Food Tours · Tour

An Hour of Ramen Above a Kabukicho Beer Bar

An hour, which is the honest length for what this is, and the operator is unusually straight about it: you are not making noodles and broth from scratch. Real ramen broth is a day's work. What you do instead is assemble a bowl properly, which is a real skill and the part most people get wrong at home. Choosing between three soups. Straining the noodles correctly, which is the step that decides whether the bowl comes out watery. Getting the toppings on in the right order. The soup contains pork, chicken and beef, and what else is in it they will not say, because it is theirs. The venue is the second floor of Shinjuku Ale, a craft beer bar that started life as a brewery, on Kabukicho Central Road towards the TOHO cinema and the Godzilla head. There is gyoza, and there is beer downstairs. Six people at most, in English, Japanese or Mandarin, though some of the staff will reach for a translation device and nobody minds. Fees and taxes included. Drinks, extra food and getting there are not. Under-twenties need a parent or guardian. Slurping is fine. It is expected.