Tabelog ratingMenan Chitose began in Akebonobashi, Tokyo, and reopened in 2021 beside Kazamatsuri station on the Hakone line. Its clear shoyu broth is built from chicken, pork, fish, kelp and shellfish without MSG. It comes with house-made whole-wheat noodles and, as standard, three different cuts of chashu, one of them pink and cooked at low temperature. The shop was selected for Tabelog Ramen Kanagawa "Tabelog 100" in both 2024 and 2025.
The chashu gets the most consistent praise, from foreign and Japanese reviewers alike. Next come the silky noodles and a broth that many drink to the last drop. The tantanmen, and especially the soupless shiru-nashi tantanmen, has devoted fans. Several reviewers name the niku-meshi (chashu rice bowl) as the best thing on the table. Staff are described as warm, and one English-speaking reviewer was helped through ordering.
Some reviewers find the broth too light and lacking punch. The noodles run soft and cannot be ordered firmer. A few found the menma bland, the egg overcooked or under-seasoned, and some chashu cuts slightly tough. One reviewer found the room hot on a summer day.
Reviewers in 2024–2026 paid around ¥950–1,000 for plain ramen, ¥1,100 with egg and ¥1,400 for the egg-and-chashu bowl. The tantanmen cost about ¥1,100, the soupless tantanmen with egg ¥1,200 and niku-meshi ¥300–350. Switching to salt broth added ¥50. Expect to spend ¥1,000–1,500 at lunch; the listing puts typical spend at ¥1,000–1,999 for both lunch and dinner. Reviewers consider it good value: three slices of chashu in a bowl of about ¥1,000 is generous at this level.
- Getting there: 5 minutes' walk (about 260 m) from Kazamatsuri Station on the Hakone Tozan Railway.
- Payment: cash only. Credit cards, electronic money and QR payments are not accepted. You order at a ticket machine, and an English guide is available.
- Booking: reservations are not accepted, so everyone walks in and queues. On weekends 10 or more people line up before the 11:30 opening, with waits of 25–35 minutes. Weekday afternoons and rainy days are quieter. Wait until your whole group has arrived before joining the line.
- Hours: the listing shows lunch on Tue, Wed, Sat and Sun and an evening slot on Thu and Fri. Reviewers report that the evening service was suspended in 2026 and that the shop now opens for lunch only, so check before you go.
- Seats: 15 in total: 8 at the counter, one table for 4 and one for 2. No private rooms, no private hire. Solo diners are welcome.
- Smoking: non-smoking throughout the premises.
- Parking: 8 spaces plus 1 light-vehicle space across the road on the Odawara side (towards Suzuhiro Kamaboko), and 3 spaces in front of the entrance on the Hakone-Yumoto side.
