Shinjuku is known as a mecca of ramen as there are considerably over 300 ramen restaurants in the area. Shinjuku is one of the most competitive Ramen areas in Japan and every ramen restaurant takes their pride to compete others by their signature dishes. If you are hunting for the best ramen in Tokyo, Shinjuku is the right place!

In this article, I would like to introduce 10 best ramen in Shinjuku chosen by Tokyoite and tourists. So let’s take a look!

1. Ichiran

ICHIRAN Ramen (一蘭) is a Japanese ramen restaurant specialized in Tonkotsu ramen. The fame and popularity of Ichiran are not only big in Japan but also abroad and the shop has over 80 branches across Japan and overseas.

Ichiran’s signature ramen is Tonkotsu ramen served with rich creamy pork broth soup and thin noodle, which is a classic style from Fukuoka prefecture. The bowl of ramen is topped with sliced pork (chashu), chopped green onion and secret spicy red sauce which make a perfect balance in taste.

Ichiran is also known for their unique order system and ramen booth seats. The order tickets are sold at the vending machine and there are order sheets that you can fill up to customize your ramen by choosing hardness of noodles, richness of soup, amount of oil or garlic, etc. The seats in Ichiran are divided individually that is specially designed for customers to focus on the flavour of the ramen.

There are currently three Ichiran stores in Shinjuku area.

-Ichiran Shinjuku Chuo Higashiguchi Store
Map: https://goo.gl/maps/CjUaixmSx3WXquja6
Access: 3 mins walk from Shinjuku Station
Hours: 10:00~6:00 next morning

-Ichiran Kabukicho Store
Map: https://goo.gl/maps/zic1QfWuZRPwYifN6
Access: 5 mins walk from Shinjuku Station
Hours: 24 hours

-Ichiran Nishi Shinjuku Store
Map: https://goo.gl/maps/ZSmTVScEEfM4ZSSS6
Access: 5 mins walk from Shinjuku Station
Hours: 10:00~22:30

Related article: ICHIRAN: the Best Classic Tonkotsu Ramen in Shinjuku, Tokyo

2. Fuujin

Tsukemen (dipping noodle) is a type of ramen dish in Japan which consists of noodles and soup served separately and eaten by dipping noodles in a soup. Tsukemen has gained its popularity in Japan and you can find many restaurants dedicated to Tsukemen nowadays. If you are into ramen, Tsukemen is definitely a must-try dish for a whole new ramen experience.

Fuunji (風雲児) is a highly popular Tsukemen restaurant that attracts gourmands and Tsukemen fans from all over Japan and there is always a waiting queue outside. There are currently three branches in Tokyo and its main store is located in Shinjuku area. Fuunji serves delicious Tsukemen with medium thick noodles and the rich and aromatic soup made with a perfect blend of selected ingredients including domestic chicken and dried fish. Besides the Tsukemen, a regular type of ramen is also available on the menu.

Map: https://goo.gl/maps/LZ2WkVVNBdCg6h7x6
Access: 5 mins walk from Shinjuku Station
Hours: 11:00~15:00/17:00~21:00

3. Menya Musashi

Menya Musashi (麺屋武蔵) is a popular ramen restaurant that opened in Shinjuku area in 1996 and now has over 10 chains in Tokyo. Menya Musashi is a innovative and progressive ramen restaurant, serving a variety of creative ramen including seasonal dishes and special dishes. There are some limited-edition ramens that are served only in some branches.

The classic ramen of Menya Musashi is made with a flavourful “double soup” combining animal broth (chicken and pork) and seafood broth and topped with a generous amount of toppings such as chunks of pork belly and a soft-boiled egg. At Shinjuku store, a wide range of ramen are available on the menu including tsukemen if you wish to try something different than an ordinary ramen.

Map: https://goo.gl/maps/y8Q3hzALb2L79Dvb7
Access: 4 mins walk from Shinjuku Station
Hours: 11:00~22:30

4. Ippudo

Ippudo (一風堂) is a Japanese franchised ramen restaurant specialized in a Hakata style classic Tonkotsu ramen since its establishment in 1985. Like Ichiran, Ippudo took a big part of delivering Japanese ramen culture to the world over the past decades and has many fans across the world. There are over 150 branches in and outside of Japan.

There are two types of ramen served in Ippudo: Shiromaru (white), the original Tonkotsu (pork broth) ramen with thin noodle topped with pork belly, kikurage mushroom, menma (pickled bamboo shoot), red pickled ginger and scallions, and Akamaru (red), the classic Tonkotsu ramen topped with Ippudo’s secret miso paste. In some stores, limited ramen dishes are also available.

Currently, there are two Ippudo stores near Shinjuku Station.

-Ippudo Shinjuku I-Land Tower Store
Map: https://goo.gl/maps/s5w7uMGZUwprCDwM6
Hours: 11:00~22:00 (~16:00 on Saturday and Sunday)

-Ippudo LUMINE EST Shinjuku  Store
Map: https://goo.gl/maps/pft9B8MjnLMD851M8
Hours: 11:00~21:00

5. Niboshi Ramen Nagi

Niboshi Ramen Nagi (煮干ラーメン凪) is a popular ramen restaurant that has numbers of branches in central Tokyo as well as overseas. Nagi’s signature is Niboshi ramen made with Niboshi stock (dried sardine) which gives savory and aromatic flavour. Over 20 kinds of Niboshi are blended to make a perfect taste of the soup to go with their home-made thick noodle. If you want to taste the unique flavour of ramen rather than tonkotsu (pork broth) which is the mainstream of ramen flavour, Nagi is highly recommended!

There are currently three Nagi stores in Shinjuku area and the main store is located in the famous drinking alley, Golden Gai area.

-Shinjuku Golden Gai Main Store
Map: https://goo.gl/maps/vauemM63zWWVzeLR8
Access: 8 mins walk from Shinjuku Station East Exit
Hours: 24 hours

-Shinjuku Golden Gai Bekkan Store
Map: https://goo.gl/maps/BMWTFHF2KwMEg9fB9
Access: 7 mins walk from Shinjuku Station East Exit
Hours: 24 hours (~22:30 on Sunday/7:00~ on Monday)

-Nishi Shinjuku 7-chome Store
Map: https://goo.gl/maps/Yunjw8kq38oz1GJUA
Access: 7 mins walk from Shinjuku Station West Exit
Hours: 11:00~23:00 (~21:00 on Sunday)

6. Sobahouse Konjiki Hototogisu

Sobahouse Konjiki Hototogisu (Sobahouse 金色不如帰)  is an award-winning ramen restaurant that also won a michelin star in 2018, becoming the third michelin starred ramen restaurant in Tokyo. Sobahouse Konjiki Hototogisu uses over 60 selected ingredients to make a perfect bowl of ramen without using artificial seasoning. Three types of ramen are available on the menu at the restaurant: Shio Soba (salt base soup), Soba (soy sauce base soup) and Tsukesoba (dipping noodle) which can be enjoyed with a choice of toppings.  Sobahouse Konjiki Hototogisu is an extremely popular and waiting time could be around 1 hour during the peak time, but it’s totally worth waiting!

Map: http://bit.ly/2WKax40
Access: 2 mins walk from Shinjuku Gyoenmae Station
Hours: Lunch 11:00～15:00/Dinner 18:30～21:00
Closed: Saturday and Sunday

7. Ramen Tatsunoya (ラーメン 龍の家)

Ramen Tatsunoya (ラーメン 龍の家) serves authentic Tonkotsu ramen from Kurume Ciry, Fukuoka. Kurume City is known as the birth place of the classic Tonkotsu ramen with creamy pork broth and thin noodles and it’s one of the most competitive ramen cities in Japan. Their branches are mainly located in Kyushu region and only two of them are in Tokyo.

Tatsunoya keeps the traditional taste of Kurume style Tonkotsu ramen, serving two types of Tonkotsu ramen: Koku (rich) and Jun (light), both are served with original thin straight noodle, creamy and flavourful 100% pork broth soup and a few slices of tender pork belly. If you are fan of classic Fukuoka style Tonkotsu ramen such as ICHIRAN and IPPUDO, Tatsunoya’s ramen is definitely a must-try. Only at their Tokyo branches, Tsukemen (dipping noodle) is available on the menu.

Map: https://goo.gl/maps/XGv57o3mtwxjmeSa6
Access: 7 mins walk from Shinjuku Station
Hours: 11:00～22:00

8. Menya Kaijin

The mainstream of ramen flavour in Japan is rich Tonkotsu taste but if you prefer light and delicate taste, Shio ramen is highly recommeded. The salt base soup is usually prepared with fish or chicken broth. Menya Kaiji (麺屋海神) is one of the best ramen restaurants in Tokyo to taste Shio ramen. Their delightful and aromatic clear soup is made with seafood broth and using bones of freshly delivered fish.  Different kinds of fish are used by day or season, so you can enjoy the different taste of the soup every visit. Their bowl of noodle are topped with two meatballs, shrimp and fish seafoodball and chicken meatball.

Map: https://goo.gl/maps/zaQZXKfnFNpLcrYK7
Access: Short walk from Shinjuku Station
Hours: 11:00~15:00, 16:30~23:30 (Weekday)/11:00~23:30 (Saturday and Holiday)/11:00~23:00 (Sunday)

9. Tokyo Tonkotsu Ramen Bankara

Tokyo Tonkotsu Ramen Bankara (東京豚骨拉麺ばんから) is a popular franchised ramen restaurant that has around 40 branches in Japan and abroad. Tokyo Tonkotsu Ramen Bankara serves a variety of ramen including Tonkotsu, Shoyu (soy sauce base), Miso, Tsukemen (dipping noodle), Dandan Noodle as well as limited-time seasonal dishes. The most popular dish is bold and flavourful Kakuni Bankara (Tonkotsu and Shoyu mix soup) which comes with a big chunk of Kakuni, simmered pork belly.

Map: https://goo.gl/maps/h8Nzxpc1xT5wZw8f8
Access: 5 mins walk from Shinjuku Station
Hours: 11:00~20:00

10. Ebisoba Ichigen

Ebisoba Ichigen (えびそば一幻) is a ramen restaurant originally founded in Sapporo City, Hokkaido. It’s specialized in shrimp ramen that has a very unique but savory and aromatic taste like no other ramen. The rich and savory soup is made with the concentrated shrimp stock by simmering numerous sweet shrimp (ama ebi) shells and the original shrimp oil is added to it in the end. It’s topped with soft-boiled egg and a slice of pork belly as well as shrimp flavoured tenkasu (tempura bits) and powder to maximise the shrimp taste. Two types of noodles (thin or thick) can be chosen as you like.

Map: https://goo.gl/maps/whvo9wNWLNDU6HWa6
Access: 6 mins walk from Shinjuku Station
Hours: 11:00~23:00

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