Rokurinsha (六厘舎); Ramen Street King, Tokyo Station

Traveler friendly and long time tenant of the infamous Ramen Street in Tokyo Station, Rokurinsha has been serving hundreds of ramen each day at this location since 2009. Tsukemen has become widely popular in the past decade and Rokurinsha have made themselves a mainstay in the top Tsukemen restaurant rankings in Japan for years.

Rokurinsha definitely gets a popularity boost at this location in Tokyo station which is flooded with tens of thousands of travelers coming through the station daily. Capitalizing on their location, Rokurinsha even offers a “breakfast” menu which consists of a lighter broth of their regular ramen. On this particular visit I came in just after the lunch rush and ordered their regular tsukemen ramen. Even then, the line was at least 40 minutes long so be prepared to wait at any time of the day.

The Tsukemen is definitely the best thing to get here. They pride themselves in serving a rich, thick seafood base broth and the Niboshi flavor is quite evident with every bite. Even the aroma is deeply Niboshi with the addition of finely ground Niboshi powder as topping. The noodles are thick and chewy, the perfect compliment to their rich soup as it balances out and mellows the soup so it is easier to eat. The toppings are hidden within the soup which is a bit different from other tsukemen places that allow you to dip both the noodles and the toppings in the soup, but works incredibly well because of how lightly seasoned they are. The roast pork is incredibly tender and is only slightly marinated in the shoyu tare, soaking up the rich flavor of the soup. The menma, bamboo shoots are crunchy and gives a really nice texture contrast to the bowl. I ordered the half boiled egg which was nothing special so I probably wouldn’t recommend it unless you really want it. It was perfectly made however, but I think is overshadowed by how delicious the soup is.

Due to how dense and rich the soup is, they have a light soup that you can mix with your remaining broth to drink at the end. Definitely want to save some broth for this as it helps you taste every little detail they put in the soup. You can taste the slight sweetness from the vegetables, the fattiness of the pork and chicken carcass, and the deep umami flavor of the Niboshi and other dried fish used in the broth. All and all you really can’t go wrong with a bowl here. Rokurinsha have been the best of Tokyo station and quintessential “King” of Ramen Street…just be prepared for the long wait.