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If you have ever eaten at an iekei ramen shop before, you will likely know what I am referring to, but the environment can sometimes be a little tense.

What I mean by this is that the inside of the shop is filled with hungry people, there is a strong smell of pork bones that fills the air and the staff are usually super busy building the bowls (it can also sometimes be quite warm inside lol).

But these are by no means bad things, in fact I think that it’s one of the attractive parts of eating at a local ramen shop in Japan.

But this restaurant took the initial concept and flipped it on its head – it turned the rather fast paced environment into one that has a bigger emphasis on ingredients, presentation, and overall relaxation as opposed to some of its counterparts.

I am a lover of iekei ramen, in fact I would go as far as to say that there aren’t as many people that like it as much as me. So this is why it was so cool to see a restaurant like this be created because it is the first of its kind. 

It is located in a bit more of a quieter area in Higashi Koenji, and so you may have to find yourself going a bit out of your way to get to it, but you will also find that (it also is right along the Marunouchi Line and 10 ish minutes from Shinjuku Station).

The ticket machine is to the right of the door when you walk in and it is one of the nicer ones I have seen honestly, as it is all electronic and has clear photos of what you are ordering (I do not remember if they had an option to change the menu’s language to English or not though).

Being that this restaurant only opened in 2024, it is very nice on the inside. It isn’t the biggest you’ll see with only 10 counter seats and a table for 4 near the door, but it is kept very clean and doesn’t feel cramped.

What is something unique they do is the fact that instead of normal chashu pork (which is made of porj belly), they also use pork shoulder as well – so you get to experience both a rich, and meaty bite.

As for their soup, it is incredible. It is not as strong as some other places I have been to, but it tastes so intentional – really like you are tasting each component that went into it.

They are also the only iekei ramen shop where you can get wantons in your soup as well (and trust me, they go extremely well).

The more you get into ramen, the more you start to see that people always try and one up one anoyther by coming out with new concepts or variations of cooking. I am not saying I blame them either, as there are thousands of ramen shops across Japan and people have to sometimes differentiate themselves to get customers.

The fact of the matter however, is that a lot of times poeple fall short, and you end up feeling that the original would have been better.

Aoto however, is not one of those places.

Is it the best Iekei ramen I have ever had? No, but it still hands very high on my list because they did something unique and it worked harmoniously together making for an excellent bowl.

I highly recommend Aoto to anyone who’s a fan of ramen, especially those who like Iekei ramen too – you will not be disappointed!

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More about me

Different types of ordering systems in Japan explained

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