The Ever-Evolving Culture of Ramen
Food and Drink
Travel
Culture
Jun 4, 2025
Originally a continental import, today ramen is all Japanese. From north to south, the nation boasts countless takes on the noodle dish—but you don’t need to travel the entire country to sample them all. In this series we look at some of the classic regional ramen types that can be eaten in Tokyo. Take a ramen tour without ever leaving the capital!
Ramen’s Real Regional Flair
Unraveling the history of Japan’s various regional takes on the classic dish of ramen serves up a taste of local history. For example, people living in frigid Hokkaidō mixed rich miso and lard into their ramen to warm up. People in Kyūshū developed tonkotsu pork bone broth ramen with influence from a local abundance of pig farms. No matter where you get it, the real joy of regional ramen is the tastes of the diverse ingredients and clever adaptations that helped birth local variations.
There are so many ramen styles across Japan that there simply is no room to list them all, but below are some major styles. Until recently, aficionados had to travel to each region to get a taste of their local ramen, but now it’s as simple as making your way around Tokyo. In 2025, Japan’s capital has a wide selection of authentic regional shops. Here, we offer up a few of those many shops carefully selected and approved by true locals. Click the links for details.
Ramen from Hokkaidō/Tōhoku
Sapporo-style miso ramen: Ōshima (Funabori, Edogawa); Aomori-style niboshi ramen: Nagao Chūkasoba (Kanda Ogawamachi, Chiyoda); Fukushima-style Shirakawa ramen: Mensōan Sunada (Sugamo, Toshima)
Ramen from Kantō/Chūbu
Niigata-style shōga-jōyu ramen: Aoshima Shokudō (Kanda Sakumachō, Chiyoda); Yokohama-style iekei ramen: Kan2ya (Nishi Kamata, Ōta); Nagoya-style Taiwan ramen: Kaku Masayoshi Misen (Uchi-Kanda, Chiyoda, and Shinbashi, Minato)
Ramen from Kansai/Chūgoku
Kyoto-style shōyu ramen: Honke Daiichi Asahi (Shinjuku, Shinjuku and Kanda Jinbōchō, Chiyoda); Hiroshima-style shirunashi tantanmen: King-ken (Kajichō, Chiyoda)
Ramen from Shikoku/Kyūshū/Okinawa
Tokushima-style ramen: Haruma (Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjuku); Hakata-style ramen: Tanaka Shōten (Hitotsuya, Adachi)
(Originally published in Japanese. Banner photo: A careful selection of regional ramen available in Tokyo. © Yamakawa Daisuke.)
ramen
Tokyo
cuisine
AloJapan.com