🍜 Bunkyo, Japan — Ramen Ranking

らーめん大 姉妹店らーめん安

Ramen Yasu, a sister shop of Ramen Dai in Bunkyo Ward, Tokyo, is known for a rich tomato ramen (1,400 yen) prepared by an owner who was formerly an Italian chef. As a Jiro-style shop, it lets you enjoy the customary calls for extra garlic and abura (fatback and oil) at the counter, and its thick tomato broth, into which the natural sweetness of carefully simmered vegetables has melted, has earned a strong reputation. Some regulars come every week just for these tomato noodles. Alongside this signature bowl, you can also try the standard Jiro-style offerings, such as shoyu (soy sauce) ramen, as well as a bowl that has become a favorite among students.

中華蕎麦 にし乃

A specialist shop for tanrei-style chuka soba (a light, clear-broth Chinese-style ramen), Chuka Soba Nishino sits just a two-to-three-minute walk from Hongo-sanchome Station and has earned a place in the Michelin Bib Gourmand. It is known for a refined bowl in which the clear soup harmonizes niboshi (dried sardine) and other seafood stocks, rounded out by the savory depth of soy sauce, and this broth pairs beautifully with thin, straight noodles. Also popular are the wonton filled with pork and shrimp, as well as the mayo chashu don, a rice bowl topped with braised pork and mayonnaise. Another draw is the quick service and steady turnover, so bowls arrive promptly.

MENSHO TOKYO（後楽園）

MENSHO TOKYO, near Korakuen in Bunkyo Ward, Tokyo, is a rare ramen shop in the city that puts lamb at the center of the bowl. Its signature dish is tsukemen (ramen served with a rich dipping broth) made with a lamb and soy sauce base, priced the same for portions up to 300 grams. The broth is deeply flavored yet balanced so it never becomes overpowering, and diners find it wonderfully addictive. The house-made whole-grain noodles, blended with tapioca flour, stand out for their springy, chewy texture like udon and their fragrant aroma of wheat. The tender lamb chashu and the negi rice (rice with green onion) are also well liked. With a clean, calm interior, this is a bowl that keeps drawing people back for another taste.

らーめん大 姉妹店らーめん安

Ramen Yasu, a sister shop of Ramen Dai in Bunkyo Ward, Tokyo, is a Jiro-style ramen shop run by an owner who previously worked as an Italian chef. Its signature bowl is a rich, smooth tomato ramen with an orange hue that reflects that background. The shop is known for attentive service, adjusting the spiciness to each customer's preference, and the owner's bright, kind, and playful personality has earned a strong reputation, with some regulars stopping by once a week. Careful thought goes into every bowl, including a niboshi ramen made with dried sardine broth, and the shop enjoys high customer satisfaction, holding a Google rating of 4.9.

こいけのいえけい

Opened in 2022 as part of the acclaimed Ramen Koike group from Kamikitazawa, Koike no Iekei is a refined take on iekei ramen, the Yokohama-born style built on a pork-bone and chicken broth. Its soup draws praise for being rich and full-bodied yet elegant and mellow, and the clean, modern interior in shades of white is welcoming enough that many women feel comfortable dining alone. Popular orders include the fully loaded ramen with all the toppings at 1,250 yen and the negi chashu rice (rice topped with green onion and braised pork) that can be added for 300 yen. The shop is a genuine favorite, busy enough that a line forms outside even at lunchtime on weekdays.

麺屋 ねむ瑠

Menya Nemuru is a ramen shop on Kasuga-dori in Hongo-sanchome, Bunkyo Ward, Tokyo, celebrated for its chuka soba (Chinese-style noodle soup) built on a broth of squid and niboshi (dried baby sardines). The menu ranges from a rich, intensely flavored dried-sardine ramen known affectionately as "Baka Nibo" to a lighter, more delicate "tanrei" style accented with truffle. This is a proven kitchen, having earned recognition on the Hyakumeiten (Top 100 Shops) list and in the TRY ramen awards. Diners can also enjoy thoughtful tabletop touches, including flavored kaedama (extra noodle refills) and a house-made Japanese sansho pepper oil. Open continuously from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., the shop serves quickly, making it an easy place to stop in even when you are pressed for time.

麺屋鈴春

Menya Suzuharu is a popular ramen shop in Bunkyo Ward, Tokyo, whose signature dish is konbu-sui tsukemen, a style of noodles served with a separate dipping broth. The noodles are firmed up in cold water and then rested in kombu-sui, a kelp water infused overnight. Slightly flat and thick, they have a firm, chewy bite that brings out the sweetness of the wheat. For the dipping broth you can choose between soy sauce and salt, and there are seasonal aromatic oils to enjoy, such as oyster oil and Nagoya Cochin chicken oil. Order 500 grams or more and you can sample two dipping broths side by side. The chashu (braised pork) noodles and the minced-meat rice bowl are also well regarded, and the shop has earned a place among Japan's top 100 ramen restaurants.

用心棒 本号

Yojimbo Hongo is a popular Jiro-style ramen shop in the Mukogaoka neighborhood of Bunkyo Ward, Tokyo, just a 30-second walk from Todaimae Station on the Tokyo Metro Namboku Line. The casual space seats only 12 at the counter, where you can enjoy a bowl of thick, sturdy, chewy noodles that cling beautifully to a rich tonkotsu (pork-bone) soy sauce broth. Portions start generously at 300 grams of noodles, and many connoisseurs order the "zen-mashi" full toppings and extra pickled back-fat on a separate plate to shift the flavor as they eat. The mazesoba (brothless mixed noodles) and a collaboration tsukemen (ramen served with dipping broth) with Senrigan are praised as richly satisfying. Students and office workers find it easy to drop in alone, and the staff are appreciated for their kind, friendly service.

本枯中華そば魚雷

麺屋 睡蓮

IZASA

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はぐれ雲

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本郷苑

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家家家 本郷店

ラーメン屋 助六

横浜家系ラーメン 天神家

馬場壱家 白山道

小石川 麺処 あしたか

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麺庵 利休

中華そば くおん

家系ラーメン 本ごう家 王道乃印

お塩浩太郎 東大前店

Comekome (コメコメン）

つけ麺 喰狼～KURO～

大関家