Ichifuku Shibuya: A Taste of Tokyo Michelin Miso Ramen

by Emily | posted in: Kanto Japan | 0

Last updated on September 14th, 2024

For a bowl of Michelin Miso Ramen, Ichifuku (らぁめん一福) is the best answer. Ichifuku is tucked in a nostalgic back alley in Hatsudai, just minutes away from the buzzing Shinjuku. For over 20 years, Ichifuku has been ladling bowls of miso-based ramen to customers in Tokyo.

Ichifuku Tokyo Michelin Ramen was first celebrated in the Bib Gourmand ramen shop in the Michelin Guide Tokyo 2017. Although it was rewarded in Michelin bib Gourmand guide, Ichifuku Shibuya is still the best local restaurant in the neighborhood, serving its best Tokyo Miso Ramen to locals.

Ichifuku Tokyo Michelin Ramen

Run by a female chef, Ichifuku Shibuya is a homely and Japanese-style ramen shop. It was hiding in the back of Fudo-dori shopping street, yet retains the nostalgia of the Showa era. We arrived in Ichifuku from our Tokyo Hotel at around 11:30 am for our quick lunch. We were so glad that there were only customers were waiting in line. It was almost full when finishing my meal at around 12:30 pm, which is also the peak lunchtime.

Ichifuku Ichifuku (一福) – Tokyo Michelin Ramen
Address: 2-17-14 Honmachi, Shibuya Ward

How To Get to Ichifuku (一福)?

Ichifuku is located in Hatsudai, which is nearby Fudo-dori shopping street, Shibuya. About 10-minute walk from Hatsudai Station on Keio Line

What is the opening hour of Ichifuku Ramen?

The Opening hours are started from 11.30 am to 3 pm or when the ramen runs out.

How much for a bowl of miso ramen in Ichifuku?

The price is ranging from 680 to 1,500 yen for a bowl of Tokyo Michelin Miso ramen in Ichifuku.

Tokyo Hotel Tips: When looking for the best price and the biggest selection of hotels in Tokyo check prices for Tokyo Best Hotel from Booking.com. We found they are the best option and have a great cancelation policy.

As usual, you need to order the food via the ramen kiosk machine located at the entrance of the shop. There is a variety of ramen to choose from. I ordered the classic miso ramen. A non-greasy char siu is good for a stable and gentle soup. A bowl of Michelin-Starred Ramen is only costs ¥750. What’s a bargain!

In addition to Ichifuku’s famed miso ramen, the shop also serves spicy miso ramen, curry rice, and other Japanese local dishes. A great option for those who prefer spicy food.

The Taste of Ichifuku Tokyo Michelin Ramen

Without a long wait, my bowl of Ichifuku miso ramen was served. The miso ramen was topped with 2 slices of firmer charsiew (pork), diced white negi, a sheet of seaweed, and crunchy croutons.

Traditional Japanese Miso Broth

First of all, let’s try the miso broth. The first sip of miso subtly flavored broth might be too overwhelming, but slowly the flavor becomes denser as you take more sips. The miso ramen is the usual miso-friendly soup and doesn’t include any modern touches. In other words, there’s an old-school simplicity to it with a lot of family feeling. Although the broth is tonkotsu (pork bone) based, it is relatively light with less pork lard than there normally would be. Personally, I like it very much. It was not too rich, but the taste was good.

In the end, I finish the whole ramen with an empty bowl!

Roasted Pork Topping

Next, sink your teeth into the roasted pork topping and be amazed by how tenderly cooked it is. The miso ramen from Ichifuku comes with two slices of thick charsiew. You can also enjoy the juicy pork slices together with chewy noodles. A heavenly taste!

Add-on Onsen Egg

Besides, I especially love the add-on onsen egg which cost only 100 yen. It was the truly delicious and best match with the miso broth.

Overall: Ichifuku Tokyo Michelin Ramen

If you’re in Shibuya and look for a bowl of hot ramen, make sure to check out Ichifuku for some tasty miso ramen. As usual, those kinds of Michelin ramen shop is very popular and easily get full. It is recommended to go immediately after the store opens, as it will continue to be full afternoon. The Ichifuku ramen is light and not a heavier type of miso ramen. It is more on the traditional Japanese taste of Miso ramen. We are highly recommended if you love to try on the different types of ramen in Japan.

Just stop by for a satisfying bowl of miso ramen at Ichifuku Shibuya, a Tokyo Michelin Ramen!

Continue Read on

Last but not least, this Tokyo ramen food blog is one of the travel stories in Tokyo. If you are planning on what to do and eat in Tokyo, feel free to read through our Tokyo travel blog:

How To Plan your trip to Tokyo (Must read for first time visitors):

Tokyo Food Blog:

Planning on an easy trip from Tokyo? Here is our travel guide:

Tokyo Best Tsukemen at Chuka Soba Tomita Ramen

Chuka Soba Tomita Ramen: Tokyo Best Tsukemen

by Emily | posted in: Kanto Japan | 0

Last updated on August 4th, 2024

Check out our Tokyo Food Guide Blog: Best Tsukemen at Chuka Soba Tomita Ramen. Probably Japan’s Best ramen in Tokyo, Japan!

Tokyo is a ramen battleground field, where there are too many excellent ramen shops concentrated. Among all the rated Tokyo best ramen, Chuka Soba Tomita (中華蕎麦とみ田) unanimously considered as the No#1 best ramen in Tokyo, or even Japan. It is the most famous shop among all the top ramen shops. Tomita has won the grand prize in TRY (Tokyo Ramen of the Year) for 4 consecutive years and many Ramen tournaments. The award-winning tsukemen is incredibly delicious and word cannot do justice.

A friendly reminder to all the Toyko food hunters. Expected an extremely long waiting time to try the best tsukemen at Chuka Soba Tomita Ramen. But Chuka Soba Tomita Ramen is definitely worth the long wait. If you plan to visit Chuka Soba Tomita Ramen, here are some guidelines to help you on what to do and how to order.

Tokyo Hotel Tips: When looking for the best price and biggest selection of hotels in Tokyo check prices for Tokyo Best Hotel from Booking.com. We found they are the best option and have a great cancelation policy.

Getting To Tomita Ramen

The journey to taste the best Tokyo ramen is a bit time-consuming and hassle. My friend and I got up early in the morning during the weekday to make sure we were at the front of the line. We headed to Matsudo Station, Chiba, Japan from our Tokyo Hotel and arrived roughly at 07:30 am morning. The ticket started to distribute at 8:00 am and glad that we were able to be the first batch of customers to dine in.

Note: Ticket distribution started at 8:00 am during weekdays and 7:00 during weekends. Besides, Chuka Soba Tomita Ramen is open for phone line reservation but probably you can only get to dine in the late afternoon.

How To Order at Tomita Ramen

How To Order at Chuka Soba Tomita Ramen — Vending Machine at Chuka Soba Tomita Ramen

Follow the crowd, we bought the food tickets from their vending machine. Tomita serves both ramen and tsukemen. But the tsukemen (dipping noodles) are the most famous dishes at Tomita Ramen shop. This dry-style ramen required dipping into a delicious sauce (so-called Tsukemen style) and thus was different from your usual soupy ramen that most of us are familiar with.

The food was well organized with labels. Tsukemen was labeled at first and second row in black labels. The most popular combo is the regular Tsukemen (¥1,100) and All Toppings (¥850).

Without hesitant, we both ordered its special tsukemen (特製つけそば) at ¥,1,100 + all topping. It might sound expensive for ramen at about ¥,2,000, but trust me, it is well worth every penny once you saw your bowl of tsukemen.

After we bought the ramen ticket, we were told by the staff that the time to enter the restaurant was noon. The first seating was started at 10:40 am, so make sure you come back at least 15 minutes early. Not too bad of waiting time.

We decided to take a stroll nearby. We come back at 11:30 am and get into the shop on time. When we sit down, the servant immediately served us a glass of cold water.

Inside, the shop only can sit a max of 10 people for the culinary experience. You will see the Tomita-san himself. He has full control over his kitchen to prepare your bowl of Tokyo’s best ramen. The discipline, the cleanliness, and the smell of food.

Once seated, our ordered Tsukemen were served.

Best Tsukemen in Tokyo, Japan

See our bowl of Japan’s best tsukemen. It was truly an outstanding individualistic style of ramen and full of umami flavors. This thick, rich, umami, and savory broth is so incredibly delicious. I loved it so much!

I dipped my firm texture noodles into the fragrant sauce and immediately put them into my mouth. It was heavenly delicious and I loved it so much!

If you get all toppings (特製), you’re treated to a wonderful assortment where you did not disappoint. This includes broiled chicken pieces, slow-cooked pork sliced, excellently fatty pork bits, rolled pork char-siu, and a supremely runny egg. The sliced pork was so mouth-watering and so tender. It just likes melting in my mouth. Distinctive and delicious!

The best part of the tsukemen is pouring the broth into the remaining sauce to become a soup. It tastes so delicious. Truly a ramen feast! We finished the bowl without any soup leftover.

Japan’s No. 1 Ramen (Tsukemen)

Tokyo Food Blog Chuka Soba Tomita Ramen — Our empty bowl of Tsukemen at Chuka Soba Tomita Ramen

Totally, we spend about 5 hours order to taste this marvelous bowl of tsukemen including the traveling time from the Tokyo Hotel via JR train. For sure, Chuka Soba Tomita Ramen (中華蕎麦とみ田) was absolutely worth its good reviews and popularity. The tsukemen is rich but refined flavor, and ultimately divine!

Highly recommended for ramen lovers to taste this Japan’s No.1 Ramen at Chuka Soba Tomita Ramen.

Last but not least, this Tokyo ramen food blog is one of the travel stories in Tokyo. If you are planning on what to do and eat in Tokyo, feel free to read through our Tokyo travel blog:

How To Plan your trip to Tokyo (Must read for first time visitor):

Tokyo Food Blog:

Planning on an easy trip from Tokyo? Here is our travel guide:

Tokyo Transport Guide: How To Get To Tokyo City from Narita Airport:

From Narita Airport To Tokyo: How To Decide Your Best Transport

Hakata Ikkousha Fukuoka: Must Eat Ramen Shop

by Emily | posted in: Kyushu Japan | 0

Last updated on July 24th, 2024

It is such a wonderful experience to try the best Hakata ramen at its original flagship shop, Ikkousha Fukuoka (博多一幸舎総本店). We were more than happy to share our food dining experience in Hakata Ikkousha Fukuoka. Check it out!

Hakata ramen is magical! You absolutely can’t leave Kyushu without tasting the Hakata ramen when visiting Fukuoka. There are so many ramen shops in Fukuoka and some of them are even spreading their special type of ramen around the world. Discovering the Hakata ramen is one of the food adventures when looking for what is the best food in Fukuoka. We taste various Hakata ramen in order to find a good one. This time let us introduce one of the best ramens in Fukuoka, Ikkousha Fukuoka.

The first Hakata Ikkousha is open in 2004 in the local Hakata area by three local ramen enthusiasm. Since then, this was followed by rapid expansion and gaining popularity in Fukuoka before spreading to other parts of Japan and worldwide. Today, Hakata Ikkousha has established about 51 stores worldwide and keep expanding inside and outside Japan, including China, Singapore, Austria, Brazil, and other countries.

Fukuoka Travel Tips: We recommended to stay nearby Subway Station for easy getting around and food hunting. The Hotel WBF Grande Hakata is located in the central location with walking distance from Hakata Station. Open air bath, free drink, spacious room and great value for money. Popular pick in Fukuoka.

Hakata Ikkousha Fukuoka

The popular Hakata Ikkousha Fukuoka (博多一幸舎総本店) is about 5 to 7 minutes walk from Hakata Station. So, it always recommended staying nearby the Hakata station for itinerary planning and food hunting. Hotel WBF Grande Hakata, Miyako Hotel Hakata, The B Hakata are the popular pick in Fukuoka located nearby the Hakata station. In fact, there’s an Ikkousha shop at the Hakata station’s Ramen Street. But we keen to walk along the way to try the tonkotsu ramen at the original flagship store.

Hakata Ikkousha Hakata Main Branch (博多一幸舎博多本店)
Address: 103 Kowa Building, 3-23-12 Hakataeki-mae, Hakata-ku, Fukuoka-shi, Fukuoka-ken
Opening Hours: Daily from 11:00 am to 24:00 am and 11:00 am to 21:00 pm on Sunday.

It was a tiring trip after exploring Kitakyushu and we love to had hot ramen as our late dinner. We walked to the Hakata Ikkousha from Hakata station. It is the brightness liting shop along the street and full of locals to enjoy their ramen even at about 9 pm.

We waited for about 5 minutes before seated at the counter. It was a good idea as we had the opportunity to set the whole operation of how’s the tonkotsu ramen is cook.

How To Order

Before this, we ordered our bowl of tonkotsu ramen at the vending machine. You had to find out how and what to order at the machine at the door. But it is not too difficult and the staff was ready to help you. But we still face some difficulty as we were not sure what to order due to the variety.

The ordering process was simple. Just decide what you want to order, enter the banknote as credit card payment was not available, pressed on the button, and take the food coupon. Next, pass the food coupon to the staff and you just need to ready for your Hakata tonkotsu ramen. That’s it!

Waiting For The Best Hakata Ramen

Preparing ramen in Hakata Ikkousha — Chefs preparing ramen in Hakata Ikkousha

In the end, we decided to order the Hakata Ikkousha’s best seller with extra pork slides, served with Ikkousha’s specially prepared extra pork slices topped on the noodle bowl.

While waiting for our order to arrive, we can enjoy and see the master chefs busy preparing the ramen. They were happy and love what they do.

Condiment - Hakata Ikkousha Fukuoka — Condiment – Hakata Ikkousha Fukuoka

There was garlic, Takana, and ginger ready on the table. You may customize the flavor if you think the pork broth is too strong for you. For me, I prefer to add extra garlic into my ramen.

The Taste of Hakata Ikkousha Ramen

Pork Bone Broth - Hakata Ikkousha Fukuoka — Pork Bone Broth – Hakata Ikkousha Fukuoka

Without a long wait, our bowl of Hakata Ikkousha ramen was served. Take the first sip of the pork broth. Amazing! It was thick and creamy pork bone broth with microfoam bubbles of rendered pork fat. It was seasoned with Fukuoka’s soy sauce and fish stock, which adding some sweetness taste to the tasty broth. Truly heaven in a bow!

Thin Noodles - Hakata Ikkousha Fukuoka — Thin Noodles – Hakata Ikkousha Fukuoka

Next, for the ramen, it was thin, firm, and perfectly cooked. You can also order extra noodles and they will serve separately in a small bowl. Just add to your hot broth when you are ready.

Not forget to mention the soft-boiled egg. It was perfectly cooked and absolutely delicious.

Pork Slides - Hakata Ikkousha Fukuoka — Pork Slides – Hakata Ikkousha Fukuoka

While the thinly sliced pork slides were excellent with a fresh strong flavor. You wouldn’t regret it if ordered the extra pork slides. The meat was generously topped on the bowl by paying an additional extra. You will be impressed by the extra pork slides that served across the ramen bowl. It was still slightly under raw when it was served and slowly heating up by the hot broth so that it will not overcook. Amazing!

The Best Fukuoka Ramen

Overall, it was satisfying dining in Hakata Ikkousha Fukuoka. We love the food quality, dining environment, service, and price tag. There are an enormous variety of qualities of Tonkotsu Ramen available in Fukuoka, Hakata Ikkousha Fukuoka probably one of the ramens that give the authentic taste of tonkotsu ramen. Unlike the famous Ichiran chain store, Hakata Ikkousha doesn’t have many tourists where you can try the food like a local. We would recommend Hakata Ikkousha if you are looking for the authentic Fukuoka best ramen.

If you are still not sure where to look for the best ramen in Fukuoka, check out our ramen food blog below:

Lastly, this Fukuoka food blog is part of my Fukuoka travel blog post. Read on my Fukuoka travel blog below if you need some idea to plan on your itinerary, things to do and see, best food to eat. Happy travel to Fukuoka.

How To Plan Your Kyushu Itinerary: Ultimate Guide

For Kumamoto and Mt Aso travel blog:

Onsen paradise Kurokawa Onsen, Yufuin, Beppu travel blog:

AWOMB Kyoto: An Unique Teori Sushi Dining Experience

by Emily | posted in: Kansai Japan | 0

Last updated on September 14th, 2024

For a culturally immersing dining experience, we highly recommended AWOMB Kyoto for handwoven Teori sushi. An original dish created by AWOMB.

Tucked away in a little side street off of Kyoto’s main center, there is an pilgrimage to a Zen retreat restaurant in foothill of Kyoto. AWOMB is a minimalist, artistist, and chef-owner designer studio, offering the traditional and modern twist of sushi. The sushi is being presented in a deconstructed artful way for a culturally immersing experience.

Why it was so overwhelming and grasp the heart among all the locals and visitors? Well, picture speak it. The entire dining experience at AWOMB Karamasu Honten was truly unique and something you can’t experience anywhere else. When you visit Kyoto, why don’t you stop by AWOMB Kyoto to experience it?

Table of Contents

Reservation For AWOMB Kyoto

Apparently, there is a total of 4 shops in Kyoto. We visited the AWOMB Karasuma Honten, which located about 30 minutes away from downtown. Take note that different reservation policies for each AWOMB shop and may change from time to time. Be sure to book in advance, as very limited table capacity. The good news is AWOMB Kyoto now accepts the online reservation.

For AWOMB Karasuma Honten, the reservation was only acceptable for lunch serving from 12 pm to 1:30 pm. While the reservation is open two months in advance, we had made a decision to confirm booking once our Kyoto itinerary sorted out.

AWOMB Karasuma Honten (Online Reservation)
Address: 189 Ebanagicho, Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto-shi, Kyoto
Telephone number: 050-3134-3003
Operating hours: Lunch 12:00-14:00 LO, Dinner 18:00-20:00 LO
Closed: No holiday

Kyoto Travel Tips: When looking for the best price and biggest selection of hotels in Kyoto check prices for Kyoto Best Hotel from Booking.com. We found they are the best option and have a great cancelation policy. We recommended staying nearby Kyoto station for easy getting around. The Daiwa Royal Hotel Grande Kyoto is in a great strategic location with 5 minutes walk from Kyoto Station. Great sized room, and tons of restaurants and shops within walking distance.

Getting to AWOMB Karasuma Honten Kyoto

From our hotel, Daiwa Royal Hotel Grande Kyoto, we took the train to Shijo Station and walked to the AWOMB Kyoto. It was about 7 minutes walking distance to the shop.

The AWOMB Karasuma Honten is located in a residential neighborhood. It was renovated from the traditional Japanese home layout into a clean Japanese-style relaxing space as part of their decoration. The interior was very sleek and minimalist, with beautifully lit bare concrete.

After confirming the reservation, we were kindly asked to take off our shoes to enter the shop and were seated promptly. Make sure the full party to be there, else you can’t get seated. We were seated on the first floor with a big garden in front where we can enjoy our lunch while looking out to all the greenery in the garden.

How To Order

AWOMB is offering three grade of roll sushi, which is standard, high, and supreme Teori sushi platter. The difference is only the amount of obanzai that change each month, depending on the season. The standard comes with 12 kinds of obanzai at ¥1,680, High with 13 kinds of the obanzai at ¥2,340, and Supreme with 15 types of the obanzai at ¥2,970.

We will only give a single option to book for the Supreme Platter during reservation. We were happy to accept it as this is what we planned to dine in AWOMB Kyoto. Take note that the price is without tax consumption. Moreover, additional vinegar rice and seaweeds are available with extra charge.

Making Your Own Teori Sushi

The way of how to make a roll sushi is introduced on the top of the menu. But no worry. A friendly server will show you how to make it, so just relax and enjoy your meal.

First of all, place the seaweed to the sunoko prepared at the shop and spread a thin layer of vinegar eyes on the seaweed. Nexy, put your obanzai on it and roll it.

Honestly, we were facing the difficulty to wound the obanzai into sushi roll due to the larger size compared with the size of seaweed. So we ended up rolled it into triangle roll which look much more beautiful. But, well, this is handwoven sushi experience and you’re freely to DIY and make your own Teori sushi according to your desire.

Handwoven Teori Sushi

AWOMB Kyoto Must Try Food — Handwoven Sushi from AWOMB Kyoto

The AWOMB Karasuma Honten is the origin of hand-woven sushi. It was a new kind of sushi-style called tengiri-zushi that has a unique artistic twist to it.

The food that we had at AWOMB Karasuma Honten was called “Handwoven Sushi. It was the Supreme set with 15 types of fresh local obanzai, where you can roll your own sushi with nori (seaweed), obanzai, and rice with your own choice.

The obanzai and condiments were served in a beautifully arranged tray for you to make your own sushi. It was so beautiful on the plate when served and satisfy our eyes and palates as well. From pre-prepared fish sashimi to pickles and fruit-style dessert-style obanzai, you can feel the impact that a colorful obanzai comes out of the plate. Truly an eye feast!

The soup that comes together with obanzai is surprisingly good. Light taste and not overwhelming to the main dishes.

The taste of the handwoven sushi was delectable while the ingredient was truly fresh and high quality. It was truly a treat and exciting fun sushi making experience.

AWOMB: A Must Try Food in Kyoto

All in all, we had a lot of fun making our own DIY handwoven sushi in AWOMB Kyoto. It has deconstructed the famous Japanese cuisine and placed every single piece, one by one, in front of you to enjoy in your own sushi masterpiece.

We must admit, the portion of food is quite little and not enough for a big eater. But we truly enjoy the fantastic sushi making experience in AWOMB Kyoto. Treat this more on the experimental dining experience and you won’t be disappointed!

Lastly, hope you guys find this Kyoto food post is helpful when looking for what to eat in Kyoto. Leave a comment if you have any questions or help needed. Feel free to also check out my other Kansai Japan Travel Post if you are heading to Kansai region.

Kyoto itinerary: 15 Things To Do and Eat for 3 Days in Kyoto

Kyoto Accommodation Guide: Where to Stay in Kyoto (Tips For Your Best Stay in Kyoto)

Related Kyoto Food Blog: Top 7 Must Eat Food in Kyoto

Blog Full

Ichifuku Tokyo Michelin Ramen

The Taste of Ichifuku Tokyo Michelin Ramen

Traditional Japanese Miso Broth

Roasted Pork Topping

Add-on Onsen Egg

Overall: Ichifuku Tokyo Michelin Ramen

Continue Read on

Getting To Tomita Ramen

How To Order at Tomita Ramen

Best Tsukemen in Tokyo, Japan

Japan’s No. 1 Ramen (Tsukemen)

Hakata Ikkousha Fukuoka

How To Order

Waiting For The Best Hakata Ramen

The Taste of Hakata Ikkousha Ramen

The Best Fukuoka Ramen

Reservation For AWOMB Kyoto

Getting to AWOMB Karasuma Honten Kyoto

How To Order

Making Your Own Teori Sushi

Handwoven Teori Sushi

AWOMB: A Must Try Food in Kyoto