October 20 (Sat.)
Yokozuna (Koshigaya-shi, Tokyo) I know some guy who calls himself a "Ramen Consultant" who help shop owners to start over by giving them advices from recipes to shop decoration. Yokozuna is one of his work, but result turns out FIASCO! My impression was that without changing incapable shop owner himself, no one can make rotten shop re-born completely. Koshigaya (Koshigaya-shi, Tokyo) The owner of this shop learned the recipe from a famous ramen chef who was extremely keen on qualities of ingredients. Actually the ramen served at this ramen shop is good as food, but it lacks in charm which addicts customers who eat it.

October 19 (Sat.)
Levante (Chuo-ku, Tokyo) As drank last night, not with a big appetite. Ate 2 rice balls and a pack of instant ramen, which I am in charge of advertising. This instant ramen pack is with no-fried noodle giving texture like freshly made noodle and no-frilled traditional taste soup. Yeah, I like the taste but found it's more like matured people. Should pin-point the targer to them! Went to Gnza for the best oyster fries in Tokyo! Oysers are in season now and undreamably tasty! At this restaurant, recommendable roast beef is also available at reasonable price! Do guide books for foreign travellers introduce this fabulous restaurant in them? If not, what a shame! .

October 17 (Thurs.)
Tsukiji Fish Market (Chuoku-ku, Tokyo) Some mistakenkenly believe that I am eating ramen only. Of course, this is not true. Since my office locates 5 minutes-walk from Tsukiji Fish Market, the largest fish market in Asia, I usally take lunch. As you can imagine, at the fish market, we can enjoy the freshest seafood in Tokyo, so I am not sticking to ramen there. Today's lunch was hashed rice covered with omlett, which is not ramen nor fish dish. (^ ^ ;) (Upper photo: the main gate of the market) (Lower photo: the eatery alley outside the market)

October 14 (Mon. Holiday)
Hirao (Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo) This ramen shop is claiming that their ramen does not include "chemical seasoning ". Maybe.. At the same time, it is running out of "impact", which is one of the essence to be a good ramen. Yeah, considering just as food, this ramen is not that bad, but being ramen requires more than that.
Itahachi (Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo) This ramen shop has been introduced in magazines and guide books quite often. But I did not understand why. Actually the miso-tasted soup was completely bodiless and noodles were pretty unspectacular! How come writers could write praising words for this kind of bowl of ramen.

October 13 (Sun.)

Jiro@Meguro (Meguro-ku, Tokyo)
Intentionally overslept! So I had few options for lunch! I knew I was running out of Jiro, then decided to go to Jiro@Meguro, which is one of my regularily-visitng-ramen shops after a while.
When I visit this ramen, I always feel like eating meat dish rather than a bowl of ramen. Actually, buta (chashu is called so here.) served at this ramen shop is ranked within top 3 among meat toppings in Tokyo. They are so tasty and tender! But too salty today...but I was satisfied with the overall quality.
Oh, I saw a western guy eating at Jiro for the first time. He ordered his favorite toppings, "Yasai (Vegetable) and Nin-niku(chopped garlic)" without fail. Did he learn from my site?

October 12 (Sat.)

Taishoken@Fujimidai (Nerima-ku, Tokyo)
Mr. Yamagishi, the charismatic chef of the legendary ramen shop, Taishoken@Ikebukuro is generous and not only discloses his recipe but also allows his disciples to use his brand easily. So in the last year, new "Taishokens" were born one after another. I have visited most of them, though, none has satisfied me 100%.
This shop locates far from home and I was unwilling to visit, but it was worth traveling! I would recommend this shop to those who like Mr. Yamagishi's Tsukemen, because this new shop reproduces it faithfully.

October 10 (Thrs.)

Teuchi Mendokoro Tsukiji (Chuo-ku, Tokyo)
Not really busy, traveled to opposite side of Tsukiji area on bike during lunch time. Although this is a soba (buckwheat noodle ) shop, it is serving ramen as well as udons. Soba shops serving ramen are not really rare, but it is difficult to find good ramen at soba shops. Fourtunaltely, this is exceptionally good! Their hand-made noodles are flat and give comfortable texture. The clear shoyu soup includes Duck as hiddnen ingredient ,which makes this ramen distinguishable, goes well with the noodles!

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