Ramen is probably one of the most prolific dishes to come out of Japan thanks to Momofuku Ando’s work in developing a portable instant version that’s now enjoyed all around the world. It’s easy to see why it’s so good – a heart, savoury broth and chewy, slurpy noodles, hours of love and care resulting in a rich and flavourful gastronomic experience at a very reasonable price point. Ramen, like pretty much any noodle dish around the world, is not restricted by class – one bowl in Japan will set you back only around ¥800-1,500 (US$6.50-12), and there’s a handful in every neighbourhood, offering anything from the fattiest, salty pork broths to lighter, clear chicken soups, and everything in between.

There are regional variations of ramen, different seasoning bases, different meats used for stock… To get an understanding of just how varied this one humble noodle dish is, the Japanese manga comic Miss Koizumi Loves Ramen Noodles (ラーメン大好き小泉さん) is based on the whims of a schoolgirl named Koizumi whose obsession with ramen results in her pursuit to try the most unusual styles, including a pineapple shrimp ramen and a tomato ramen, with most of the stores featured in the manga existing in real life.

However, with true Japanese-style ramen now becoming much more commonly found all around the world, it makes the hunt for ramen in Japan all the more important. The question becomes, what kind of ramen would be worthwhile to eat in Japan? Would the traditional tonkotsu pork broth – the standard ramen found in ramen restaurants overseas – be significantly better in its home country? Is it worth travelling 45 minutes by train to the outer fringes of Tokyo to try a ramen shop hailed by one internet publication as the best ramen in all of Japan? Or, better yet, is the Michelin Guide, possibly the most well-known hospitality guide, the authority to turn to for the best ramen experience? To that, we say – kind of.

Michelin Guides

The Michelin Guide first started in 1904 by the French tire company Michelin as a free brochure, as a means of recommending restaurants and hotels, as well as car mechanics and petrol stations for the touring motorist. Ironically it wasn’t until 1920 when Michelin began to charge people for the guide books that they were taken much more seriously, and then in 1936 the rankings that are still used today was formally established. One star meant a very good restaurant in its category, two meant it was worth a detour, and three meant it was worth taking a trip for. The rest is history, with restaurants all over the world now being recognised in the Michelin Guide, all of which can now be found on the Michelin Guide website.

The judging process behind the Michelin Guide continues to be an elusive one, with its fair share of controversies ranging from elitist favouritism of celebrity chefs to prejudice against cuisines that are not French or French-aligned. Michelin was called out as favouring Japan, the country with the second-highest number of 3-Michelined restaurants (behind France), as a potential marketing ploy to gain favour in the Japanese market. Michelin stars also come with a certain reputation to them, which has also seen some restaurants actively rejecting the title of Michelin-worthy due to the expectation and pressure that comes with it. The presence – or loss – of a star can drastically change the course of an eatery; it can make or break not only the restaurant, but the chef behind it as well.

As with any form of judging, the Michelin Guide is a complex system, and should really only be viewed as that – a guide – and taken with a grain of salt. With that being said, it is undoubtable that the restaurants that have been named in the Guide are, in one way or another, exceptional, and despite our budget-conscious style of travel our interest-driven itinerary planning would not pass up an opportunity to visit an establishment worth of a Michelin star if it’s virtually the same price as visiting the ramen shop down the road.

Michelin Ramen and Cup Ramen – the Cheaper Fine Dining and its Even Cheaper Versions

In June 2019, which was our time of visit, there were 3 ramen establishments with Michelin stars, all based in Tokyo. Not too long after the first ramen restaurants were awarded with Michelin stars came the release of instant cup ramen noodles based off of the headliner dish, which quickly became the talk of Japanophiles all over the world looking to take home a little bit of that dining experience. We weren’t satisfied choosing one over the other. With Michelin-starred ramen being not too different in price from a standard bowl of ramen back home in New Zealand, and easy access to convenience stores all over Japan well-stocked with these offerings, we were keen to experience both, and to determine whether it’s worth going for one experience over the other.

Tsuta (蔦)

Tsuta is home to the world’s first Michelin-starred ramen back in 2016, an achievement it continues to boast on its website (for good reason!) despite the loss of its only star in 2020. We’ll never know whether that would have deterred us from trying their ramen back in 2019, but nonetheless we were keen to try what made this ramen worthy of such an accolade in the first place. Tsuta was established in 2012, after Executive Chef Yuki Onishi discovered the world of dining outside of Japan in his work in luxury fashion, returning to follow in the footsteps of his father, who owned a ramen restaurant, to create ramen that Japan could be proud of.

Though that may be a point of contention to some, for us it is indisputable that he achieved just that exactly; the menu has expanded since our 2019 visit and heavily features locally-sourced ingredients, and includes spicy ramen, chicken ramen, and seafood ramen, a variety that isn’t offered to nearly the same extent in the other Michelin ramen restaurants. They have also since moved to a bigger location in Shibuya and expanded to add branches in Singapore. We can only speculate, but it is perhaps their rapid expansion could have been a factor in the loss of its star, but that is really only as good a guess as any.

This system may have changed since our visit, but Tsuta’s lunch service relies on a ticketing system that requires diners to book a time slot for lunch by queueing at the door during opening and paying a ¥1,000 (US$8) deposit (the deposit is returned when you return for your booked time slot). Even if you are back in time for your chosen time slot you must still queue if there are diners in the restaurant, which means you may not eat until well into your chosen time slot. Whether this system still exists is beyond us, as they seem to have increased dining capacity since our visit in 2019, but you can now make a reservation on their Japanese website.

The Ramen

The main dish in Tsuta is a soy sauce-based pork broth. We also ordered the salt-based broth. Both came with straight noodles and had an exceptionally light, clear broth with only a slight sheen of oil sitting on the surface of the ramen broth. The ramen is served with warm or room temperature water rather than iced as is typical, as to prevent the coagulation of fat for a less-greasy experience.

Ramen will never be a health food, but the care taken in providing a lighter meal is evident in Tsuta’s approach to this normally very heavy meal. Despite the broth being so clear, it is rich in flavour with almost a sweet, toasty savouriness from the soy sauce and truffles, and just enough salt in the seafood-based salt ramen. Tender pork, chewy noodles, soft-boiled egg; this ramen takes the quintessential standard pork ramen and reduces it all down to barest minimum of flavour and texture: clean, light, and thoughtful. It’s certainly not for those looking for the greasy late-night drinking food, but to experience the best of Japanese culinary arts.

The Instant Ramen

Tsuta (at least, back in 2019) had a cup noodle for its salt broth ramen (¥213; US$1.70) and a bowl noodle for its soy sauce based ramen (¥278; US$2.20), both 7-Eleven exclusives. Cooking instructions for the cup ramen is to remove the sachet from the lid, peel the lid back halfway, pour hot water to the line then close the lid back over, heating the sachet on top of the lid. After 4 minutes, peel the lid off and add the seasoning sachet, mixing well. The noodles for the cup ramen are curly, and have that distinct floury texture of an instant noodle, and a saltier, much less complex flavoured broth. Despite that, what flavour was present was definitely aligned to the rich, pork tastes of the original Michelin-starred ramen. Of all of the instant noodles we agreed that this cup ramen was distinctly different quality; it was still delicious, and a good way to know what the salt flavour ramen tastes like, though you’re getting a significantly different experience than in the restaurant itself.

The soy sauce broth ramen had a similar cooking process: peel the lid back halfway, remove the seasoning sachets, add the dried vegetables into the bowl, add water to the line, replace the lid and heat the other seasoning sachets on the lid as the noodle cooks for 5 minutes, peel the lid off, add the seasoning sachets, then mix through. The texture of these noodles were better than the cup ones, with a springier and less floury texture despite a longer cooking time. The flavour of the soy sauce broth seemed less artificial to us compared to the cup version, and had some of the toasty, savoury flavours that the original Tsuta bowl had.

The bowl ramen is definitely closer to the original, though similarly to the cup lacked a certain depth in flavour, though it is certainly not bad. Both are worth getting, though if you only had the option of one, the bowl ramen is better. If you really want to go one step further, it may even pay to purchase the ramen kit at the Tsuta restaurant or online, which may be even closer to the original itself.

Ramen Atelier Nakiryu (創作麺工房 鳴龍)

Nakiryu is an excellent example of how varied ramen in Japan can be. Most people don’t realise that ramen is derived from Chinese lā miàn (拉面) noodles, and that the famous Chinese dàndàn noodles (担担面) are also enjoyed all throughout Japan in the form of tantanmen (担々麺). The original Chinese version hails from Sichuan, and consists of noodles with minced pork, chilli oil, and sometimes preserved vegetables in a spicy sauce or broth. Versions overseas now often include sesame or peanut sauce. The Japanese version consists of noodles sitting in a spicy sesame soup with pork mince, though we’ve also tried a delicious soupless version in Hiroshima.

Nakiryu have dedicated themselves to the craft of ramen noodles, and in particular, Japanese-style tantanmen, and have (as of 2022) retained their one Michelin star since they were first awarded it back in 2017. Their system is as simple as it gets: first come, first served, with orders being placed on a typical Japanese ticketing machine. Make sure to come in early especially during high season, as the restaurant is not all that large.

The Ramen

Once again they have a limited menu and you’re required to order (at least) one bowl of ramen per person so we went for the soy sauce ramen and the tantanmen, but really the tantanmen is the star of the show. Don’t get us wrong – the light soy sauce pork ramen is as incredible as ramen can be, but it is most definitely overshadowed by its sexier friend. While tantanmen that we can order in New Zealand typically come in a very rich, thick, miso-based pork broth, we were surprised to find that Nakiryu’s version comes in a clear, dark soup with a layer of fat on the top that melts into the broth and mixes through as you eat. The noodles are very thin and very firm – some would argue undercooked – though this allows for the noodles to soften in the broth as you eat without bloating or becoming too soft, and is actually our preferred method of ordering noodles if they’re thin.

The ramen was absolutely delicious, and of the restaurants we visited likely the closest to a layman’s ramen because of the richness of the added fat. Despite that, the ramen was far from greasy, with a rich flavour of sesame and a toasty flavour from the added peanuts. The soup was an appropriate level of salty and spicy – warm without burning – and clung to the thin noodles with almost sauce-like quality. The tantanmen was definitely the easiest to enjoy without having to think too much about each component of the dish. All in all, despite its Michelin status, Nakiryu felt the most accessible, with a simple way of running and just good, affordable food.

The Instant Ramen

Despite Tsuta being the first Michelin star, it seems that Nakiryu’s instant ramen is more popular and well-known. Also a 7-Eleven collaboration, the bowl noodles are a reasonable ¥278 (US$2.20) and can be found pretty much all throughout Japan. Their cooking method however is a little more complicated: peel back the lid halfway and remove all the sachets, add in the powder sachet (粉末), add hot water up to the line, close the lid and place the remaining sachets on top to warm up as the noodles cook for 3 minutes, loosen the lid, add the liquid soup (液体), mix well to loosen the noodles, then add the last paste seasoning sachet. Don’t mix this in, as it is meant to imitate the floating fat in the original ramen and will mix in as you eat.

Just like how Nakiryu’s tantanmen is easily enjoyed by many people, the bowl ramen is the same: good, quick noodles that are surprisingly very similar to the original. Though it obviously lacks some of the components of the original such as the toasted nuts, it still has a rich, savoury soup, the thin, firm noodles, the same level of spice, and flavourful scallions. This was Jos’ favourite of the lot because of how basic and obviously delicious it is, and definitely worth taking home a couple to enjoy the taste of Japan or sharing with friends as a very reasonably-priced souvenir.

Sobahouse Konjiki Hototogisu (SOBAHOUSE 金色不如帰 新宿御苑本店)

Konjiki Hototgisu was established in 2006 as a ramen shop focusing on domestic ingredients and seafood, and making each component of their dishes instore. They were consistently featured as a Bib Gourmand restaurant on the Michelin Guide, an award given to restaurants with excellent food at affordable prices, from 2015-2018 before finally earning its first star in 2019 which it has retained since (as of 2022). The tiny 10-seater restaurant operates on a first-come-first-served basis with a designated rope system for queueing, so you can expect to wait a fair amount of time. They also have fairly strict rules of not filming or photographing anything but the food itself, so be mindful of this lest you want to receive a sharp word of warning from the staff.

The Ramen

Konjiki Hototogisu has one of the smallest menus of the ramen restaurants we’ve visited, consisting of a salt ramen, a soy sauce ramen, a dipping tsukemen, and some side dishes. We ordered one each of the salt and the soy sauce, and it was clear from the get-go how much more emphasis they have on seafood as we received our bowls. The salt ramen uses clams in the broth, which you can smell immediately, as well as a seafood-based dashi stock consisting of fish, dried bonito flakes, and seaweed. The clams lighten and brighten the flavour of the soup, though it should be said that the salt ramen was the saltiest of broths compared to the other Michelin ramen we ate.

The soy sauce broth ramen was richer in flavour thanks to the duck and mushrooms in the soup in addition to the seafood-based dashi. The combination of soy sauce, truffle, and porcini mushrooms added earthiness and sweetness to create a balanced bowl of ramen noodles that left us coming back for more.

The Instant Ramen

We only found the salt ramen as an instant version but they were pretty common throughout Japan, produced by Sanyo Foods. It’s honestly unclear as to whether the product is still being manufactured, as there’s been no hint of it since 2019, so we consider ourselves fortunate to have the opportunity to try it. You can now purchase a ramen kit from Konjiki Hototogisu on their online site, but because of their fresh ingredients it’s not recommended to take home as a souvenir. One bowl of their instant ramen will set you back around ¥258 (US$2.00). To make up a bowl peel the lid back halfway, remove the seasoning sachets, add in the 2 packets of dried ingredients, pour hot water to the line, replace the lid and heat the remaining sachets on top of the lid, allow the noodles to cook for 4 minutes, peel back the lid, loosen the noodles, then pour in the remaining sachets and mix everything in well.

Oddly, the Konjiki Hototgisu instant ramen has a scent of coconut, like a coconut curry might, though this isn’t present in the flavour. Instead, there’s a nice savoury mix of seafood and mushrooms, and a nice chewy noodle texture that is arguably better than the other instant ramens we ate. Oddly, we found the taste to be very different to the bowl that we ate in-store, though this could have been due to any different number of reasons, such as the time between when we ate the real bowl and when we ate the instant bowl, a change in menu items or ingredients to suit seasons or availability in the restaurant, or that we simply ate the wrong menu item at the restaurant. Another delicious instant ramen, without a doubt, though also the least like its Michelin-starred counterpart. However, don’t let that stop you from trying this out if you encounter it, as it is a different experience to typical instant ramens.

Ramen Yamaguchi (らぁ麺やまぐち)

When we visited Japan in 2019 there were only 3 Michelin-starred ramen shops, all of them in Tokyo, but there are also a number of ramen shops also recommended by the Michelin guide awarded with the Bib Gourmand, much like Konjiki Hototgisu prior to their star. Ramen Yamaguchi based in Shinjuku was one of them (we say “was” as they do not appear to be on the list as of writing this in 2022), and having spotted (and purchased) an instant version of Ramen Yamaguchi’s signature chicken ramen, we decided to add it to the list and drop by for a visit. Traditionally, Japanese ramen is made from pork bones and is commonly considered a very rich and fatty meal. Ramen Yamaguchi, on the other hand, went the lighter route, creating a broth 100% from 3 different types of local chicken and no other protein.

The Ramen

The standard ramen comes with just noodles, broth, a couple of slices of meat, and some bamboo shoots, but we recommend upgrading to include wontons as well, as they seem pretty popular. The soup, despite being very light, is deep in flavour, with notes of caramel as if they had roasted the bones. The flavour only builds as you drink more soup, making it extremely moreish, and as it’s not as salty as some ramen can be we found ourselves continuing to drink the soup even after all the noodles were gone. We decided also try the tsukemen cold dipping noodles as our second dish, which came with a concentrated broth that had a touch of vinegar and thicker, chilled noodles, which is a light, refreshing alternative for those who aren’t looking for a heavy, warm soup noodle. Ramen Yamaguchi also have a number of seasonal menu items, which all seem delicious.

The Instant Ramen

Though we found the instant ramen for the Michelin starred restaurants pretty much all over the country, we found that Ramen Yamaguchi’s much, much less frequently – in fact, in only 2 convenience stores in the whole duration of our month in Japan – a Lawson’s in Nara, and a Daily Yamazaki in Hiroshima for ¥248 (US$1.95). This ramen is produced by Myojo Foods, though they do not appear to be making it any more. The method is similar to the other instant ramen: peel back the lid halfway, add the dry vegetable and meat sachets, add hot water to the line, replace the lid and place the other seasonings on top of the lid to warm through, let sit for 4 minutes, remove the lid, add the remaining soup sachets, mix well, then enjoy.

Like the original, there is a smell and flavour of roast chicken, despite a cheap, instant smell, and a nice chewy noodle. The wontons are tender and despite having little to no filling there’s a flavour of ginger. Once again, it’s not the same as the original bowl, but the components that you can taste in the instant version imitates the original closely, making for an elevated dining experience on a very small budget. This was Noms’ favourite of the Michelin eateries we visited.

In all, it was consistent amongst the ramen and instant ramen that we ate that the instant version was far from the quality of the original, though the components in terms of smell, flavour, and texture, closely followed that of the originals. This is, by no means, a bad thing, as there are limitations in terms of food science and processing to produce something of such a quality in large scale, and at such a reasonable price. We won’t hesitate to recommend the instant versions as they are a cheap, accessible, and fun souvenir to take home to share the Japanese dining experience with family and friends, and even if they obviously won’t be as good as the originals, they’re all damn delicious.

With that being said, we come back to the question: is it worth going out of your way and spending time to visit a Michelin-starred ramen shop? We would argue that it depends on how much you want to try the originals. We won’t pretend that we understand Michelin’s elusive scoring system but as we understand, it’s based on the quality, care, and consistency of the ingredients to create a final product that is unlike any other, but that’s really where Michelin stars become tricky.

What is good to the Michelin judges may be completely different to how a dish will be received by the average person. Ramen, for many people, is a comfort food, familiar because of that fatty, slurpy, salty bowl of noodles enjoyed in a friendly neighbourhood atmosphere, which is so different from the experience you’d encounter at a Michelin that it’s difficult to say whether the Michelin experience could really be enjoyed by anyone. Truly, we do not believe that a Michelin is for everyone, simply as the dining experience is so far removed from that homey feeling, that if a light, clear, seafood-based broth is not what you’re expecting, or craving, then it’s hard to say whether it would be worth waiting maybe hours for.

This is not to say that Michelin ramen isn’t good; even as we see a loss in Tsuta’s star, we would be confident that the food remains extraordinary, and maybe even unchanged from its so-called former glory to our palates, which are likely nowhere near as sensitive as a Michelin judge’s. We’ve also seen the rise of yet another Michelin ramen shop called Hachigou since our 2019 visit (first awarded in 2022 following speculations since it was awarded a Bib Gourmand in 2020), which we don’t doubt is an entirely different and delicious experience as well. That being said, we encountered a whole number of different ramen shops in Japan, ranging from a pork-free chicken and beef ramen in Kobe (Minatoya, since closed) to a duck ramen in Osaka (Moeya Mensuke), that were all equally enjoyable though in completely different ways, and that it is difficult to believe that there is a one-size-fits-all ramen shop that everyone can enjoy. Go if you have time to spare, if you have curiosity as a foodie, with not only an empty belly but also an open mind. If not, then a good bowl of more traditional ramen, or even an instant cup from the convenience store, is likely just around the corner.

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