T.Kinoshita in Tachikawa

T.Kinoshita



Hailing from Nara, the latest in the "Ramen Tryout" section of the Ramen NY Square in Tachikawa is T.Kinoshita. The spot is simply dubbed 和ラーメン, wa ramen. Wa is that Japanese sense of Japanese harmony, a word that we see in many things like 和食 (Japanese food), 和風 (Japanese things), and 和ん和ん (the sound a Japanese dog makes).



This wa ramen is inspired by nature... apparently.



It was good, but nothing amazing. A meaty shoyu soup.



The noodles were unique, super eggy.



This bowl is my last one in Tachikawa for the foreseeable future! It takes me an hour and twenty minutes to commute to my Saturday job in Tachikawa from my new apartment. I ended that nonsense pretty quickly. There will always be a place in my heart for Tachikawa ramen, though. The strange Ramen NY square, the utter awesomeness of Bankara, the quiet calm of Kyoka. But its on to new and greater things (part time jobs).

なんつッ亭 (Nantsuttei in Ikebukuro)

なんつッ亭



When Nate over at Waseda Ramen gets excited about a bowl, you know it's gonna be good. Enter Nantsuttei.



The first thing you notice upon entering the store is the likeness of the owner EVERYWHERE. This is in no way a unique quirk, as many ramen chefs become sort of celebrites, and their faces somewhat of a branding tool. The master in question here is Ichiro. Head over to Nate's site for the run down on this dude. It's pretty interesting.



Yeah, the business cards are pretty fresh. But how is the ramen?



Hellllla good. This is Kumamoto style. Notice the signature mark of Kumamoto ramen, the black layer of burnt garlic oil. You can imagine that a bad bowl of Kumamoto ramen would be really bad.



The noodles stand up, the toppings are on point, and the soup is excellent.



Not sure about the use of ぶー here. Buuuuu is:

1. The sound a pig makes
2. The sound of farting
3. The first sound in my name (Bu-ra-i-an)

Maybe it's also the sound of a big, happy belly. In that case

BUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

The shop was really nice and comfortable, with booths and shiny counters. I'd label this post with a "suitable for a date" tag... except the shop is smack dab in the middle of a street of soaplands and sketchy massage parlors!

Shop info here

千石自慢 (Sengoku Jiman in Sengoku)

千石自慢



Leaving the veritable mecca of ramen that is Kichijoji, I packed my bags and moved to the Sengoku area of Bunkyo-ku. I put some photos of my new place on my other stupid blog. It's not as happening here in Sengoku, but surely there has to be some local ramen... right? Right indeed!



Not just any shop, but a shop named after the local 1km radius of Sengoku. Most Tokyo people don't even know where Sengoku is. I have to say I live near Sugamo, the next stop over.

I lined up with Nate around the noontime rush. This is ramen for the working masses. And for people to actually line up for 20 minutes on their lunch break from a construction site, gas station, or in my case, the local girl's high school, you know it's got to hold up.



I saw the kanji for meat, in front of the katakana for ramen, and knew exactly what I was getting. A mountain of roasted pork on top of the thick noodles and tonkotso soy soup. I was a little worried that it would be too strong, with too much floating abura. I had to go back and talk to a bunch of 17 year olds, and didn't want to be reeking of the stuff. But it was just right.



There's about half a dozen good looking shops in the vicinity, so I'll be hitting those up next. But it's always good to know there is a solid bowl nearby.



Shop info here