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The best Shoyu Ramen (Chuka Soba) in Tokyo

Also spelt Tokyo ramen, shoyu ramen, soy sauce ramen and chuka soba. A curated shortlist, shaped by your votes.

Editorial picks

Selected from published food guides and local reporting. How the list works

  1. Number 1.Chuka Soba Tagano

    Ebara-Nakanobu Nakameguro, Ebisu and Meguro

    Open
    11.30am to 2.30pm or until sold out, shut Wed
    Where
    2-15-10 Nakanobu, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo 142-0053

    Start with the plain chuka soba, Akita chicken against sweet niboshi. Take a numbered ticket on arrival, come before one, and note the shop shuts on Wednesdays and takes no cards.

    What to orderChuka soba, with the toppings version if you are hungry

    0 votes

  2. Number 2.Chukasoba Ginza Hachigo

    Higashi-Ginza Ginza, Yurakucho and Shimbashi

    Open
    11am to 4pm, shut Mondays, ends when soup goes
    Where
    3-14-2 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 104-0061, Dai-ichi Hanabusa Building 1F

    There is one bowl here, the chukasoba, and its broth is closer to consomme than to ramen stock. Six seats. Walk in at eleven, because bookings take the noon slots and the soup finishes early.

    What to orderChukasoba, around 1,200 yen

    0 votes

  3. Number 3.Harukiya Ogikubo Honten

    Ogikubo Shimokitazawa, Setagaya and Kichijoji

    Open
    11am to 9.20pm, shut Tuesdays
    Where
    1-4-6 Kamiogi, Suginami-ku, Tokyo 167-0043 (arcade off Ogikubo Station north exit)

    Chuka soba is the order, chicken and dried fish under dark soy, made the same way since 1949. Bring a card rather than cash, because the shop stopped taking notes and coins.

    What to orderChuka soba, or the wontonmen if you want more in the bowl

    0 votes

  4. Ogikubo Chuka Soba Harukiya (Ogikubo main shop)

    Kamiogi, two minutes from Ogikubo station Shimokitazawa, Setagaya and Kichijoji

    Open
    11am to 9.20pm daily, cards only, no cash
    Where
    1-4-6 Kamiogi, Suginami-ku, Tokyo 167-0043

    Open since 1949 and two minutes from Ogikubo station. Order the chuka soba, thickish noodles in a dried fish and chicken broth. Cash is not accepted any more, so bring a card, and use the Ogikubo shop.

    What to orderChuka soba

    0 votes

  5. Ramenya Toy Box

    Higashi-Nippori, near Minowa Asakusa and Ueno

    Open
    11am-3pm daily, plus 6-9pm Tue-Fri, shut Mon
    Where
    1-1-3 Higashi-Nippori, Arakawa-ku, Tokyo 116-0014 (ground floor)

    Order the shoyu ramen. Chicken and water make the broth, and it took the TRY soy prize four years running. Eight seats, cash only, no children below school age.

    What to orderShoyu ramen (醤油ラーメン), around 1,200 yen

    0 votes

  6. Chuka Menten Kiraku

    Dogenzaka, Shibuya Shibuya and Harajuku

    Open
    11.30am to 8.30pm, shut Wednesdays
    Where
    2-17-6 Dogenzaka, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-0043 (Hyakkendana)

    Ask for the moyashi wontonmen, soy broth with fried onion, bean sprouts and wontons, served since 1952. Cash only, closed Wednesdays, and the queue on the Dogenzaka slope moves slowly.

    What to orderMoyashi wontonmen (bean sprout and wonton noodles)

    0 votes

  7. Chuka Soba Nishino

    Hongo-sanchome Tokyo Station, Nihonbashi and Kanda

    Open
    11am to 3pm and 6pm to 9pm, open daily
    Where
    3-30-7 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Kumano Building B101

    The wontonmen is what regulars order, though the plain chuka soba shows the broth better. A basement counter of eleven seats, cash only, and the lunch queue reaches the stairs by noon.

    What to orderChuka soba, or the wontonmen

    0 votes

  8. Chuka Sobaya Ito

    Oji-kamiya, Kita-ku Ikebukuro and Takadanobaba

    Open
    From 11am until the soup goes, about 2.30pm
    Where
    4-5-3 Toshima, Kita-ku, Tokyo 114-0003 (12 minutes from Oji-kamiya Station exit 2)

    Ask for the plain soba, an Akita style niboshi broth that still costs seven hundred yen. Twelve minutes on foot from Oji-kamiya, cash only, and it closes once the soup runs out.

    What to orderSoba (the plain bowl), 700 yen

    0 votes

  9. Chukamenten Kiraku

    Dogenzaka, in the Hyakkendana arcade Shibuya and Harajuku

    Open
    11.30am to 8.30pm, closed Wednesdays
    Where
    2-17-6 Dogenzaka, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo

    Trading on the same Dogenzaka backstreet since 1952. The chuka men is soy broth, flat noodles and burnt spring onion; the wantanmen adds six dumplings. Closed Wednesdays, and the fried rice can wait.

    What to orderChuka men, or the wantanmen

    0 votes

  10. Koukaibou

    Monzen-nakacho Tsukiji, Tsukishima and Toyosu

    Open
    11am-3pm, plus 5.30-7pm Mon-Fri; shut Wed and Sun
    Where
    2-13-10 Fukagawa, Koto-ku, Tokyo 135-0033, Nick Heim Fukagawa 1F

    The ramen at eight hundred and fifty yen is the one, pork and chicken bones lifted by niboshi and vegetables. Closed Wednesdays and Sundays plus the first and third Friday. Cash.

    What to orderRamen (the plain bowl), 850 yen

    0 votes

  11. Ramen Hayashi (Shibuya)

    Dogenzaka, Shibuya Shibuya and Harajuku

    Open
    11.30am until sold out, about 3.30pm; shut Wed, Sun
    Where
    1-14-9 Dogenzaka, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-0043, Social Dogenzaka 1F

    The plain ramen is a pork and fish double soup under soy, richer than a classic clear bowl. Ten seats, cash only, lunch alone, and it shuts when the soup ends.

    What to orderAjitama ramen (egg ramen)

    0 votes

  12. Ramen Yamaguchi (Nishi-Waseda)

    Nishi-Waseda Ikebukuro and Takadanobaba

    Open
    11am to 9.30pm daily, no closing day
    Where
    3-13-4 Nishi-Waseda, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 169-0051, 1F

    Order the oigatsuo chuka soba, bonito and kelp over a hinai chicken base. Open right through the day with no closing day, so aim for the middle of the afternoon.

    What to orderOigatsuo chuka soba

    0 votes

  13. Eifukucho Taishoken

    Izumi, one minute from Eifukucho station Shimokitazawa, Setagaya and Kichijoji

    Open
    11am to 10pm, closed Mondays
    Where
    3-5-3 Izumi, Suginami-ku, Tokyo 168-0063

    Sardine broth, soft noodles, and a standard portion that runs to roughly twice a normal serving. Order the chuka soba and do not ask for extra. Closed Mondays; the shop dates from 1955.

    What to orderChuka soba, standard size

    0 votes

  14. Iruca Tokyo Roppongi

    Roppongi Roppongi, Azabu and Akasaka

    Open
    11am to 8pm, shut Mondays
    Where
    4-12-12 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo 106-0032, Hotaka Building 1F

    The porcini shoyu ramen is the bowl to have, seven soy sauces in the tare. Around two thousand yen, which is steep for ramen, and it closes on Mondays. Book ahead.

    What to orderSpecial porcini shoyu ramen

    0 votes

  15. Junteuchi Daruma

    Nakano-Fujimicho Shinjuku

    Open
    11.30am to 3pm, closing day varies, check X
    Where
    1-18-3 Wada, Suginami-ku, Tokyo 166-0012 (two minutes from Nakano-Fujimicho Station)

    Go for the ajitama shoyu ramen and the hand-cut noodles that come with it, thick and irregular. One man runs the place, so arrive after two on a weekday and avoid weekends.

    What to orderShoyu ramen, or the ajitama version

    0 votes

  16. Chukasoba Ginza Hachigou

    Ginza 3-chome, near Higashi-Ginza Ginza, Yurakucho and Shimbashi

    Open
    11am to 4pm, Wed to Sun, shut Mon and Tue
    Where
    3-14-2 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 104-0061

    Six seats, and one bowl worth the effort: the chuka soba, a clear duck and chicken consomme finished with cured ham. Booking opens Saturday 9am; walk-ins start queueing before seven.

    What to orderChuka soba, wonton if available

    0 votes

  17. Chuka Soba Aoba (Nakano main shop)

    Nakano, four minutes from the station's north exit Shinjuku

    Open
    10.30am to 9pm daily, or until the soup runs out
    Where
    5-58-1 Nakano, Nakano-ku, Tokyo 164-0001

    This is the shop that put double soup, animal stock plus fish stock, into Tokyo bowls in 1996. Order the chuka soba at the Nakano original, not a branch, and go early because it stops when the soup does.

    What to orderChuka soba

    0 votes

  18. Chuka Soba Katsumoto (Suidobashi main shop)

    Kanda-Misakicho, one minute from Suidobashi station Tokyo Station, Nihonbashi and Kanda

    Open
    11am to 10pm, Sundays only until 6pm
    Where
    Misakicho SS Building 1F, 2-15-5 Kanda-Misakicho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo

    Order the plain chuka soba, a niboshi and soy broth that stays delicate rather than fishy. Note there is a separate Katsumoto tsukesoba shop near Jimbocho; the Suidobashi original is the one to find.

    What to orderChuka soba, the niboshi shoyu bowl

    0 votes

  19. Chuka Soba-ya Ito (Narimasu)

    Asahicho, Nerima, by Narimasu station Ikebukuro and Takadanobaba

    Open
    11am to 3.30pm, shut Mondays
    Where
    3-26-18 Asahicho, Nerima-ku, Tokyo

    The Ito family bowl is soup, noodles, braised pork and spring onion, nothing else, built on dried sardine and skipjack. Ask for the niku soba. Lunch trade only and closed on Mondays.

    What to orderNiku soba

    0 votes

  20. Mendokoro Bigiya (Gakugei-daigaku main shop)

    Takaban, off the Gakugei-daigaku east exit shopping street Nakameguro, Ebisu and Meguro

    Open
    11.30am-2.45pm, 6pm-9pm, ends when soup runs out
    Where
    2-4-9 Takaban, Meguro-ku, Tokyo

    Two soy sauces over a chicken and kombu base; take the plain shoyu ramen before the yuzu white soy version. Both sittings end when the soup does, and the closing day varies week to week.

    What to orderShoyu ramen

    0 votes

  21. Raamen Yamaguchi

    Nishi-Waseda, near Omokagebashi Ikebukuro and Takadanobaba

    Open
    11:30am to 3pm, then 5:30pm to 9pm, Tuesday to Friday, 11:30am to 9pm on weekends and holidays, shut Mondays
    Where
    3-13-4 Nishi-Waseda, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo

    Chicken stock and soy in careful balance: ask for the chuka soba rather than the richer tori soba. Nearest stop is Nishi-Waseda, not Takadanobaba, and posted hours are short, so check the day's notice.

    What to orderChuka soba

    0 votes

  22. Ramen Hisui

    Akasaka 3-chome Roppongi, Azabu and Akasaka

    Open
    11.30am to 3pm, shut Sun and Mon
    Where
    Dormy Akasaka 2F, 3-14-2 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo

    Four heirloom chickens and around thirty shellfish go into the stock. Akasaka locals come for the shio, so say shoyu ramen clearly. Shut Sundays and Mondays, with an evening sitting only on Saturday.

    What to orderShoyu ramen

    0 votes

  23. Kagaribi

    Shintomicho, between Ginza and Hatchobori Tsukiji, Tsukishima and Toyosu

    Open
    11am to 2pm, then 6pm to 8pm, on weekdays, 11am to 3pm on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, shut Wednesdays
    Where
    SOPHIA GINZA 1F, 1-9-5 Shintomi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo

    Hand-cut noodles in a clear jidori broth: take the plain shoyu ramen over the chashu version. It shuts on Wednesdays, and the weekday evening service runs only two hours, from six.

    What to orderShoyu ramen with the hand-cut noodles

    0 votes

  24. Motenashi Kuroki

    Kanda-Izumicho, on Kiyosumi-dori by Asakusabashi Asakusa and Ueno

    Open
    Lunch only most days, shut Sundays and holidays
    Where
    Shiren Building No.3 1F, 2-15 Kanda-Izumicho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo

    Ask for the tokusei shoyu ramen; staff will assume you want the shio that made the shop's name. Mostly lunch trade only, no bookings taken, and Sundays and public holidays are out.

    What to orderTokusei shoyu ramen

    0 votes

  25. Men Mitsui

    Nishi-Asakusa, four minutes from Asakusa station Asakusa and Ueno

    Open
    11am-2.30pm and 5.30pm-9pm, shut Mon and 4th Tue
    Where
    Akebono Building, 2-10-4 Nishi-Asakusa, Taito-ku, Tokyo

    Seven seats, husband and wife, hand-made noodles in a light soy broth: the chuka soba. Closed Mondays and also the fourth Tuesday of the month, which is easy to miss. Service breaks between lunch and dinner.

    What to orderChuka soba with the hand-kneaded noodles

    0 votes

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