Tokyo Ramen (Tokyo Metropolis)

2024-02-10 Kanto AreaLocal Ramen

What is Tokyo Ramen(東京ラーメン)?

It is an orthodox soy sauce ramen, and can be said to be the prototype of Japanese-style ramen. It is also displayed by the names “Chuka Soba(中華そば)” and “Shina Soba(支那そば).” It is said to have originated in 1910 at “Rairaiken(来々軒)”, a restaurant in Asakusa, which was at the cutting edge of fashion at the time, and laid the foundations for Japanese-style ramen, including the first toppings of chashu roasted pork and menma bamboo shoots. The soup uses a clear soup that is slowly boiled with chicken bones, vegetables, and pork bones, and the noodles are usually medium-thin curly noodles that easily get entwined with the soup. Also, in recent years, in addition to animal and vegetable stock, seafood is often used as the soup stock.

“Tokyo Ramen” is changing

There is no doubt that “Tokyo Ramen” has existed for a long time. They consist of a light soy sauce flavor, thin curly noodles, and simple ingredients. The soup uses seafood such as dried sardines and kelp, and is characterized by a clear soup that is boiled over low heat. However, in this day and age, when it comes to ramen that can be eaten in Tokyo, it is a stateless, national version. Now you can eat noodles from almost any region. Famous stores from all over the country are opening one after another in Tokyo, giving the appearance of a commanding presence.

Rairaiken in Asakusa is said to be Tokyo’s first ramen restaurant and opened in 1910. It is said to be the origin of Japan’s ramen boom. Although the restaurant has now closed, there is a restaurant in Inage, Chiba that continues to serve Tokyo ramen under the name Shinraiken(進来軒).

Chinese restaurant Shinraiken (中国料理進来軒 founded in 1968) (Inage Ward, Chiba City)

After that, many ramen shops appeared in Tokyo. Long-established stores include “Taishoken(大勝軒)” (Ningyocho: 1912), “Manpuku(萬福)” (Ginza: 1929), and “Harukiya(春木屋)” (Ogikubo: 1949). The long-established “Manpuku(萬福)” is now in its third generation, but continues to offer the same taste in Ginza as before. This ramen has an impressive triangular shaped omelette.

Ramen-Japan / Examples of Ramen Shops

※Chuka Soba(中華そば), Shina Soba(支那そば) = Chinese Noodle = Ramen(ラーメン)

Examples of the Long-established Ramen Shops in Tokyo

Tokyo back fat Cha-Cha style

On the other hand, “Hope Ken Honpo(ホープ軒本舗)” (Kichijoji: 1938), the originator of the back fat cha-cha(backfat-sprinkled) style, gave rise to “Hope Ken(ホープ軒)” (Sendagaya: 1960) and “Tosakko(土佐っ子)” (Tokiwadai: around 1970), Forms a Tokyo back-fat style.
“Hope-ken” also led to the creation of shops that became all the rage, such as “Benkei(弁慶)” (Horikiri: 1972) and “Kazuki(香月)” (Ebisu: 1973).
*Back fat cha-cha type or style refers to adding white back fat from stewed pork to the soup to add richness to the soup. The name came from the action (sound) of sprinkling backfat with a net.

Examples of the Tokyo back fat Cha-Cha style ramen shops

Ogikubo Ramen

In Ogikubo, in addition to “Harukiya(春木屋),” there were other popular restaurants such as “Marufuku(丸福),” “Marucho(丸長),” “Marushin(丸信),” “Sakushin(佐久信),” “Futaba(二葉),” and “Kanchintei(漢珍亭),” all of which were known as Ogikubo ramen.
(Kanchintei(漢珍亭) and Sakushin (佐久信) had closed.)
Both are long-established stores, “Harukiya Honten (春木家本店, founded in 1931)” and “Harukiya Ogikubo Honten (春木屋荻窪本店, founded in 1949),” but both are called the main store because they are related to siblings and are independently profitable.

Examples of the Ogikubo Ramen shops in those days

“Taishoken(大勝軒)”, a tsukemen company, separated from “Marucho(丸長)” and later became a major force. In the 1990s, people often went to eat by car, so popular ramen restaurants were concentrated along the highway. It was around this time that the term “Kannana Ramen War” was coined.

Nakano Taishoken (中野大勝軒, Nakano: Founded in 1951)

Kannana Ramen War

The Kannana Ramen War(環七ラーメン戦争) refers to the numerous ramen shops that appeared along Kannana Dori, a metropolitan road that runs halfway around Tokyo in the early 1990s, and their enthusiasm and popularity. Street parking lines form until late at night, causing conflicts with residents, and becoming a social problem. It is said that during its heyday, more than 100 ramen shops competed against each other, and even today, it is a fierce battleground with more than 70 ramen shops in operation. The representative stores at the time, “Nanden Kanden(なんでんかんでん)” and “Tosako(土佐っ子),” have closed and their successors have been opened in other locations, but there are some shops that have been strong since then and are still open today. Shown below.

In 1986, with the appearance of “Shina Sobaya(支那そばや)” (Fujisawa → Yokohama) by Mr. Minoru Sano(佐野実), who was known as the “Ingredient Demon”, a “commitment” to ramen began to develop.

*Shina Sobaya main store (支那そばや本店, reopened in Mr. Sano’s birthplace)

Class 96

The existence of “Menya Musashi(麺屋武蔵)” (Aoyama), “Aoba(青葉)” (Nakano), and “Kujiraken(くじら軒)” (Yokohama), which were founded in 1996, often had an influence later on (known as the class of 1996), and the spread of the Internet. Along with this, ramen also evolved and developed greatly. The number of stores is overwhelming by prefecture, and recently many young people are opening shops, creating the latest trends.

It is said that “Japanese-style ramen” was born by using “soy sauce” in ramen that was introduced from China. The characteristic of ramen in Tokyo is probably “soy sauce.” Even when the soup is chicken bone-based and pork bones are added, it is often made with Chintan Soup(清湯, translucent, clear soup: soy sauce color), and Japanese-style soup stock made from vegetables or seafood is usually added to it. Seafood products such as dried sardines and dried bonito flakes were also often used.
“Menya Musashi(麺屋武蔵)” and “Aoba(青葉),” which are known as the class of 1996(or 96 group, the year they were founded, used a method of separating the animal-based and seafood-based products and blending them immediately beforehand to bring out the aroma. It’s called “W Soup.”

Class 11

From the beginning of 2000, young shop owners started opening more shops, and innovative ramen became more popular. In particular, “Sora No Iro(ソラノイロ)”, “Kuroki(くろ㐂)”, and “Matador(マタドール)”, which were founded in 2011, are called the class 11 (or 11 group) and have begun to create a new style.

Diversification / Returning to Origins / Evolution

In 2015, ramen was awarded a Michelin star for the first time in the world, attracting worldwide attention. It was once said to be a 1,000 yen barrier, but it has now exceeded 1,000 yen at popular shops. Recently, the number of ramen that looks nostalgic has been increasing with the phrase “returning to the basics,” but there are big differences in the way the soup is made and the concentration of the soup (even in fresh water there is a high concentration), and how to calculate the cost has changed. In addition, people have started to pay particular attention to the soy sauce itself, and have also started to think about flavoring oils.

Recently, the term “Water and Chicken Type, 水鶏系 mizudori-kei,” which uses only water and chicken, has come up. We use not only chicken bones, but whole chickens, and we carefully select the production areas.