Tokyo’s ramen landscape is vast, spanning big national chains, Chinese restaurants with pages-long menus and mom-and-pop counters with just a few seats. Styles vary wildly, but the formula remains familiar: an umami-rich broth, firm noodles and a smattering of tasty toppings. For many in Japan, it’s the ideal meal — inexpensive, delicious and filling. Anyone, from the prime minister to a truck driver, can slip into a neighborhood shop for a hot bowl.
That spirit opens Juzo Itami’s 1985 film “Tampopo,” which begins with a hungry truck driver looking for his next dish. And while your average Tokyoite is used to hopping on the subway for a short ride to their favorite shop, the city’s western reaches shouldn’t be overlooked. From the suburbs of Nishidai to the mountains of Okutama, these neighborhoods offer some of the capital’s most distinctive ramen ‚ the kinds of shops Itami himself might have admired.
When I started my website and YouTube channel, Ramen Adventures, I never thought that some of the best shops in the country were so far from the center of the city. As I slurped my way farther and farther from Shinjuku, I found that, sure enough, the less-visited reaches of Japan are full of unassuming shops that tick all the boxes for great ramen. Here are five that require some effort to get to, but are totally worth it.
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