It was a wet and windy spring day in Tokyo, perfect for a bowl of ramen for lunch. But where to go, with the hundreds of decent ramen shops everywhere you look? Well, I narrowed down my selection to an area within walking distance of Tokyo Station because I was meeting a friend there later in the afternoon.
I scanned Google Maps for some ramen joints around the area, and found Nobunaga in Chuo City, near Ginza. Its rating was through the roof, and the reviews were almost all outstanding. So, that was it. I was on my way...
My journey put me on the Hibiya Line with a stop at Kayabacho station. Nobunaga was only a two-minute walk from there.
It was around 1pm, and no line outside. Bad weather will certainly dampen people's enthusiasm, to my benefit. I walked right in, used the machine to order, and was seated immediately. Yeah baby!
The first thing you will notice about this place is that it is very new looking. The staff greet you in both Japanese and English, and help you navigate the ordering machine, which resembled the ones you now see often at McDonald's and other fast food joints. I hit the English button and from there on ordering was easy. Paying by credit card was easy too.
The menu is not very large, so you don't have to agonize too much about what to order. Their signature dish is the chicken based ramen. One version has all the "extra toppings" while the other is more plain (and under a thousand yen!). There are spicier offshoots of those two also on the menu, a few tsukemen choices, and a list of additional toppings to choose from. I got the garlic and onion chips.
So here's the thing. Yes, it is ramen. It looks like ramen, but then again, when you start eating it, you get the sense that it is more like a really good bowl of chicken noodle soup. The ramen noodles were a little thicker than most, and delicious. A generous portion of sliced chicken was very tasty and fresh. The broth was a bit thicker than I am used to, but tasty nonetheless. I could see how they earned their stellar reputation.
So my first ramen excursion of 2025 was a success! The ramen at Nobunaga was top notch, though different from your typical shio, shoyu, or miso ramen places. I would definitely go back again and try one of their spicy bowls.
Location
Vocabulary
Flash Card Drill-
I sat at the counter and watched the chef cook.私はカウンターに座って、料理人が調理するのを見た。
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My bowl was served to me at the counter.私の丼はカウンターで出された。
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The ramen shop's signature dish is tantanmen.そのラーメン店の看板メニューは担々麺です。
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This is the chef's signature dessert.これはそのシェフの看板デザートです。
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The broth was rich and flavorful.そのスープは濃厚で風味豊かでした。
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This ramen broth is lighter than usual.このラーメンのスープはいつもよりあっさりしています。
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But his reputation and career were shattered when he failed a drug test.しかし、彼が薬物検査で落ちたたとき、彼の評判とキャリアは打ち砕かれました。
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The audience lacked the enthusiasm I had seen at previous concerts.聴衆は私が以前のコンサートで見た時の熱意に欠けていました。