The best Azabu-Juban ramen is unanimously Tori Soba Ichikoro 156 (鶏そば十番156 麻布十番本店), with their creamy chicken ramen. They also have beer from around the world!
They’re a quick 5 min. walk from Azabu-Juban station (Minato City, Tokyo).
For Azabu-Juban Ramen, Ichikoro 156
Ichikoro has quite the selection of ramen. But their signature ramen is a tori paitan, or creamy chicken one. Think of it as a cream of chicken soup with noodles. Top left area on the ticket machine!
Its official ramen name is “Junkei Soba” – translated as pure chicken ramen. It’s easy to understand why they chose this name. Chicken bones from Kyushu are boiled for six hours to create a delicious, collagen-heavy soup.
I’d recommend getting the ¥980 (at the time writing this) option. It comes with a big helping of aonori (green laver, on the right). The salty aonori beautifully offsets the rich chicken flavor as it makes its way into the broth.
Chicken chashu slices, spring onions, mizuna, bamboo shoots, and egg complete the toppings.
Soupless Ramen, International Beer
Ichikoro has a pretty extensive menu to match its spacious setting. Furthermore, they do seasonal ramen, like the soupless tantanmen pictured below.
It’s spicy from chili oil and numbing pepper. But the biggest thing you’ll notice is the jungle of bright green coriander. It’s so thick you’ll feel like you need a machete.
The shrimp soupless tantanmen has a similarly spicy base. The jungle of coriander is missing but the briny shrimp flavors more than make up for it.
They even have a version with Edam cheese. It's made even richer from the egg yolk and chicken oil base.
Lastly, if you’re fan of beer, they have quite a few international beer choices.
In an area of Tokyo where there isn’t a crazy amount of great ramen, Ichikoro stands proud and tall. They’re definitely the best choice for Azabu-Juban ramen.
For more ramen shops in this area of Tokyo (closer to Roppongi), check out this Late Night Ramen listicle.