Akihabara, affectionately known as "Akiba," is a mecca for subculture enthusiasts. The area is filled with shops offering anime, manga, and gaming merchandise, attracting countless fans daily. With many Akihabara-exclusive products available, it's an absolute must-visit "holy land" for Japanese subculture fans.
Akihabara also has an electric town aspect, featuring large electronics stores alongside smaller, specialized shops. You can find unique stores selling retro gaming consoles or shops dedicated to every type of screw imaginable - the kind of quirky establishments you won't encounter anywhere else.
While Akihabara is known as an "otaku paradise," it's also home to numerous ramen shops. In this article, we'll introduce you to some of the best ramen Akihabara 2024 has to offer, from famous establishments to hidden gems.
Ramen in Japan
The history of ramen is relatively recent, believed to have originated in Yokohama's Chinatown about 100 years ago. Quickly capturing people's hearts, ramen spread rapidly and is now loved worldwide.
In Japan, ramen is considered a national dish, with instant ramen being widely popular. Long queues form daily outside ramen shops across Japan, and supermarkets can barely keep ramen noodles and soup bases in stock. Personally, I eat ramen as a reward for good news or to forget about unpleasant things, resulting in consuming it 2-3 times a week. This demonstrates how integral ramen is to Japanese daily life.
Types of Ramen
Ramen comes in an incredible variety of styles.
First, there are countless types of broths, from classics like miso, soy sauce, and salt to unique variations like tomato or lemon. The thickness of noodles and toppings also showcase each ramen's unique character. Standard toppings include Chashu (roasted pork fillet), eggs, and green onions, but some ramen even feature mountains of vegetables or snack foods as toppings.
Additionally, you can find "local ramen" specialties in various regions across Japan. A famous example is Sapporo ramen from Hokkaido, known for its curly noodles that pair well with the soup. There are over 200 types of local ramen throughout Japan.
Recommended Ramen Shops in Akihabara
Menya Musashi Bujin
source：Official X
Menya Musashi Bujin is a comfortable ramen shop known for both its delicious ramen and quality service. Its popularity has led to expansion not only within Tokyo but also internationally, now loved worldwide.
The recommended dish here is undoubtedly the "Rich Bujin Tsukemen" topped with extra-thick Chashu weighing over 100g. The Chashu is so substantial it's more like a chunk of meat than a slice. Despite its size, it's tender enough to break apart with chopsticks, well-seasoned, and full of delicate flavors.
They offer noodle portions up to 5 times the regular amount, totaling over 1kg, perfect for those with big appetites. Remember, this menu item is exclusive to the Akihabara branch and not available at other locations!
<Basic Information>
• Address: 1F Arc Building, 2-18-5 Kanda-Sakumacho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
• Hours: 11:00 - 22:15
• Closed: Never
• Phone: 03-5822-4634
• Official Website
• Official X (Twitter)
Hakata Furyu Akihabara Main Store
source：Tabelog
At Hakata Furyu, you can enjoy authentic Hakata ramen, a local specialty from Fukuoka Prefecture, right in Tokyo. Hakata ramen is characterized by its pork bone broth, thin noodles, and wood ear mushroom topping. The unique aroma might seem strong at first, but it becomes addictive after the first bite.
One of the highlights of Hakata ramen is choosing your noodle firmness. Here, you can select from very hard, hard, regular, or soft. "Very hard" noodles are boiled for just 7 seconds, while "soft" noodles are cooked for about 50 seconds. Hakata ramen enthusiasts typically prefer "very hard" noodles.
They also offer a "kaedama" service, where you can get extra noodles added to your remaining soup. Here, you can enjoy up to two free refills, allowing you to savor the ramen to your heart's content.
<Basic Information>
• Address: 3-15-6 Sotokanda, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
• Hours: 11:00 - 02:00 (next day)
*Sunday hours: 11:00 - 20:00
(If Monday is a holiday, Sunday hours extend to 02:00, and Monday closes at 20:00)
• Closed: Never
• Phone: 03-3251-9090
• Official Website
Hyakunen Honpo Akihabara Main Store
source：Official X
Hyakunen Honpo is a powerhouse ramen shop that has won first place in sales at various ramen festivals, including the Tsukuba Ramen Festa and Ramen Expo in Sendai. In addition to ramen, they offer a variety of menu items like chicken rice, gyoza, and even desserts made with noodles.
The recommended dish at Hyakunen Honpo is the highly popular "Nira Soba," limited to 15 servings each for lunch and dinner. Incredibly, each bowl uses an entire bundle of Chinese chives (nira), completely covering the noodles beneath. Enjoy it with table condiments like pepper and chili oil, or add a topping of egg to keep the flavors interesting to the last bite.
If you have leftover chives, place them on top of the complimentary ginger-flavored rice to create a nira-don. The combination of ginger rice and chives is excellent, making for a perfect finish to your meal.
<Basic Information>
• Address: 1F Shotoku Building, 3-8-9 Sotokanda, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
• Hours: 11:00 - 22:00
• Closed: Never
• Phone: 03-3255-0220
• Official Website
• Official X (Twitter)
Ikina Isshou
source：Tabelog
Ikina Isshou offers all three classic ramen flavors - salt, miso, and soy sauce - making it perfect for those seeking traditional Japanese ramen. The shop's interior is typical of a downtown ramen shop, with counter seats surrounding the kitchen and table seats on the opposite side.
While the soy sauce and miso ramen are delicious, my top recommendation is the salt ramen. It's clean and mild yet has a rich flavor from the pork and chicken bone base. The soup is so easy to drink you might finish it without realizing. The curly noodles absorb the broth's umami well, allowing you to enjoy the full flavor with each bite.
In summer, they also offer cold ramen, which is perfect for hot days.
<Basic Information>
• Address: 1F Takezen Building, 1-27-2 Taito, Taito-ku, Tokyo
• Hours: 11:00 - 21:00 (*Weekends and holidays until 20:00)
• Closed: Wednesdays
• Phone: 03-3837-8117
Nikutama Chuka Soba Renjishi
source：Official X
Nikutama Chuka Soba Renjishi, which opened on January 31st this year (2024), is already becoming one of the best ramen Akihabara 2024 has to offer. Their concept is to be "Akihabara's number one ramen shop that makes you want more rice." The taste is so good that it might be the best not just in Akihabara but in all of Japan.
First, instead of Chashu, they top the ramen with sweet and savory grilled meat. The deep umami created by the combination of meat and soup is addictive. The soup, made by slowly simmering chicken bones, pork bones, and vegetables, is very rich and fills your mouth with impactful flavors that pair well with rice. They also pay attention to the origin, variety, and cooking method of the rice, resulting in a texture that perfectly complements the strong flavors.
Although not ramen, they also offer a menu item called "Nikutama Rice." It's an omelet topped with sweet and savory meat with a grilled flavor, another supreme dish that goes well with rice.
<Basic Information>
• Address: 3-1 Kanda-Sakumacho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
• Hours: 11:00 - 22:00 (L.O. 21:30)
*Closes when soup runs out
• Closed: Sundays (for now)
• Phone: 03-5823-4829
• Official X (Twitter)
• Official Instagram
Ushio
source：Tabelog
Ushio is a ramen shop that focuses on two main menus: "White" and "Black." Naming ramen after colors is actually part of Japanese ramen culture. Even with the same color name, different shops might serve entirely different types of ramen.
At Ushio, "White" refers to a chicken Paitan ramen, featuring a broth made by simmering chicken bones. This ramen's soup is very creamy with umami similar to corn potage. It pairs perfectly with toppings that are uncommon in ramen, such as asparagus wrapped in meat, poached eggs, and broccoli.
On the other hand, "Black" is a soy sauce-based ramen with concentrated kelp umami. The unique feature of Black is that the Chashu is made from duck meat. The light-tasting duck Chashu complements the clean-tasting soup well.
<Basic Information>
• Address: B1F R Kanda-Awajicho, 2-4-4 Kanda-Awajicho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
• Hours: 11:00 - 21:00 (*Until 19:00 on Mondays, Saturdays, and Sundays, closes when soup runs out)
• Closed: Irregular
• Phone: 03-6206-9322
• Official Instagram
• Official X (Twitter)
Tokyo Style Noodle Hotate Biyori
source：Tabelog
Hotate Biyori is a popular shop that has won first place in the "Akihabara Ramen" category on "Tabelog," Japan's most famous restaurant review website. They offer a supreme bowl that many people become addicted to after just one taste.
The signature dish here is "Scallop Kelp Water Tsukemen." One of the charms of this shop is the use of the highest quality ingredients - from the noodles to the scallops and the kelp used in the soup, everything is carefully selected down to the origin and variety.
The typical way to enjoy this dish is to start with the scallop carpaccio that comes with the set. After that, you can enjoy the scallop-flavored dipping sauce and the large grilled scallop topping on the noodles in various ways.
To visit, you need to go to the location on the morning of your visit to sign up, so please be aware of this requirement.
<Basic Information>
• Address: 2-25 Kanda-Sakumacho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
• Hours:
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday: 11:00 - 14:40 / 17:30 - 19:50
Saturday, Sunday, Holidays: 11:00 - 15:20 / 16:50 - 18:30
• Closed: Wednesdays
• Phone: 03-3863-3773
• Official X (Twitter)
• Official Instagram
Conclusion
In this article, we've introduced seven ramen shops in Akihabara. What did you think? Even within the ramen genre, there's an incredible variety, isn't there? There are many more unique ramen shops that we couldn't cover here, so we hope you'll explore and discover even more.
Ramen is a dish where everyone can find their favorite bowl. We encourage you to gather information about different ramen styles and visit various shops to find the ramen that suits your taste.
Lastly, while Japan is increasingly becoming cashless, many ramen shops still only accept cash. So, please keep this in mind when you visit!