niboshi shops seem to use thin straight noodles. The chashū slices were both tasty. For me, though, the highlight was the finish recommended by a comic panel at the counter: an extra rice and nattō topping to mix into the leftover broth after finishing the noodles. Dumping the rice and nattō into the remaining broth created an unusual but delicious combination; with the niboshi broth, the nattō almost had a gruyere-like pungent melted cheese flavor that complemented the niboshi sardine funk surprisingly well.
* **Chūka Soba Satō (中華そば 左とう):** Satō, a new oyster ramen specialty shop, opened in Akasaka in March 2025 after relocating from Shimbashi. I wanted to go when the owner of one of my favorite ramen shops retweeted news of their opening, which I figured was an endorsement of quality. The shop has a bright, marble-like interior, with an L-shaped counter around the kitchen and a table for groups, with a server taking orders verbally from customers. I ordered the standard oyster ramen, though the oyster peperoncino special that the customer next to me ordered also looked very good. The oyster ramen was delicious: it had a very deep and concentrated oyster flavor, enriched by oyster meat in the broth, managing to be delicate at the same time. The noodles, folded neatly into the bowl, were firm thin-straight noodles with a pronounced wheat flavor. Other toppings were sparse, and while the lone, large chashū slice was very good, the standout here was clearly the refined oyster broth.
* **Menya Mikan (麺や みかん):** Mikan, in the Nakameguro area, opened in 2024 and was ranked #8 in the rookie shōyū category in TRY 2024-2025. I arrived before 11, and was the only customer at the time, but several more solo diners started trickling in, half-filling the wide 14-seat U-shaped counter by the time I left. The space feels bright and new, and the kitchen (visible from the counters) also looks sparkly and clean. I ordered the shōyū chūka soba MIX, which came with both ham-style and roast pork-style chashū. The broth was tasty: a great example of an orthodox clean shōyū broth, hit with a well-balanced dose of dried fish flavor to lend additional umami and bitterness. The homemade medium-thin straight noodles were very good, and the chashū were and menma toppings were solid.
Totally saving this post! Thank you for putting so much effort into it!
Top 10: ?
Appreciate the effort in this post but I have a follow up question. This wasn’t probably not in your criteria but could you make a separate list of ramen shops which only sell halal? I haven’t been to Tokyo yet (i’m still in the planning) but I heard from others that Muslims struggle to find good halal food because pretty much everything is with pork there xD The Muslim community & me would really appreciate this. Let me know if you need any information’s of what is exactly halal or which criteria have to be met. Love the effort 🫶
Oops, I can’t edit my original post, but here’s a slightly higher-res version of the first image since it’s a bit fuzzy on Reddit: [https://imgur.com/a/LOlZzBS](https://imgur.com/a/LOlZzBS)
The craziest thing is, you can have 100 very different experiences, which you can’t really say if it is 100 pasta shop or 100 Chinese restaurants
Much appreciated for posting this
I can’t like this enough!
This is a glorious post! If you don’t mind me asking – I always try to visit the top ramen restaurants listed on Tabelog or the Try Awards, but most of the time, they’re either ridiculously far in the middle of no where, have crazy long lines, or they require registration.. like booking on the site at 8/9/10 AM, but I’ve never successfully managed to get a spot because they instantly gone. My question is: do you think it’s worth chasing these currently peak and top-rated places, or is it better to just go for older, well-established ramen shops, like referencing older Try Award winners? Or like Ramen Street, or a popular place but not their “Main” branch?
Amazing post and dedication! If I ever make it back to Japan one day I’ll be looking for these.
One question, how is your Japanese and would someone without language skills be able to navigate these restaurants well?