Kitaotsuka Ramen – Tokyo's Best Chashu-Covered Soy Sauce Ramen on the Yamanote Line

Must know Info:

Kitaotsuka Ramen – 北大塚ラーメン*Cash Only*

1 Chome-14-1 Kitaotsuka, Toshima City, Tokyo 170-0004, Japan

4 minute walk from Otsuka station

Hours (as of 2025/12): 11am – 2pm, 5 – 10pm everyday except Sunday

Order System: Ticket Machine

Yet another conveniently located shop along the Yamanote Line specializing in a stronger soy sauce base soup, and most famous for their cha-shu ramen.

The shop is run by a husband and wife and their son – I love to see this in Japan, especially with so many great restaurants not having their legacy carried on.

The inside of the shop consists of only counter seats that wrap around the area where the ramen is prepared, and they will pass it through slits in the counter to you. When you finish you leave the bowl where it is and they will take care of it.

There are quite a few counter seats from what I remember, but it is very narrow inside the place, so you may be rubbing shoulders with someone – just be aware.

The cha-shu ramen is famous because of its distinctive way of plating it, where the whole top of the bowl is covered – offering a layer between the noodles and soup underneath.

But it isn’t just the visual appeal either, because every single piece of pork is ridiculously tender, and I appreciate that they have it cut up into bite sized pieces, making it easy to eat with the noodles, as opposed to separately which I can find to be a bit of a caveat of mine with some ramen places.

The soup is rich, and very addictive. I think both times I’ve been there I have drank all of it even though I knew my blood pressure would not like it!

But, as a means to combat this, I made sure to pull out my trump card of putting a garlic topping on my soup. I just didn’t expect it to be as much as it was!

However, I was pleasantly surprised when I had mixed it into the soup as it gave it an even richer taste.

You may notice that the Japanese love putting a ton of garlic on their food, but 99% of the time it is freshly crushed, and you can taste the difference in quality to its processed counterparts.

It really acts as an umami bomb in some things, and if you don’t like it I would still go in with an open mind.

The egg is also perfectly cooked, still with a bit of a slightly-runny centre.

I had rice, and I think it pairs well, as it does with practically any dish. I recommend putting some of the garlic, pork, and black pepper they have at the table – it is a bite from heaven.

If you like spice, I have heard that their “spicy ramen” is also really good. It keeps the pork and everything the same, but they had what looks like hot chili oil and ground beef – similar to dan dan noodles.

This restaurant has everything. It is family run, filled with locals, and more than anything has some delicious ramen that you will be able to tell other people about who probably have never heard of it.

What I keep coming back to with Kitaotsuka is that it just does everything right without trying to be anything more than what it is.

It is a family ramen shop on the Yamanote Line that has found its lane and stayed in it, and you can taste that consistency in every bowl.

There are no rotating seasonal specials or trendy toppings here — just a very good bowl of chashu ramen made with care by people who clearly love what they do. If you are making your way around Tokyo on the Yamanote Line and want to duck out at a stop most people skip, Otsuka is worth it for Kitaotsuka alone.