It’s an ill-advised wind, my friends, one that blows in from Kanda. It blows you down little alleys like this and into shops that aren’t likely to be very good. There’s a certain romance to seeking out hidden gems, but this is Tokyo. Depending on your reckoning there are 9 to 50 million people, and […]
ramen
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Shuan ramen, Sendai (宗庵)
Oh hell, I felt all clever picking out this ramen place from the massive covered shopping streets west of Sendai Station (In various segments, the street is called ‘Clis Road’ or ‘Happina Road’ or something else.). Turns out that: 1. It’s tsukemen. 2. It’s from Chiba. Oopsie. Well, I picked it because it looked tasty, […]
Yamabukitei, Shiroishi (やまぶき亭)
Once I heard an expression in Japanese that translated as “1,000 regional specialties, none of them good.” I’ve mentioned to a lot of people since then, and no one has ever heard it before. I mention it (again) now in the hope that some will verify it. If you’re at all a regular reader here, […]
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Haruno, Omotesando (はるの)
Omotesando dining has always presents problems – everyone feels like there are tons of great restaurants mixed with the fancy shopping, but it’s not true. Today in the middle of a walk we wandered into this place; it turned out to be ‘healthy dining’, but not in a bad way, in a stylish room with […]
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Gonroku ramen, Morishita (ごんろく)
Ah, you were expecting…something other than noodles? Well, I expected not to eat ‘year end soba’, so I made up for it by eating ramen all 5 days leading up to the new year. Here’s #3. It’s a tsukemen place that I jog by a lot. Even early in the morning, it smells good out […]
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Yanakasou ramen, Hirai (やなか草)
Another day off, another long bike ride with noodles in the middle (spoiler alert: the next two days are going to look the same). This time was up to Hirai, a northeastern neighborhood that has a highly-rated French restaurant I wanted to see in person. It’s a bit odd to go up there by bike, […]
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Tengen ramen, Machiya (天元)
Vacation. Ooooh, how we love it. For some reason it didn’t feel like vacation started until today; I think there was just too much excitement in the lead-up to Christmas. So don’t laugh, but faced with nothing to do for a day, what did I do? 3+ hours of exploring northeast Tokyo, with a lunch […]
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Fukuchan Ramen, Tsukiji
Fuku-chaaaaaan! Over the summer I started running more seriously again (I think I can now declare that I’ve stopped again; it’s been weeks. My knees almost feel normal.). While doing my Tsukiji route, I would go past Fukuchan, across Harumi Dori from the Tsukiji market. I was running at night, and the huge red neon […]
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Ore no Sora ramen, Takadanobaba (俺の空)
So this place is called ‘My Sky’, named after a comic book series. I prefer to think it’s called “My Emptiness” and is about the chef’s unquenchable need to deliver the perfect ramen. Or cook pigs. Or something. Thing is, I can sort of see where he’s coming from. At some points in my life, […]
Tonkou ramen, Kiyosumi Shirakawa (焼き豚ラーメン 東煌)
In retrospect, not the brightest thing, an early lunch of ramen before Thanksgiving dinner. But it was early enough, and I didn’t even eat it all. Which is not a good sign, no. Most times when I jog, I’ll go through Kiyosumi Shirakawa one way or another. I always see this place, and the wooden […]