Hachidori

One of the pleasures of Hachidori, near Itabashi City Office, is being able to choose how pronounced you want the niboshi flavour to be. The soy-sauce niboshi ramen is a good place to start. One diner praised its clear, clean-looking broth, where the dried-sardine flavour comes through from the first sip without becoming too bitter. The thin straight noodles are said to suit the soup particularly well; another impression that stayed with a diner was their springy texture and wheat flavour.

For a stronger taste of niboshi, there are also the Goku Niboshi and Chō Niboshi options. Someone who ordered Chō Niboshi found the clear, soy-style broth more robustly savoury than expected, while another diner described the Goku Niboshi soup as being supported by the flavour of whole chicken. Within the same niboshi-focused range, the options seem to run from a lighter soy-sauce bowl to one with deeper savouriness, depending on your mood.

The toppings are worth noting, too. One report of Chō Niboshi listed chashu pork, komatsuna greens, bamboo shoots, spring onion and nori; the diner particularly remembered the well-seasoned pork belly and the crisp texture of the komatsuna. A niboshi rice bowl offers something different alongside the ramen. One diner said its sesame-oil aroma and relatively strong soy-sauce flavour made the rice especially moreish. A small bowl could make a satisfying lunch with ramen.

Tsukemen appears to vary with the time of year. Visitor reports describe versions with flat noodles and a thick dipping broth of chicken paitan and niboshi, as well as one with the richness of chicken and seafood. Since tsukemen may not be a regular menu item, check whether it is being served if that is what you have in mind. Otherwise, the standard niboshi ramen is a straightforward starting point.