Shibuya (渋谷) is a foodie's paradise in Tokyo (東京, Tōkyō), yet as a first-timer, it can be hard to pick a shop, much less discern which shops are tourist traps and which are hidden gems. Especially along Shibuya's Center Street, most ramen (ラーメン, Rāmen) shops that you'll chance upon are large chains serving up generic food that only earns a low 3 rating on Google Maps. Or you'll see long snaking queues outside the usual suspects like Ichiran and Ippudo. The real Japanese ramen connoisseurs though, will look elsewhere, there are plenty of great ramen shops just off the main streets, or on the less crowded sides of Shibuya that can match the best that Tokyo can offer.
26 Mar 2024
Written by Pitari Japan Team
Top 8 Best Ramen in Shibuya, Tokyo
Tsukemen, Shoyu Ramen, Abura Soba, and more!
If you're in Shibuya, and hungry for some ramen, don't settle on a mediocre meal just because it's convenient, go for something that will excite your tastebuds on this Top 8 Best Ramen in Shibuya, Tokyo list!
Top 8 Best Ramen in Shibuya, Tokyo
1. Tokyo Aburagumi Sohonten (Abura Soba)
東京油組総本店 渋谷
Tokyo Aburagumi Sohonten Shibuya
Delicious Dry Ramen
Abura Soba (油そば) is one of the big ramen trends of the 2020s in Japan, with the Tokyo Aburagumi Sohonten chain (sometimes also just called Tokyo Abura Soba) leading the charge. This dish looks deceptively simple, like a bowl of ramen that forgot the soup. But once you mix, it and slurp down your first mouthful of noodles, the umami (旨味, Savoriness) hits you straight away. Even though this chain has spread far and wide across Japan, you'll find long snaking queues of students and salaryman lining up for their bowl of abura soba at all of their branches.
The menu in the shop is simple, there's only one dish, abura soba, with the main choice being the size of the noodles (regular, large, or double), all at the same price. There's also a spicy option for those who want to challenge their spice tolerance, be warned that this isn't your usual Japanese spice level. Tokyo Aburagumi Sohonten is a great way to fill your stomach up after a long day of work or exploring. The shop's mantra is "When it comes to an abura soba where the noodles are delicious, it has to be Tokyo Aburagumi Sohonten!".
東京油組総本店 渋谷
Tokyo Aburagumi Sohonten Shibuya
2. Ramen Hayashi (Gyokai Tonkoatsu Shoyu Ramen)
らーめん はやし
Ramen Hayashi
Shibuya's Popular Lunch-only Shoyu Tonkotsu Ramen
Ramen Hayashi is one of Shibuya's (渋谷) most popular ramen (ラーメン, Rāmen) hotspots for those in the know. Operating for just 4 hours each day or till it sells out, this gyokai (魚介) tonkotsu shoyu ramen (豚骨醤油ラーメン, Tonkotsu Shōyu Rāmen, Pork Bone Soy Sauce Ramen) shop commands long queues of locals and tourists alike. Using a combination of seafood, shoyu (醤油, Shōyu, Soy Sauce), and tonkotsu (豚骨, Pork bones), the soup is rich with a unique balance of both seafood and meat. The noodles are also thicker, and the ajitama (味玉) is a popular topping here. The shop is also a long-time winner of Tabelog's (食べログ, Taberogu) Hyakumeiten Award (百名店, Top 100 Restaurants).
らーめん はやし
Ramen Hayashi
3. Menya Nukaji (Tsukemen & Craft Beer)
麺屋ぬかじ
Menya Nukaji
Shibuya's Popular Tsukemen & Craft Beer Shop
Menya Nukaji is a hole-in-the-wall eatery with a loyal following. They specialize in both tsukemen (つけ麺, Dipping noodles) and craft beer, one of the rare ramen (ラーメン, Rāmen) shops with an extensive craft beer selection to go with it including Pale Ale, IPA, Stouts, Pilsner, and more. While once relatively off-the-beaten-path, it has become a lot nearer to the crowds after the opening of the nearby Shibuya Parco. Their speciality is their tonkotsu (豚骨, Pork bones) gyokai (魚介) tsukemen (つけ麺, Dipping noodles), which comes in a thick dipping broth together with cold noodles that slurp down easily. One of the standout features of the shop is that there is a complementary service of free-flow tamago kake gohan (卵かけご飯, Rice topped with egg) that pairs well with the leftover tsukemen dipping broth.
麺屋ぬかじ
Menya Nukaji
4. Ramen Tajima (Daisen Chicken Shoyu Ramen)
らぁ麺田じま
Ramen Tajima
Shibuya's Daisen Chicken Shoyu Ramen
Ramen Tajima is a shoyu ramen (醤油ラーメン, Shōyu Rāmen, Soy Sauce Ramen) speciality shop that infuses chicken from Mount Daisen (大山, Daisen) in Tottori Prefecture (鳥取県, Tottori-ken) into its broth. The ingredients and the soup are slow-cooked over a long time in order to bring out the flavour of the broth. The Mount Daisen Chicken chashu (チャシュウ, Chashū, Roasted Pork) is also slow-cooked to give it a soft, tender, yet firm texture. Apart from their signature shoyu ramen option, they also offer tsukemen (つけ麺, Dipping noodles), and a niboshi (煮干し, Dried Sardines) ramen option as well.
らぁ麺田じま
Ramen Tajima
5. Dogenzaka Mammoth (Tsukemen)
道玄坂マンモス
Dogenzaka Mammoth
Shibuya's Popular Gyokai Tsukemen Shop
Dogenzaka Mammoth specializes in an ultra-thick variant of tsukemen (つけ麺, Dipping noodles), and its tucked away on the western end of the Dogenzaka area in Shibuya (渋谷). The dipping broth for their tsukemen is made out of a thick mixture of tonkotsu (豚骨, Pork bones) and gyokai (魚介), so its extremely rich in umami, without the use of any form of oil. The broth perfectly coats the noodles, making for a very satisfying slurp when you eat a bowl. Dogenzaka Mammoth offers two types of noodles: an in-house specialty, the nutritious Haiga-men (胚芽麺, germ noodles), and the springy Mocchiri-men (もっちり麺). The Haiga-men is generally recommended for first-timers, in order to try out this noodle unique to Dogenzaka Mammoth.
Wari Soup (割りスープ, Wari Sūpu) is also available on the table for you to dilute your dipping broth, so that you can drink it up as soup at the end of the meal. If you feel like your soup has gotten cold, feel free to call for an atsumori (あつもり) to heat it back up, and get it back to its original delicious self. If you're in the Shibuya area, and looking for an off-the-beaten-path ramen shop, be sure to check out Dogenzaka Mammoth for a filling and satisfying meal.
道玄坂マンモス
Dogenzaka Mammoth
6. Jikasei Mensho (White Truffle Wagyu Tori Paitan Ramen)
自家製麺しょ
Jikasei Mensho
Wagyu & Vegan Ramen in Shibuya
Jikasei Mensho is a ramen (ラーメン, Rāmen) restaurant in the basement of Parco Shibuya (東京, Tōkyō) that offers up classic Shoyu Ramen (醤油ラーメン, Shōyu Rāmen, Soy Sauce Ramen), a modern take on tori paitan ramen (鶏白湯ラーメン) infused with wagyu (和牛, Wagyū, Japanese cattle) and white truffle, and also a vegan ramen option. They offer both classic takes and modern re-interpretations of ramen. If you're looking to try out what ramen in the early days of Tokyo used to taste like, you can go for the shoyu ramen, which is a very bare-bones and old-school version. If you're looking to be a bit more adventurous to try out new flavours, the White Truffled Scented Wagyu Tori Paitan Ramen would be an interesting dish to check out. Lastly, if you're on the hunt for vegan food options in Shibuya, Jikasei Mensho offers up a Vegan Tantanmen (担々麺) in a classic, and dry version.
自家製麺しょ
Jikasei Mensho
7. Mazesoba Shichi (Taiwan Mazesoba)
まぜそば 七
Mazesoba Shichi
Comforting Dry Ramen in South Shibuya
Mazesoba Shichi is a maze soba (まぜそば) specialty shop located on the south side of Shibuya. This unassuming shop serves up various forms of dry ramen including maze soba, abura soba (油そば), and also the traditional forms of shoyu ramen (醤油ラーメン, Shōyu Rāmen, Soy Sauce Ramen) and shio ramen (塩ラーメン, Shio Rāmen, Salt Ramen). What sets the shop apart is definitely its maze soba, that is topped with minced meat, blocks of chashu (チャシュウ, Chashū, Roasted Pork), an egg, negi (葱, Spring Onion), nori (のり, Seaweed), with some tare (たれ, Sauce). Mixed together and eaten, it's like a flavour explosion in your mouth! You can also choose your spiciness level for those who are inclined.
Their recommended way of eating is as follows:
- As it is served hot, be sure to mix the maze soba as soon as you can. Then eat it as-is to enjoy the original taste.
- Squeeze in two rounds of vinegar, two rounds of chili oil, one scoop of fresh minced garlic, some pepper, and then mix it again.
- For those who want, you can top-up for diced tamanegi (玉ねぎ, Onion) (¥30) or beansprouts with cabbage (¥100)
- Furthermore, depending on your mood that day, you can add more chili oil, kasansho, curry powder, mayonnaise, or pork fats (each ¥30)
- At the end, leave behind a bit of the tare and noodles. Then add a single mouthful of rice (¥70) or a bowl of rice (¥150) and a raw egg (¥70), and then mix it all together for the ultimate palate cleanser.
まぜそば 七
Mazesoba Shichi
8. Chukamenten Kiraku (Retro Wantanmen)
中華麺店 喜楽
Chukamenten Kiraku
Shibuya's Oldest Ramen Restaurant
Chukamenten Kiraku is Shibuya's oldest ramen (ラーメン, Rāmen) restaurant, founded in 1952, the restaurant still serves up the same old-school noodles that were the original form of ramen in Japan. It bears a lot of resemblance to the modern shoyu ramen (醤油ラーメン, Shōyu Rāmen, Soy Sauce Ramen), but there are still a lot of key differences. For starters, the noodles at Kiraku are often served with wantons, moyashi (もやし, Beansprouts), and hard-boiled eggs instead of ajitama (味玉). At first glance, you might think that the dish looks rather unrefined as compared to the more modern elegant interpretations of ramen. What it lacks in presentation, it makes up in its simplicity and taste. The flavour profile might be less refined and complex than modern ramen with its many components, but in the simplicity from the saltiness and the sweetness of the meat used in the broth, there is something unique about it. The shop is especially popular amongst the older generation, who come to have the same bowl of noodles that has remained unchanging since the 1950s.
中華麺店 喜楽
Chukamenten Kiraku
Shibuya's Ramen Choices are No Pushover
Some of these Top 8 Best Ramen in Shibuya, Tokyo are more well-known than others. You'll probably see a decently long queue of tourists outside Dogenzaka Mammoth or Ramen Hayashi, but you're less likely to find tourists outside Tokyo Aburagumi Sohonten or Menya Shichi. While we did not rate some of the options on this list very highly, we do believe that they are solid choices for tourists. Just that, if we take a ramen lover's lens as someone who has eaten hundreds of bowls of ramen, we pride ourselves on being brutally honest with our reviews. We do feel like these are worthy recommendations for tourists, but we wouldn't go there with a friend who lived in Tokyo for example. That being said, we do think they are definitely better places to check out than the typical ramen chains that you find littered across Shibuya.
There are plenty of hidden ramen (ラーメン, Rāmen) gems in Shibuya, and there's more to ramen than just tonkotsu ramen (豚骨ラーメン, Tonkotsu Rāmen), so be sure to try out some great shoyu ramen (醤油ラーメン, Shōyu Rāmen, Soy Sauce Ramen), abura soba (油そば), and tsukemen (つけ麺, Dipping noodles) options on this list. While reliable chains like Ichiran and Ippudo are fine and dandy, you can also find them anywhere else across Japan, so if you're in Shibuya, why not go for something that's unique to Shibuya and support more of the smaller local Japanese businesses?
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