Tabelog ratingThe owner spent 23 years at the celebrated Shina Sobaya under Sano Minoru, and it shows in the soup. It is a clear tanrei (light, refined) broth that reviewers say is built from three premium chicken breeds, niboshi (dried sardines) and kombu. The setting is less expected: a vintage-American room with guitars on the walls and 50s–60s rock on the stereo, closer to a café than a ramen shop. The shop has been selected for Tabelog's Ramen 100 list five times, most recently in 2025.
Nearly every review praises the soup, and many guests drank the bowl dry. The Special Shoyu (soy-sauce ramen) is the most-ordered bowl. Regulars single out the two kinds of chashu, sliced pork belly and a smoky, ham-like chicken breast, along with the long menma (bamboo shoots) and the silky thin noodles. In summer, the limited cold shio ramen comes topped with a shiso sorbet that melts into the broth, and it drew some of the most enthusiastic comments. Staff are repeatedly described as warm. One lent umbrellas and chairs to people waiting outside.
Fans of rich, heavy ramen sometimes find it too light, or simply a good shoyu ramen. In summer, two reviewers noticed a slight smell on the pork chashu, and the room is poorly cooled. A few felt the price was steep for the toppings, and two said the noodles soften quickly.
Expect to spend about ¥1,100–1,600 per person at lunch or dinner, more than the shop's listed band suggests. Reviewers in 2024–2026 paid around ¥1,300 for the Special Shoyu or Special Shio, ¥1,100 for a plain shio and ¥1,600 for the cold shio special. A large portion cost ¥200 extra, bara-niku gohan (pork-belly rice) ¥380–450, and a side of chashu ¥500. Most reviewers, including some comparing it with Tokyo's best, call ¥1,300 fair for this level of care.
- Getting there: 645 m from JR Hongodai Station, about a 14-minute walk.
- Booking: reservations are not accepted, so this is walk-in only. Write your name on the sheet by the door, then wait nearby. Lunch waits run 15–45 minutes, and evenings are usually quieter.
- Payment: cash only. You order at a ticket machine, so bring small notes. Credit cards, electronic money and QR payments are not accepted.
- Seats: 11, mostly at the counter. There are no private rooms, and the shop cannot be booked for private use. It suits solo diners.
- Smoking: non-smoking.
- Parking: a private lot for 5 cars on the grounds of the pachinko parlour. Head from the shop toward the intersection at the entrance to Heiwa-dori shopping street and turn left; there is a sign. Reviewers say it is free but narrow.
- Children: welcome. Staff provide kids' chairs and utensils.
- Heat: the room gets very hot in summer.
