千石自慢

Leaving the veritable mecca of ramen that is Kichijoji, I packed my bags and moved to the Sengoku area of Bunkyo-ku. I put some photos of my new place on my other stupid blog. It’s not as happening here in Sengoku, but surely there has to be some local ramen… right? Right indeed!

Not just any shop, but a shop named after the local 1km radius of Sengoku. Most Tokyo people don’t even know where Sengoku is. I have to say I live near Sugamo, the next stop over.

I lined up with Nate around the noontime rush. This is ramen for the working masses. And for people to actually line up for 20 minutes on their lunch break from a construction site, gas station, or in my case, the local girl’s high school, you know it’s got to hold up.

I saw the kanji for meat, in front of the katakana for ramen, and knew exactly what I was getting. A mountain of roasted pork on top of the thick noodles and tonkotso soy soup. I was a little worried that it would be too strong, with too much floating abura. I had to go back and talk to a bunch of 17 year olds, and didn’t want to be reeking of the stuff. But it was just right.

There’s about half a dozen good looking shops in the vicinity, so I’ll be hitting those up next. But it’s always good to know there is a solid bowl nearby.

Shop info here

Ramen Adventures

Ramen Shop Reviews from Japan and Abroad

千石自慢 (Sengoku Jiman in Sengoku)

なんつッ亭 (Nantsuttei in Ikebukuro)

千代作 (Chiyosaku in Takadanobaba)

Gottsu in Nerima

千石自慢 (Sengoku Jiman in Sengoku)

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なんつッ亭 (Nantsuttei in Ikebukuro)

千代作 (Chiyosaku in Takadanobaba)

Gottsu in Nerima