Breakfast ramen is rare in Japan outside of a handful of cities, which is what makes Chuukasoba Taiga (中華そば 大河) in Nagoya worth seeking out.

Some ramen bowls stay with you because of the broth. This one stays with me because of the noodles — ultra-thick, hand-made, somewhere between udon and ramen, with a chew I haven’t found anywhere else in Tokyo.

Sansanto ramen in Higashi-Jujo serves a top mix-style bowl, but only for a short window each evening. Here’s how it stacks up against Kisso and Kokaibo.

Men Louis serves clear chicken-and-seafood shio and shoyu ramen near Shinagawa Station, in a retro yokocho that turns izakaya at night.

A mild, sweet white miso ramen with chewy noodles and fatty chashu at Maru Chuka Soba, a neighborhood ramen shop near Oimachi Station in Shinagawa.

Momonoki Shinjuku is a tsukemen shop near Shinjuku Gyoen serving a refreshing back fat and ginger dipping ramen, with flat noodles and a salad on top.

A review of Mensouan Sunada in Sugamo — clean Shirakawa-style shoyu ramen, a massive dumpling bowl, and an all-counter-seat setup worth knowing about.

Inside Niboshimania in Kamata, where niboshi ramen styles rotate daily — from a clean, bright bowl to a smoky, sweet-finishing heavier one.

A tiny ie-kei ramen shop in Nakano with a creamier, Musashiya-style broth — great ramen, brisk service, and a spot worth knowing about.

Tokyo Ramen Styles Ramen's roots are Chinese, but Tokyo is where it became what most people now picture when they hear the word "ramen". Rairaiken served the first shoyu ramen here in 1910, and the city's been reshaping the dish ever since — which is exactly why Tokyo ramen styles range as far as they do today.I've eaten through this city's bowls for years, and one thing that's kept it interesting: these styles didn't develop as one thing leading to the next. They're closer t

Clam ramen is rare even in Tokyo. Here's how Mikawa in Shimokitazawa handles it, and how the shio and shoyu bowls compare.

A visit to Nishi-Eifuku Niboshi Box, the TRY Award–winning niboshi ramen shop from the team behind Bonito Soup Noodle RAIK, known for its rich, dried-sardine broth.

A Rokurinsha offshoot buried in Saitama, Jinenjo's tsukemen is worth the drive for noodles thicker than anything you've seen — read why.

Hachimitsu in Gotanda is one of those ramen shops that snuck up on the neighborhood.

Mugito Mensuke in Osaka draws long lines for its rare guinea fowl ramen broth. Here's what makes this Bib Gourmand shop worth the wait.

Tsuchinotomi Ramen Yokohama Tucked a few minutes from Sakuragicho Station, in the middle of Noge's tangle of izakayas, sits a ramen shop with one of the more unusual names in Japan: 己巳, or Tsuchinotomi. It's a zodiac reference — one of the sixty combinations in the old Japanese calendar, associated with good fortune and new beginnings. Fitting, because their ramen is built to feel refined rather than heavy, and it pulls that off. Duck, Chicken, and Pork — All in One Pot The

A firsthand review of Bone Daddies in London — the Yuzu Tonkotsu and Kani Tonkotsu bowls, and why this chain stands out in London's tonkotsu-heavy ramen scene.

A review of Duramentei in Kameido, Tokyo — the Yakumo-trained ramen shop carrying on its mentor's white and black shoyu ramen and signature wontons.

Grew up eating ramen in Tokyo — it took years to actually learn how to taste it. A real framework: broth first, condiments later, plus the tsukemen twist most people get wrong.

Matsuo Seibaku boils its noodles in a pressure cooker — twice. A look at the ramen tsukemen at this shop from a Hirai alum.