Samurai dramas and Utagawa Hiroshige's famous ukiyo-e woodblock prints: Those are the classic images evoked by mere mention of the fabled Tokaido highway. These days, this busy artery, which for centuries has linked Tokyo (formerly Edo) with Kyoto, is a lot less romantic, especially the stretch that runs inland through Shimada, Shizuoka Prefecture.
And yet even here, among the mundane family restaurants, gritty gasoline stands and unlovely strip malls that line the road — now officially known as National Route 1 — there are places that catch the eye and justify a detour. None more so than Le Dessin.
The inscrutable, windowless timber-clad frontage offers few clues to its identity. From the name, you'd take it for a French restaurant or perhaps a patisserie. In fact it's a ramen specialist. But the bowls served here by chef Toshiaki Masuda are unlike any you'll find on other stretches of the old highway.