Any ramen fans here? Back in December I took a short trip to Tokyo and while hanging out in Akiba I had to make a pit-stop at one of my favorite ramen joints, about a 5 minute walk from the station. It's literally a hole in the wall, but
Kyushu Jangara's original shop really packs 'em in. Even after 25 years, people still line up for their famous tonkotsu (pork stock) based soup, so expect to stand in line if you end up going.
If you're a ramen n00b, ordering might be a little nerve racking. Have no fear, no need to look over their huge menu, there's only one thing that needs to come out of your mouth, "zembu iri." That being equivalent to Kyushu Jangara ramen with all toppings. At 1050 yen, it's the best bang for your buck, as ordering individual toppings could well put you over that mark (600 for just the ramen and about 100+ for each topping).
Toppings are:
- Kakuniku (pork belly)
- Aji tamago (marinated(?) hard boiled egg)
- Mentaiko (cured pollack roe)
- Kikurage (a type of mushroom)
- Chashu (pork)
- Menma (bamboo shoots)
- Negi (green onions)
They'll take your order while you're waiting in line, and once you get seated it only take a few minutes for delivery.
Unlike the traditional Hakata/Nagahama style soups, Jangara ramen is what they call "assari-kei" or light (light~er, I should say) on the fat content*. The soup stock is made from vegetables, chicken, and pork bones, and has a light white/brown-ish opaque color, full of tasty goodness. It's one of those soups that makes you want to drink the whole bowl... reminiscent of the movie Tampopo. The noodles are the traditional thin, straight flour noodles of Hakata (Fukuoka). After you finish your noodles, if you're up to it, order more by shouting "kaedama onegaishimasu!" A kaedama is just another round of noodles so your soup is not left lonely, the charge is 150 yen per kaedama (one guy had 4 kaedama while I was there, sheesh). After the noodles are boiled, they'll plop them into your bowl straight off the strainer.
Jangara is not one of those places you hang out in for long (That's what maid cafes are for, right?). Sit down, get your food, eat, and get out... oh and don't forget to pay on your way out. I should also mention that I don't really recommend taking pictures inside. Back in 1989 my film camera flash went off at the counter and the cook almost tore my head off [
someone had the same experience on flickr]. With digitals it's a lot easier to get away with, but I'm still gunshy.
Now that you've eaten some of the best ramen in Tokyo, you can continue your hunt for figures, manga, and/or electronics. There are several Jangara shops around Tokyo, but I recommend trying the Akihabara shop at least once. At the other locations, they also serve different types of ramen to try. The Harajuku shop would be a good lunch after you've had your fill of cosplay at Yoyogi park.
View Larger Map*Note: Kotteri is the opposite of assari, and it's not unusual to find a 1 cm thick layer of clear saturated fat siting on top of the soup. A true heart attack in a bowl, but oh so delicious.
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