Like this post? Help us by sharing it!
The 2015 edition of Michelin’s notorious guide to the very best restaurants and hotels in Tokyo went on sale this December 5th. As always, it was widely covered in local news and generally makes a splash internationally because Tokyo consistently has the most starred restaurants of any city in the world. Unsurprisingly, fancy French cuisine and exclusive sushi restaurants are ubiquitous on the list – but there was a little surprise this year that is attracting very big attention.
A little shop called Tsuta in Northern Tokyo received the first-ever star awarded for ramen noodles, something traditionally associated with cheap, quick, B-class gourmet. But this isn’t just any old ramen. Tsuta became famous for its delicate soup and hand-crafted noodles, not to mention truffle-infused broth and use of high-end soy sauces that are usually confined to high-end restaurants.
As you might imagine, once the news that a Michelin-starred meal could be had for under 1,000yen (or about £6/8 USD), people came in droves. Within days the queues had over 200 people and the wait time was four hours. And all of this before the shop even opens its doors at 11am.
All this caused chaos in the little residential neighbourhood where Tsuta is based, and so a ticket system was put in place. Now, tickets for different time slots throughout the day are handed out at 6:30am on the weekends and 7am on weekdays – but that doesn’t mean that you’ll want to show up at the above times. Last Sunday the entire day’s slots were completely sold out by 7:30am and the first customers started queuing at 5am!
Thus it was that in my quest for a bowl of Michelin-starred ramen I decided to stay out all night in Tokyo with a good friend. This way we too could be one of those ridiculous people lining up at the restaurant by 5am. Although I used to be a firm believer in the ‘early to bed, early to rise’ philosophy, since moving to Tokyo pulling an “all-nighter” has become somewhat of a regular occurrence. This is due in no small part to the fact that there is lots of fun to be had at any time of the night or day. Here’s a quick overview of how we killed a bit of time just so that we could get our hands on some of the world’s best ramen.
8pm – Dinner at one of my favourite restaurants in Shibuya. The hours fly by when you are chatting to locals and enjoying fresh food and strong drink. (Check the local photo bomber in the background!)
11:54pm – Rum and Cokes and conversation at bar whose insides are covered in chandeliers and animal heads.
1:07am – The last trains have all finished up but girls in Santa costumes are out in full force!
3:23am – We caught an internationally renowned DJ at a nearby club and grabbed a few final drinks before heading off to catch our train to Sugamo.
5:18am – We arrive early but there is already a queue! Glad we got here when we did.
6:36am – Success! We have our hands on tickets for the first slot at 11am. Now we have four and a half hours to kill until our bowls of hot steaming ramen.
7:02am – Check in to a manga café. Here I have my own booth fully equipped with a computer, free drinks and an endless supply of Japanese comic books. I forgo all three and opt for a couple of hours of sleep.
11:00am – Ever punctual, Tsuta Ramen opens its doors.
11:43am – Here it is. Some of the world’s best ramen!
Info:
Tsuta Ramen – 蔦
Three minutes walk from Sugamo Station on the JR Yamanote Line. As mentioned above, tickets are handed out at 6:30am on weekends and 7am on weekdays (but do bear in mind that this may change in the future as it has in the past). When receiving your ticket you must have 1,000yen in exact change. This will be refunded to you when you return later for your meal.
東京都豊島区巣鴨1-14-1 Tokyo, Toshima-ku, Sugamo 1-14-1 Open 11:00-16:00 Closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Formerly Tsuta was closed on Mondays so other websites may have this earlier information. We recommend having your hotel call to double check the situation at your time of travel.
Tel: 03-3943-1007 (Japanese only)
Note: Photography by Tyler Palma and Scott Fukayama