When I first came to Japan and started at my new company, the most surprising thing was this: no laptop. After almost 10 years in consulting-related jobs, not having a laptop from work was like losing an arm. A not very useful, kinda heavy arm that you had to carry around all the time. It […]
ramen
Taishoken, Nihonbashi (大勝軒)
Hey hey, it’s magnolia season. I wasn’t even aware there was a magnolia season until this year; this tree is on the way that I usually walk to the office, and it’s getting into full bloom here in the space between plum and cherry blossom seasons. Nice. Less nice is Taishoken, which I of course […]
Muroichi ramen, Nihonbashi (室壱羅麺)
Today was really late. I didn’t get out of the office for lunch until after 2:30, so places over in the Muromachi area of Nihonbashi were putting out the ‘Close’ signs while I walked past (on normal days they just hurry out to say they’re closed when they see me walk past). Muroichi was open […]
- Other treats
- ...
Raku Raku, Kichijoji (楽々)
There’s no point just standing there and looking at it, folks. You have to go in if you want to get fed. RR, or R^2 to his friends, likes to bill as Kichijoji’s Best Ramen – #1 on Ramendb, Tabelog, Ramen Walker, and a few other resources that they list on their sign down the […]
- Other treats
- ...
Otokoyama ramen, Hongo (縄麺 男山)
Have you noticed recently that it’s all about Hongo? Probably not since this is only the third post from there, but I’ve already been to 6 places that you’ll see in good course. I just started thinking, if I’m willing to go to Kagurazaka for lunch, what else is in range? Hongo – 6 minutes […]
Tenpou ramen, Kanda (天宝)
There are some weird things in the back alleys of Kanda; not all of them have proper signs. This one does, and in some ways it would be better not to see it. To put it simply, it’s maid barbeque. To put it a little longer, it seems you can pick which skimpy cartoon costume […]
Darumatei ramen, Monzennakacho (だるま亭)
Recognize this place? It’s near the 7-11, on Kiyosumi Dori just north of the crossing. Used to be a different ramen place, and since they reopened with the new brandingway I’ve been thinking it looked kinda good. Also it says stuff about ‘umai sake’ on the outside, and I’m always fooled by that sort of […]
- Other treats
- ...
Shodai Keisuke, Hongo (初代けいすけ)
Keisuke has a bunch of different ramen shops and deserves a lot of credit for being creative. The first one I went to was the ‘lobster noodle’ place, which is like a very light, lobster-flavored ramen (and nothing like the lobster noodles you might get in Southeast Asia). That one’s called “Second Generation Keisuke”, so […]
- Kanda
- ...
Musashino Aburasoba, Kanda (武蔵野油学会)
Ahhh, I just love the name here – “Oil Study Meeting” or if you wanted to be extravagant, “Scientific Society for the Study of Oil”. ‘Musashino’ refers to an area of Tokyo that was formerly famous for beef carpaccio. These guys now occupy the space where Nocchi was in western Inner Kanda (it’s actually on […]
- Other treats
- ...
Yojinbo, Todaimae (用心棒 本号)
Hongo Sanchome – a curious neighborhood. On one hand, the well-educated or at least well-traveled among you will recognize this as the famous red gate of Tokyo University (Todai), the ‘Harvard of the East’ (or the ‘Wesleyan of Wa‘ if you prefer), and the neighborhood is roughly jumbled with used book and expensive antique stores. […]