Ramen Gojuban – Zoshigaya’s Wild New Power Bowl
- Frank
- 3 days ago
- 2 min read
Zoshigaya isn’t where most people expect to stumble into one of Tokyo’s most talked-about new ramen shops. But Gojubugan Ramen (らーめん 護什番) is changing that - fast.
This relatively new shop has been making serious waves by doing something that sounds excessive on paper. It's Jiro-style ramen fused with stamina ramen and finished with full-on mapo tofu. It's excessive. And somehow, it works.
The Signature Bowl: Jiro Meets Stamina Meets Mapo Tofu
Gojuban's most popular bowl (旨辛痺麺, Umakara Shibimen) comes in hot, spicy, and unapologetically aggressive.
You’re hit with raiyu chili oil, Sichuan peppercorn, and numbing pepper, followed by actual chunks of mapo tofu floating in the soup. This isn’t a garnish or an afterthought. It’s real mapo tofu. Add pork back fat, an aggressive amount of garlic, and you’re simultaneously in stamina-ramen and Jiro ramen territory.
Underneath all that chaos are are medium-thick, semi-wavy noodles. They’re built to endure.
Toppings push things even further:
Stewed pork cartilage and tendon
Decorative narutomaki (fish cake)
Garlic chives for sharpness and lift
It’s heavy. It’s loud. And yet, it doesn’t feel random. My only regret is not getting quail eggs and a raw egg as toppings (see Suzuki below).
The Suzuki Lineage
Gojuban's ramen doesn’t come out of nowhere.
The chef trained at Stamina Manten Ramen Suzuki, and once you know that, the visual language clicks immediately. The overall build, the noodle choice, and the way the soup carries weight without tipping over all trace back to that lineage.
What Gojuban does differently is take that foundation and push it into more extreme territory (mapo tofu included). Familiar structure, completely reprogrammed flavor.
The Other Side of Gojuban: Sea Bream Ramen
What really elevates Gojuban is that it isn’t just a one-note shock-value shop.
Alongside the signature spicy bowl, they also serve a sea bream-based ramen (濃厚真鯛らーめん, Noukou Madai Ramen). It's available in shio (salt-seasoned) or shoyu (soy sauce-seasoned).
The shio version, in particular, is a fascinating counterpoint to the mapo-heavy flagship.
At first sip, it feels light and delicate, driven by clean sea bream flavors. But give it a moment and the bowl reveals a richer side, also thanks to generous chunks of meat that give it real staying power.
It’s calmer and more composed. Equally delicious.
Ramen Gojuban - Final Thoughts
Ramen Gojuban is one of those shops that makes you pause and think, this shouldn’t work - and then proves you wrong.
Jiro-style ramen structure. Stamina ramen intensity. Mapo tofu chaos.
All of it anchored by real technique and a clear lineage. This isn’t an everyday bowl. But when you’re in the mood for something wild, Gojo Ban absolutely delivers.
