Honta 麺処 ほん田

About 20 minutes north of Shinjuku by train hide a small area called Jūjō (十条). This small town is actually a hidden treasure for ramen, believe it or not. With three of the top ramen shops in Tokyo in this area, I had to pay a visit myself. My first stop, Honta Men Toroko.


Even arriving pretty early one night after work, there was already a line outside. To my surprise, since Jūjō isn't exactly like a very populous place, I was amazed that there was a line, no matter how high it is rated.


My taste for tonkotsu gyokai (豚骨魚介) forced me to order their tokusei version of this ramen. The soup was very thick (濃厚), but more so than anyone I have ever tasted. As you can see with the picture, this soup was going to pack a serious punch of sodium.


The tamago was a bit disappointing here. Dried out and overcooked.


What makes Honta special here is that they give you two styles of meat. One is a very dried charshu.


The other being a smoked duck, which was a very different, but nice touch. Enjoyed that very much!


And the noodles were the highlight here. Nicely cooked, very chewy, definitely helped catapult the shop to the top tier of ramen shops in Tokyo.



At the time this review is written, Honta was rated #5 in ALL OF JAPAN according to ramendb. It's definitely a quality bowl of ramen, but a little too powerful for me as far as flavor, and I like my food on the heavy side. I went with a friend from Taiwan and it definitely was too salty for her. The quality is there for sure, but the taste may not be for everyone. They offer a shio version, and it was rated very high by many reviewed on ramendb. There is now a shop at Tokyo Ramen Street, which isn't rated as high, but I would say it shouldn't be that far off. If you can't make it to Jūjō, head to Tokyo Station and give it a try. You might find me there waiting in line to try their Shio ramen.

City: Tokyo, Japan
Location: Jūjō, 8-10 minutes from walk Jūjō or Higashijūjō Station (also at Tokyo Ramen Street)
Hours: 11:30am - 4pm (no longer opened at night)
Website: No official website, http://ramendb.supleks.jp/s/14009.html
Ordering system: Machine
Available in English: Minimal

Akasaka Ramensan 赤坂ラーメン

With all the ramen shops available in Japan, competition is fierce and it's really hard to stand out. While I've had some amazing ramen in Japan, sometimes you just want a meal that is satisfying where you don't have to stand in line for two hours.


On my first trip to Japan, I stayed in the Akasaka-Mitsuke area. This area is full of places to eat, and Akasaka Ramensan kind of stood out with it's huge sign and logo on top of the shop.


I'll be the first to admit, I've become a spoiled ramen eater. It's hard after you've had some of the top rated ramen shops in Tokyo not to become picky. But today, I was in the Akasaka area for work, and I just wanted to satisfy my hunger. So I decided to give this place a try.


I am such a sucker for ramen with nice layered pork, and Akasaka Ramensan does it great. The pork is very tender, it's done very well. And as you can see, the tamago is top notch. The yolk is cooked to perfection.


The noodles was average at best, it looks like you typical instant noodle. With so many ramen shops in Tokyo that servers amazing, homemade noodles, this place is nothing to write home about.


With that said, this place is no sloutch. Although not comparable to the top shops I've been to in Tokyo, if you are looking for a good meal, this place is worth a try.

City: Tokyo, Japan (also 5 shops in Taiwan)
Location: Akasaka, minutes walk from either Akasaka-Mitsuke or Akasaka Station
Hours: 11am - 5am Monday - Saturday, 6pm - 4am Sunday
Website: http://www.akasakaramen.com/
Ordering system: Machine
Available in English: Minimal

Kohmen 光麵

One of the more famous chains in Tokyo, Kohmen has always had a decent reputation for bringing unique taste. Don’t be fooled by a chain ramen shop, this one is actually more than decent.

They are several types of ramen offered here. Their standard ramen is shouyu-based, called 元祖光麵. Of course I chose 熟成光麵, which was tonkotsu-based. They also have 坦坦麺, which looks excellent.

The 熟成光麵 ramen offers tonkotsu-based soup, with thin noodles, and chashu. There is not your traditional tonkotsu ramen, as the noodles and soup are a bit different. However, it does bring its uniqueness here. The combination of chashu, menma, and tamago, with the soup gives just the right balance for a bowl of ramen. It won’t knock your socks off, but definitely good enough if you have a craving.

The next option in line is their 全部 toppings with your 熟成光麵, which they put all the super duper toppings on a plate. Included in niku (pork), chashu, tamago, menma, seaweed, fried garlic, some sort of veggies, and grilled negi. The tamago here is excellent, by the way. You add these toppings to your bowl of ramen as you wish. A very different way to eat ramen (haven’t found anything similar).

Last thing to talk about here is the gyoza. Nothing spectacular, but it’s pretty good.

You can say Kohmen is your backup plan, your go-to setup man that’s always reliable. It certainly won’t be dazzling your taste buds, but you will leave there a satisfied customer.

City: Tokyo, Japan
Location: Numerous locations throughout the city
Hours: Varies (check website)
Website: http://www.kohmen.com/
Order system: Menu
Available in English? Some