Tonkotsu Ramen in Shinjuku

Seems to me that amongst the various kinds of ramen (Shoyu, Miso, Tonkotsu, etc), Tonkotsu ramen is the most popular with Singaporeans.

I'm a big fan of Tonkotsu too. Recently I also got addicted to Shoyu - thanks to Miharu restaurant - but I still have a thing for Tonkotsu.

In my first trip (or was it my first 2 trips) to Tokyo in recent years, we stumbled upon a shop that sells very, very umai ramen. If you tried Tonkotsu ramen at the Santouka (山頭火) outlet in S'pore and think it's heavenly, wait until you lay your hands on this one. Imho this is streets ahead of Santouka - nevermind the shop's unassuming exterior and ojisan-like ambience.

We chanced upon the shop again this time. I ordered cha-shu (braised pork) and she ordered kikurage (black fungus) ramen. Add the condiments, as desired - they have spicy takana (salted vege) and benishoga (pickled red ginger).

By the way, they have an interesting 'service committment' to fulfil you order within 30 seconds. They did just that.

Name of the shop is Hakata Tenjin (博多天神). It's at the Kabuki-cho area in Shinjuku. Exit from the East gate of JR Shinjuku Station and just keep walking until you reach the traffic lights. It's along that stretch of road.

Trust me - once you try this, Santouka suddenly becomes mediocre.

Find out more about Hakata ramen here: http://www.rameniac.com/ramen_styles/hakata

Kichijou-ji

When I was studying in Japan I had to make the best of my monthly allowance. People always find Japan an expensive country - in many ways I tend to agree but cheaper places do exist.

Kichijou-ji (吉祥寺) is a western suburb of Tokyo, accessible by the Inokashira Line. It does appear out of the way, considering that tourists would usually muck around in areas like Ginza and Shinjuku. However, Kichijou-ji is a really cheap and good place for clothing, shoes and accessories if one doesn't mind the longer train ride.

Inokashira Line is part of Keio Railways (not JR). Interesting about Keio is that they have various train services running on the same line - Normal (各駅停車) , Rapid (快速), Commuter Rapid (通勤快速), Express (急行) , Semi Special Express (準特急) and Special Express(特急). To use the services effectively one has to switch between these services, but if it's too much hassle you could just stick to Normal - although that would naturally mean a significantly longer journey.

Stumbled upon a rather good ramen restaurant in Kichijou-ji. It's called Shou and sells Kyushu Ramen. The pork bone broth was thick and tasty but not overwhelming - I found it rather addictive.