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.

Akihabara

As you know, Akihabara (many locals call it Akiba) is the famous electric town in Tokyo. In my school days I'd be there almost every other weekend - mostly browsing PC and Nintendo games and the 'strategy guidebooks' for the games. Brings back many fond memories of Final Fantasy, Fire Emblem, Romance of the 3 Kingdoms etc.

Maybe I spent too much time there in the past, so I no longer feel as excited the last time I went there. Or maybe it's because the scenary has changed quite a lot; there're many more new buildings especially around the train station.

There's one good thing about all this change though. My recommendation - head straight for Yodobashi Camera. It's a big building right next to the station. For starters it's probably the only place you need to go to know Akiba. Nevermind that it's called 'Camera'. They probably started selling only cameras many decades ago but today, they represent everything that Akiba is about.

Besides electric gadgets, they also sell toy models and figurines - Gundam etc. They dedicate an entire floor to just this.

As usual, I have something to say about ramen. There's a good one on the top floor, name's Chabuton. Apparently this is the first ramen restaurant ever to be listed in the Michelin Guide.

More info on Akiba here - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akihabara
(Can never underestimate Wiki's usefulness :D)

Tokyo Tower

It's probably not as famous as the Eiffel Tower but still worth a detour, if you happen to be in Tokyo.

And I mean detour cos it's not exactly near any major shopping or sightseeing place. I like the night view. Walk around the observation tower and you should be able to see the Imperial Palace, Shinjuku, Yokohama etc. depending on the direction you're facing.

Restaurants and souvenir shops are located on the lower floors. There's this interesting curry rice restaurant, name's Tokyo Curry Lab. What's on the menu is slightly different from the 'traditional' Japanese curry, and it's nice. I'm not sure about the other flavors but I'd recommend the bitter beef curry and spicy pork curry. After the meal they serve you a yummy shot of yogurt.

What's most interesting to me was the paper tablecloth that looked like a map from Pirates of the Carribean. It's educational e.g. did you know that curry increases blood flow to the brain? And how to remove curry stains... :)

More info here - http://www.tokyotower.co.jp/

O-Den

O-den is essentially Japanese yong tau foo. It's one of my personal favs. It's best when eaten in cold weather.

It may be an acquired taste to some of us. For myself, I picked this up when studying in Japan. It's easy to cook. Just throw everything into a pot and boil.

When the weather turns cold, convenience stores in Tokyo will start selling o-den. Not the packaged kind. You literally scoop whatever you want, dump them into a foam bowl, pour some soup inside, and pay at the counter. It's probably 200 to 400 yen. Small price to pay for satisfaction.

(Some guys pay a lot more to get satisfaction at night.)

It has become a habit - now whenever I stay in Tokyo, on some nights I'll grab o-den at convenience stores on my way back to the hotel, for late night supper.

And you occasionally get away paying less. How? Try to hide some of the items underneath others. The bloke at the cash register isn't going to empty the bowl and count. So he may end up undercharging you.

Smiling? Then you're definitely Singaporean.

More info on this delicacy can be found here - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oden

Ramen Museum

Ramen was introduced to Japan from China. That we all probably know. What we probably won't know, we can find out at the Ramen Museum. It's in Shin-Yokohama.

There're several versions of ramen - different soups. The familiar ones are Shoyu (soya sauce), Miso (bean paste), Tonkotsu (pig bones) and Shio (Salt). For each there're variations, notably in the different prefectures throughout Japan.

Ever noticed that miso ramen is almost always garnished with corn and bean sprouts, shoyu always with bamboo shoots, and tonkotsu usually with pickled ginger?

If you like trivia, this is it. The museum gives a full history of ramen (including instant noodles), and even has a collection of artefacts (bowls, spoons etc.) from the best ramen shops in Japan.

The museum also features several ramen outlets that are branches of some of these 'top shops'. Sampler sizes are available at all the outlets there, so you can taste all of them at one go if you want.

More info, including instructions on how to get there, over here -
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3202.html

Popcorns in Tokyo Disney Resort

Watch out for the different flavors. There's caramel (my fav), chocolate, etc. There's curry flavor too! But give the honey flavor a miss - after a while you'll feel like puking.

There're many popcorn stores, and each store uses a different bucket for the popcorns. There're many designs - Mickey, Donald, Goofy etc. and the designs change every season. Walk around a bit to find one that you like best.

You can refill your bucket too, once you run out of popcorn.

I have quite a lot to write about Tokyo Disney Resort.

Will try to do it soon, maybe. (I miss this kind of non-committal statement. Bosses don't allow it in the office.)

Meanwhile, to have an idea of what the buckets look like, google "Disneyland popcorn bucket".