u/namajapan

Niku no Sato is actually a motsuyaki place under Tennocho station, means you can get all things offal in various forms. Lots of such places also put a tonkotsu ramen on their menu to use off cuts and leftovers, which sometimes means you get a quite funky and impactful tonkotsu. For 580 Yen, it’s really hard to say no (3-4 EUR/USD).
It’s really hard to complain about anything at that price point, but I crushed the bowl, it was definitely enjoyable and more rich than I had anticipated.
It was everything I would want from a local tonk place. Slight stank, probably just using whatever they can’t use for their regular menu, but still just well executed including the toppings.
Really hard to beat at that price point.

Tabelog top 100 for a good reason, this is surely one of the top chicken shio ramen out there.
I don’t think the soup is only chicken, but maybe some umami enhancers such as kombu etc.
I really loved the noodles here, very firm bite from the start, didn’t soften up a lot during the meal, good stuff.
Chashu was the “modern standard” pork and sous vide chicken breast combo, well executed, but it’s really everywhere nowadays.
It’s been a while since an egg got me excited, but this one here was fantastic, heavily leaning into the mirin side of things, but very “eggy”. They must have a good egg supplier.

Disciple of Shinasobaya Sano-san, very proudly displayed everywhere in and in front of the the shop.
It’s all about the chicken here. Chicken flavor so much in the foreground. Lots of chiyu. Super thin noodles in the shio which almost melt away.
Chashu and wantan are excellent, menma nice and crunchy.
I found the super finely chopped negi interesting. Plus fried onions plus some picked daikon, but everything very small cut.
Essentially just small additions to the chicken flavor, nothing to hide it away.
Really worth checking out if you are already in the area for Ida Shoten or something.
Allegedly one of the favorite shops of Ida-san? But can’t remember anymore where I heard that.

Yatai Ramen Tawaratei in Ito city, South of Atami and Yugawara. The guy is a legend. Allegedly worked in a supermarket before, opened this yatai sometime last year. Soup is made from torigara and dashi packs
The secret is in the tare, which is according to him loaded with dried fish. Katsuobushi, sababushi, niboshi,…
He has black pepper, white pepper and garlic powder on the counter. He recommended white pepper and garlic powder as ajihen. Fantastic. I’ll probably go tomorrow night as well, perfect night finisher.

Yatai Ramen Tawaratei in Ito city, South of Atami and Yugawara. The guy is a legend. Allegedly worked in a supermarket before, opened this yatai sometime last year. Soup is made from torigara and dashi packs
The secret is in the tare, which is according to him loaded with dried fish. Katsuobushi, sababushi, niboshi,…
He has black pepper, white pepper and garlic powder on the counter. He recommended white pepper and garlic powder as ajihen. Fantastic. Perfect night finisher.

I feel like I can make better bowls at home. And my homemade ramen isn’t terribly good.
Lacking complexity, depth, richness, anything interesting really. It’s a rather simple, maybe comforting bowl. But yeah idk no need to go here.
I haven’t been to the main shop in Nakano, I can only imagine it must be much better.
Seems like the typical case where the greatness of the original just doesn’t carry over into their other branches.

Fantastic thick gyokai at Minohi
Somehow looked more light on pictures, so the richness and thickness took us by surprise. Went with Jesse and Lindsay of Neighborhood Ramen. We universally loved it. Lindsay got the tsukemen, but we didn’t do any cross testing. I can easily say that the karami was worth getting, seems like they are constantly changing that. This day it was sakura ebi with chili, I guess fried together for a bit. Really jerked the flavor around and gave the bowl new life halfway in. Really worth the extra 100 Yen.
Beware, portions are big. Regular ramen already 230g of noodles.

Aburasoba, a type of mazesoba, essentially has no soup, only aroma oil and a tare seasoning.

It’s hard to recommend great aburasoba places, because they are mostly very same-y and often quite large chains. They’re never bad though, don’t get me wrong, but the ceiling is quite low for aburasoba. They are mostly like a blank canvas for you to make it your own with the tons of toppings you can order or which are for free on the counter/table.

While I make a stop for a quick lunch aburasoba now and then, I don’t think they have ever been a targeted destination bowl for me.

Aburasoba, a type of mazesoba, essentially has no soup, only aroma oil and a tare seasoning.

It’s hard to recommend great aburasoba places, because they are mostly very same-y and often quite large chains. They’re never bad though, don’t get me wrong, but the ceiling is quite low for aburasoba. They are mostly like a blank canvas for you to make it your own with the tons of toppings you can order or which are for free on the counter/table.

While I make a stop for a quick lunch aburasoba now and then, I don’t think they have ever been a targeted destination bowl for me.