Tour Report on october 14, 2017

Thank you very much for your participation in our tour on October 14. We had 49 guests exceeding our expectation in spite of somewhat drizzling weather. The guests were from North America, Europe, Asia, Australia and Africa which were divided into four groups.  I hope you could enjoy the moment with us and the exciting instant kimono afterwards.

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One of the pleasures of travel is eating delicious food. In Japan there are approximately 32,000 ramen noodle restaurants. Ramen is very popular and considered a national dish. I have never heard anyone who dislikes ramen.
Eight most Tokyo’s representative ramen restaurants join each other in Tokyo Ramen Street in the Yaesu side exit(Basement level) of Tokyo Station. .                                            The origin of ramen is not clear but ‘Rairaiken’ in Asakusa seems to have started in 1910. Before that all noodles are considered brought from China as ramen is the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese characters for Lo-Mein and ramen developed in its unique way in Japan.

So much for the history. Eight ramen restaurants at Tokyo Ramen Street compete each other and are proud of their tastes. The price is identical for about 1,000 yen. Each one has their own originality by using such as beef tongue, pork bone or vegetables. There are two types of ramen. One is the noodles in the broth which is conventional, while tsukemen(dipping noodles) separate the noodles from the broth.
Among these ramen restaurants Rokurinsha is most popular specializing in tsukemen. 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 and eat. The inexperienced can easiy grab the thick noodles with chopsticks and enjoy the chewy taste. One of the merits of tsukemen is to appreciate the materials of the noodles compared with those already mixed with the broth. In the broth is a green onion, a slice of chashu pork and fermented bamboo etc. Wait in the queue, follow the kind staff and order from a vending machine by looking at the photo. No English menue is needed.

The problem is that because it is one of the Tokyo’s famous ramen restaurants, you may likely have to wait in the long queue such as 30 minutes or more. It’s worth the wait though. If you don’t want to wait, you may come in the morning to avoid the long queue since they are open from 7:30am to 11:00pm (except 10:00am-11:00am). Or try the other ramen restaurants at the street. They are also just as good as Rokurinsha with not too long waiting line.

How about joining our tour at the Imperial Palace before or after dropping in at Tokyo Ramen Street?

(Posted by Yoshi)