丿貫 （ヘチカン ） (Hechikan Kannai)

Kannai is an area that I have written about many times because it is saturated with ramen shops. Both chains and independent shops can be found in every nook of Kannai. Hechikan is a popular independent shop only open for lunch. On a rainy weekday holiday I stood in line to try Hechikan's famed anchovy ramen. It's good that there was a line, because across from a soapland, Hechikan looks like someone's home. There is nothing but a wood slab sign, propping open the door, to indicate its existence:

After entering a dimly lit counter seating area you may order from the limited menu. Limited menus are great because it shows that a shop specializes in one or two flavors. I ordered the anchovy ramen with seasoned quail eggs as an additional topping:

Hechikan's soup is a briny mouth of anchovy flavor and a tad too alkaline. The best of the bowl are their deli sliced rare pork, and firm delicious noodles. Pepper would have been a nice addition, but sadly it was missing from the counter. For a brackish broth, but nice noodles Hechikan gets a 3.5/5.

Map and, the shop's personal blog, tabelog, and fb page ;)

らーめん森や (Moriya Hongodai)

Somewhere between Totsuka and Hongodai you will find Moriya. Rated within the top 10 of shops within Kanagawa, is it worth a bus trip?

If a ramen shop could be my spirit animal it would be Moriya. A cozy interior decorated with mushrooms and penguins, yes please. The two person staff is also super friendly and eager to help. I ordered Shoyu Chashuwantonmen. What makes Moriya special are their locally sourced ingredients. Everything they make originates from small farms in the countryside of Japan.

This is a great bowl of shoyu. Wantons were juicy with just the right amount of salt. I found the mushroom to be slightly extraneous, but other than that everything else was in succinct harmony, including a perfect egg. Delectable and smokey base with thin, but not too soft noodles gives Moriya a 5/5. Take the trek, it's worth it.

Map, Moriya's homepage, and the tabelog :D

麺やBar 渦 (Menya Bar Uzu Honkugenuma)

One stop from Shonan beach you will find a top rated ramen shop and bar. Like an oasis rising from an otherwise residential stop on the Odakyu line, Menya Bar appears.

Inside this ramen bar oasis is a friendly relaxed atmosphere offering both bar and table seating as well as a some traditional Japanese seating in the back. A humble ramen shop this is not. Offering imported beer and full dinner and lunch menu options, Menya Bar has something for everyone. On my lunch visit I ordered their current special, a cold soy milk ramen and a beer set.

Their lunch beer set came with 3 small salads: whitebait, maitake and okra, and a spicy tuna salad. All delicious and refreshing. The cold soy milk ramen was topped with cucumber, a tan tan style ground beef, clams, and chili oil. If served warm this might have been a winner, but the congealed ground beef and cold soy milk broth made for a strange unappealing texture and taste. I was determined to try again, and again I did. But this time I wanted their take on shoyu.

Possibly the best chashu that has ever melted in my mouth tops this complex bowl of shoyu. At Menya Bar they use a mixture of chicken stock, sea salt, and two kinds of shoyu to complete a sophisticated unique flavor. Everything else was just right rounding out Menya Bar at a 4.5/5 for a dubious special and a superb staple.

Tabelog, website, and a map :D

道 (Michi Kameari)

On a hot summer morning I visited 道 (Michi) in Kameari, a shop famous for its tsukemen. There was a line down the street and I patiently waited. And waited. For about 2 hours.

The back of the line was allowed to enter and order via their ticket machine. I ordered their basic tsukemen with an egg and got back in line. At least there was a cooler full of all the tea you could drink! Finally I took my seat and watched the chef line up our orders. Their tsukemen is served with a pink shrimp salt, a meat ball, chashu, menma, and negi.

I was sad to see that it was only half of an egg, but oh well. The noodles were a standard thick chewy tsukemen. In fact everything was standard except for the shrimp salt, which was quite a nice addition. Michi is not worth the wait. Take a trip down to Yokohama instead and check out Kuriyama. 3/5

Tabelog, facebook page and a map

地球の中華そば (Hoshino Chuukasoba Isezaki Chojamachi)

This summer I am determined to try the top 10 ramen shops of Kanagawa as listed by tabelog. I have been to number 1 and number 4, but now it's time for number...5. 地球の中華そば  (Hoshino Chuukasoba) in Isezaki Chojamachi roughly translates to Earth of China. My thoughts are that soba is a noodle made of buckwheat and buckwheat comes from the ground. Regardless of the meaning it is number 5 and a must visit for me. If you go be prepared to wait in line. There was already one formed at 11:45 and they open for lunch at 11:30:

However the woman that helps manage the flow of the line is quite friendly and helped me navigate their machine to make sure I got what I really wanted: Tan Tan Men. I waited for my bowl while observing two quiet chefs in a relaxing atmosphere. Soothing music and slurping customers were the only sounds heard at Hoshino Chuukasoba. With a smile from the waitress my bowl was served:

The bowl itself is full of complex flavors starting with black and red pepper and ending in what I believe to be star anise. Not only was the broth a knockout, but so were the noodles, a thin buckwheat perfectly holding the ground meat and spices classic to Tan Tan Men. I have experienced mouth on fire Tan Tan and this is not one of them. It has a high level of spice but there is no numbness or dulling of the flavor due to heat. Finishing an excellent experience was a perfectly gelled and seasoned egg! I would like to return and try their take on shio, which looked equally as delicious. 5/5 

Tabelog and a map :D

Homemade Ramen 麦苗 (Oomori)

There is no avoiding a line at Homemade Ramen in Oomori. Even arriving 15 minutes before they open for dinner there will be people that are waiting before you. Perhaps that's because they only opened 2 months ago and everyone can't wait to try a new ramen shop. A new shop that's already in the top 500? Seems suspect. The first round of customers took about 45 minutes to be served and shortly after that they were already closing for dinner at a count of 23 people. Homemade Ramen is a stylish shop outside and in, decked out with reclaimed wood and rustic decorations complete with earthenware cups and bowls.

Their menu is limited to anchovy shoyu with varying degrees of toppings. Choosing the special (it comes with all the toppings including a wonton) I took a seat. I noticed that despite the shop being well designed otherwise that perhaps they could have used the same attention to detail in the kitchen. Their service was slow because they can only make 3 sets of noodles at a time. As the say patience is a virtue and I waited diligently for my bowl. Finally it was served!

2 cuts of pork, pork loin and pork belly, an egg, a shrimp wonton, ribboned negi, and of course obligatory menma and nori top Homemade Ramen's anchovy shoyu broth. Homemade ramen's real champion are their noodles: straight and firm buckwheat with a nice bite. The cook on the pork loin was quite nice and flavorful but the belly could have used some more heat, as the fat wasn't completely rendered out the way it should be. Standard menma, and what tasted to be somewhat stale negi, as well as an overcooked egg were definite drawbacks. The base was a unexceptional shoyu, and a little too oily for my tastes. Homemade Ramen is not worth the wait or the line even if the atmosphere is nice and the noodles are homemade. 3.5/5

Map, twitter, and tabelog

くり山 (Kuriyama Hakuraku)

Summer time in the Kanto region is rainy, hot, humid, and a perfect time for tsukemen (dipping noodles). The noodles are served cold with a small bowl of dipping soup. There are many shops that serve ramen and tuskemen, but only a few that specialize in tsukemen. くり山 (Kuriyama) in Hakuraku is one such shop. In recent entries I have been visiting places just before they reopen for dinner. I would suggest you try to do that if you want to avoid a long line at Kuriyama. There is something magical about watching a shop open up for dinner. After the lifting of a rolling metal gate and the placement of a rod adorned with tattered flags a ramen shop appears. The shop itself looked like an izakaya turned ramen shop, meaning that the wall between the counter and the kitchen was so high that I was unable to get a great view of the action.

But behind the scenes there is so much happening to make all the bowls of tsukemen!

Over the tall counter came my tsukemen. I ordered extra chashu and an egg from the man that takes the orders outside, which for more popular shops is a really great system. Their menu is minimal between tsukemen or ramen and a few standard additional toppings like menma, chashu, or an egg.

A generous dash of dashi topped my tsukemen soup which I immediately tried. It was rich and porky highlighted by the dashi and is Kuriyama's true hero. The bits of pork cooked with the soup were perfectly tender, but the extra pieces that I had ordered were a little dry. I cracked open the egg which was only slightly overcooked. The finest part of my meal came at the end when you return your soup bowl to the high counter and the chef adds yuzu seasoning and a thin broth. What a delight! For slightly dry pork and an overcooked egg Kuriyama gets a 4.5/5. If I return I will order just tsukemen with no extra chashu or egg because their soup is fantastic all on its own!

Tabelog, twitter, and map ;)

麺や でこ (Menya Deco Shinmaruko)

Located in a sleepy station next to the Tama river, 麺や でこ (Menya Deco) boasts a high ranking amongst lovers of shoyu. Definitely on my list of local shoyu ramen shops to try, I gave it a whirl. The shop is a cozy one featuring high top counter seating with a view to the kitchen and tables for couples enjoying a ramen date together.

After being greeted by their friendly staff I ordered shoyu with an egg.

Menya Deco topped this bowl with shredded menma, thinly sliced negi, a slice of chicken, a slice of pork, a sprig of mitsuba, and my beloved egg. It is apparent that Menya Deco's shoyu is like no other because they craft their own special concoction of shoyu that is delectably smokey. The cook on both meats was fantastic and I even enjoyed the menma! Sadly the egg was slightly overcooked and the noodles were quite basic. For these small crimes Menya Deco gets a 4/5

Links 
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links, and a map!

SHIN Tammachi

If last week was the height in sophistication at Ginza, this week was the height of comfort in Tammachi. Though this area is small, it packs a punch with 4 shops in the top 5000 across Japan according to Tabelog. Well now I have eaten at 3 of them! A few doors down from Ramen Stars, SHIN was the shop I wanted to visit, but was out of what I wanted, and I wanted their famous fried chicken ramen. Their shop also has a tantanmen and a menu constantly changing with new specials. I over heard some regulars talking about a keema curry mazesoba that was supposed to be unveiled this weekend. It seems that SHIN is a local favorite and right before they reopened for dinner there was a line.

I ordered fried chicken ramen and took a seat. Because SHIN makes everything to order there is about a 10 minute wait. Fortunately there is a lot to look at like red and black accessories, framed thank you notes from customers, and a busy chef in their open kitchen.

Watching the preperation of ramen is almost as good as eating it! At SHIN their shoyu consists of oil, shoyu, and stock all made to order with huge hunks of fried chicken or chashu if you want to go that way. The secret to their stock is freshly peeled yuzu, which I noticed being added with the other key ingredients. After watching and waiting I was served:

Freshly fried chicken, an egg, menma, a buried peice of naruto, green onions, and yuzu topped the bowl at SHIN. The cook on their chicken is fantastic, crispy and juicy with well seasoned breading slightly melting into the  base. Their egg was cold, but pre sliced and delicous. Standing out was their stock, highlighted with yuzu to give it a bump of suprising citrus. Their noodles, which I believe to be home made, are a flawless firmness. You can't compare SHIN with Ramen Dream because SHIN is a completely different animal. They are both fantastic and better than Ramen Stars. If pressed to choose I might return to SHIN to check out their ever changing specials. 5/5

Tabelog, Twitter (check to see their specials!), and a map

銀座 篝 (Kagari Ginza)

Ohhhh Ginza, an upscale shopping district that has it all from Issey Miyake to luxury salmon, is also home to a well written about ramen shop: 銀座 篝 (Kagari Ginza). It has been on my list for quite some time and decided it was time to make a pilgramage. Turn a corner from the glitz and you'll find Kagari indicated by a humble "soba" sign:

I arrived about 10 minutes before they reopen for dinner and there was already a small line. Knowing that there were 8 seats I counted the people in front of me and was relieved to see that I would be in their first group of dinner customers. A man came out in a pointed paper hat to usher us into the small wooded interior of Kagari. The man in the paper hat came around to take our orders. Their menu is both outside and on the table, but I knew what I wanted, chicken shio with an egg. We were each given complimentary toasted onions and fresh grated ginger for toppings as we waited in suspense.

Topped with what others have described as seasonal vegetables, this particular season was asparagus, seaweed, bamboo shoots, and what I believe to be the heart of a cabbage. Before adding anything I tried the base. Pure biddy bliss. Creamy and seductive with just a hint of pepper. I added the toasted onions for texture, but they were not needed. Nothing was needed. Chicken breast roasted to perfection and an egg seasoned well. I even thought the asapragus was good and it is not my first vegetable choice. This bowl perfectly emulates its surroundings of designer handbags and shoes by being a unique and perfect bowl of ramen. 5/5

Map and tabelog 

胡心房（こしんぼう） (Koshinbu Machida)

The first year I lived in Japan, I lived in what the Japanese might call inaka, meaning countryside. However I lived close enough to a mini city on the outskirts of Tokyo called Machida. I went there often to go shopping, have a good burger, and to eat ramen. I remember it fondly. One of my favorite memories is when I ate a bowl at Koshinbu. It was before I had developed any kinds of thoughts on what a bowl of ramen should have and it was delicious. Will Koshinbu stand the tests of time? Open since 1998, it better. Located so close to the station that you can see the tracks from their window, Koshinbu has one table, but mostly counter seating with a view of the kitchen.

As usual I ordered ramen with an egg and decided on extra greens for a topping.

If I were to order again I would order the extra chashu and skip the greens. If you want a salad on your ramen go for the greens, but for me the champions of Koshinbu are the base and the chashu. Cut to deli meat thinness, their chashu is off the wall tender and scrumptious. Crack open the egg and mix the soft yolk to make a perfectly creamy bowl of soy milk ramen.

With a grind of pepper you are on your way to a luscious ramen experience. Basic noodles in an otherwise fantastic bowl give Koshinbu a 4.5/5, but it is definitely worth a go!

Links to tabelog, twitter and a map :)

ラーメン星印 (Ramen Stars Tammachi)

Luck is not always on my side as I have discovered with certain ramen shops. Twice in the past month I have had to adjust my plans and go to other shops because I did not arrive before their soup ran out. This happened to me in Tammachi recently when I was trying to go to SHIN. Alas, I had to walk down the street to my 2nd option ラーメン星印 (Ramen Stars). I entered to an interior completely covered in Eikichi Yazawa memorabilia. I was informed that he is the "Bruce Springsteen" of Japan:

While being serenaded I chose the Shio (salt flavor) from the menu on the counter and added an egg. From my vantage point I could watch the chef in action:

A minimal bowl topped with chashu, menma, thinly sliced negi, and a tastless green sprig (probably parsley). As you can see, for a shio it is quite oily. The stars of Ramen Stars were the chashu, which was a perfect soft fatty bite, and their noodles:

The egg, though warm, was slightly undercooked and for a shio it was far too oily. 3/5 Next time I return to Tammachi I am determined to try SHIN. So far this area’s true star is Ramen Dream!!

Tabelog, twitter, and a map!

もりの中華そば (Morinosoba Tsunashima)

This past week was Golden Week. For my friends unfamiliar with Japan, this is a few days in the beginning of May where everyone has off. Well, not quite everyone...hello ramen shops! This gave me a perfect opportunity to check out a place that is only open during lunch hours or until the soup runs out. Sure, I could go on the weekend, but the line was bad enough on a Thursday afternoon during Golden Week:

I had a lot of time to think about what to order, but decided on the 中華そば with an egg. This is just their special bowl of "Chinese Soba".

Pictured after I had taken a few tastes and opened the egg, this is Morinosoba's bowl of shoyu ramen. Topped with egg, negi, chashu, naruto, menma, and nori. Their highlight: the noodles which were the perfect balance between hard and soft while being wonderfully wavy. Morinodoba's chashu is fatty and tender and the egg was almost perfect, but nothing special. Their base is light, but also complex. I finished it all! This is a really nice bowl, but average. 4/5

Links to tabelog and their official site as well as the maaaaap!