Ramen Nishio: A Standout Bowl Worth the Trip to Kashiwa, Chiba

If you’re willing to head a bit outside central Tokyo, Ramen Nishio (麺処 にし尾) is the kind of ramen shop that makes the trip feel obvious in hindsight.

Also known locally as Mendokoro Nishio, this Kashiwa ramen shop is one of Chiba’s top-ranked spots and has landed on Tabelog’s Top 100 for East Japan - no small feat. And yes, depending on the day, there will be a line. Going early helps.

What really pulled me in, though, wasn’t just the accolades. It was how confident and deliciously balanced the bowls are, especially when you look at where the owner comes from.

Temomi Chūka Soba (Shoyu Ramen)

The owner of Ramen Nishio trained at Honda, one of Tokyo’s most respected ramen shops, and you can feel that influence immediately. But this isn’t a copy-and-paste Honda bowl. Nishio has its own rhythm.

I tried two signatures here, and honestly, I’m still torn on which one I liked more. That’s usually the best sign. In their Temomi Chūka Soba, the soup is built on chicken and fish, with niboshi fish flavors clearly present but not pushed to extremes. It actually reminded me of Akimoto in Kanagawa - fish-forward without being overwhelming.

There’s warmth from the chicken, a gentle roundness from a bit of pork back fat floating on top, and then everything gets pulled together by a powerful seven-shoyu (soy sauce) blend. The seasoning leans bold - slightly sour, slightly sweet, and unapologetically assertive. At times, it even masks the fish a bit, but this too feels intentional.

The noodles are a highlight. These are hand-pressed temomi noodles, made with a blend of multiple wheat flours. They’re denser and doughier than most hand-pressed noodles I’ve had, which gives them a satisfying chew and real presence in the bowl. Nishio works with Kannon Seimen, a well-known noodle maker, and it shows.

I ordered the bowl with all the toppings. You get several cuts of pork and chicken chashu, but the standout is an old-school reddish, smoky pork chashu.

Kombu-sui Tsukemen (Shio)

If the shoyu ramen feels earthy and grounded, the tsukemen (dipping ramen) goes in a different direction. The noodles here are thinner and served resting in kombu water, giving them a slick, glossy texture.

Before you even touch the soup, the shop recommends tasting the noodles with a pinch of their special salt.

One thing that really caught me off guard, in a good way, was the soup temperature. The dipping soup is piping hot. Almost tongue-burning hot. And honestly, I loved it.

Cold noodles usually drag tsukemen soup down to lukewarm halfway through the meal, but that never happens here. The heat holds, and it makes a huge difference by the end.

Flavor-wise, the shio seasoning feels radiant and clean, a bright contrast to the deeper, more grounded shoyu bowl. The soup base appears to be the same foundation, just reframed through salt instead of soy. A little sudachi on the side lets you shift things even further toward citrus and freshness as you go.

Final Thoughts - Ramen Nishio

Between the Temomi Chūka Soba and the Konmu-sui Tsukemen, I genuinely can’t pick a favorite.

It's worth heading out to Kashiwa for them, especially if you care about how small decisions, like soup temperature or noodle density, quietly elevate a bowl.

Just go early.

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