A few weeks ago, I posted about my trip to Tsuta, the first ramen restaurant in Tokyo to receive a Michelin star. Today, I tried the second ramen restaurant in Tokyo to receive a Michelin star. In December 2016, Nakiryu, a small shop near Otsuka station in the same neighborhood as Tsuta, was given the prestigious status. Nakiryu is known for shoyu (soy sauce) and tantan-men (担担麺) style ramen. Since I have never tried it before, I decided to order tantan-men. The dish consists of a spicy broth, minced pork, scallions, Sichuan spices, and the expected ramen toppings such as a slice of chashu and a boiled egg. Click "Read More" to see my full adventure at the acclaimed restaurant! I went to Nakiryu on a very rainy day. One would think that the line would be very small at best due to the weather; however, I was wrong. Two sides of the street were filled with people, and I showed up about half an hour before the restaurant opened. Because of the weather, finally entering the restaurant felt twice as magical. I ordered a bowl of tantan-men for 800 yen and sat down. There is a strange atmosphere at a Michelin star restaurant; I just knew the bowl was going to taste amazing. The noodles tasted surprisingly spicy; they were the spiciest noodles I had in Japan so far. I very much enjoyed the taste of the broth, and the noodles were very thin and refined. My first experience with tantan-men was a great one! おいしい!
HOW I GOT THERE: Saitama University : I took the bus to Minami Yono station (南与野駅). One can also walk about half an hour to save some money. I got to the station around 9:50 a.m. so I could get to the restaurant with a good spot in line before it opened at 11:30. Minami Yono Station: The Saikyo line toward Shinjuku at Minami Yono will stop at Ikebukuro station. Ikebukuro station: Switch trains to the Yamanote line for Ueno / Tokyo. Otsuka station is just one stop from Ikebukuro. MY RATING: Like Tsuta, Nakiryu is a restaurant that I recommend everyone to try. I give my bowl of tantan-men a 9/10. The only reason I do not give it a perfect score is that I have not tried this style of ramen before and I have nothing to compare it to. I am confident that Nakiryu provides some of the best in Japan, and I will definitely return!
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AuthorI am a student from the University of Nebraska at Kearney who studied abroad at Saitama University in Japan. I want to share my experience to inform future students about the program. Archives
March 2018
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