The weather was comfortable in spring on April 23. We appreciate your participation in our tours in Asakusa and Ueno Park. 37 people kindly joined our tours from Portugal, Germany, Czeck Republic, Israel, India, Malaysia, Singapore, Japan, Australia, Canada, America, Columbia and Argentina. I sincerely hope all of you enjoyed walking with us. Group photos and snapshots are attached so that you can remember the fun we had during the tours.
One of the pleasures of travel is to eat delicious food. Ramen is available in every corner in Japan and perhaps Japan’s most renowned soul food. There are many ramen restaurants in Asakusa and Ueno. When you feel hungry after the tour, I recommend a few conveniently located ramen stores in both places. All of them are popular and may be crowded at the time of rush hours, but even if there is a queue it will move more quickly than you think. It’s worth waiting. Credit cards are not acceptable at the shops.
Yoroiya started the ramen business in 1991 and is now one of the most popular ramen restaurants in Asakusa. Yoroiya boasts traditional shoyu (soy sauce) base and their ramen is topped with char-siu pork (barbecued pork), nori seaweed and a boiled egg. Ramen here is absolutely delicious and you will love it for the rest of your life. Vegan ramen is also available. It’s located on the Denpoin Street, just off the Nakamise Street. The landmark is a doll of one of the five legendary thieves on the roof.
Another recommended ramen restaurant in Asakusa is Tanaka Soba. Tanaka Soba is a countryside ramen based on Kitakata ramen in the Tohoku region. It is made of pork bones soup seasoned with salt sauce and with flat noodles and onion. The taste is simple but is great. It’s one-minute walk from the Tokyo Metro Asakusa Station Exit 1 along the arcade shopping street on the right.
Ueno also has many ramen restaurants. Among them, Ichiran may be one of the best. They started its business in 1960 in Fukuoka, Kyushu and specialize in tonkotsu (pork bones) ramen. They are now expanding domestic and overseas. The noodles are exquisite and delicious topped with slices of char-siu pork and onion.
The good thing is that the taste can be adjustable. For example, if you prefer less spice, you can choose your taste in the order sheet. Each individual seat is secluded by a partition and the ramen is delivered through a slot from the kitchen.
Rokurinsha is another recommended store. They focus on tsukemen, dipping noodles. Cold noodles and warm broth are in the separate bowl. The soup is rich and the noodles are extra thick. Just dip the noodles in the broth. Tsukemen brings out the flavor of each ingredient by separating broth from noodles. Ichiran and Rokurihsa are located almost at the same place right outside of the Yamashita Exit of the JR Ueno Station. It’s a walk of a few minutes from the statue of Takamori Saigo, the last destination of the tour in Ueno Park.
These restaurants in Asakusa and Ueno offer the standard ramen for less than 1,000 yen. The order procedure is simple through a vending machine by looking at the photo except Yoroiya for verbal order. English menu is available in each store. Because the taste is different at each shop, you’ll never get tired of eating ramen. Enjoy ramen as a memory of your visit to Japan.
(posted by Yoshi)