It’s 6:40pm JST.

I stepped out an extremely crowded after-work subway train of the Yamanote Line, I found myself being pushed out of the train, like a sardine, toward the cold platform floor of Shinjuku Station, Tokyo. It is a more than common way for Japanese to end their working day in the crowded fashion, but no matter how I used to it, I still found it astonishing to watch so many men and women in suit and dress walking in a speed that will burn their fat every second. Although I am a 6'1" guy who runs and works out, I always find myself hard to keeping up pace with Japanese commuters.

So I stopped. I stopped not because I was tired or needed rest, but to scan through hundreds of signs to look for direction to my destination — the southeast exit. The commuters seemed familiar with foreigners stopping in the middle of the road, with their eyes sticking with their mobile phone, they phub and bypassed me in a smooth fashion.

Away from the crowd, my feet just felt lighter. The touch of the tiles of Shinjuku Station gave me strength to keep walking after a long and exhausted day. It’s time to eat something, and I know my destination is close. Menya Kaijin, a small ramen shop located at the 2nd floor not far from the southeast exit of the Shinjuku Station, close to the corner of Gap. It was around 7pm and the ramen shop was already full, with 10 people lining along the narrow stair waiting to get inside and “slurp”. I joined the line and became the 11th (a soccer team we had!) candidates for a bowl of warm and flavorful ramen to fill the stomach.

Thanks for the traditional Japanese manner of eating ramen — quickly so the ramen do not overcook, it only took about 30 minutes wait for my turn to have a seat in the packed ramen shop. The wait was ok, comparing to the always overcrowded Ichiran in the next alley, and I was sure it will definitely worth the wait from the minute I stepped in. Through the door were three tables for 4 and a wooden counter of 5 stools. On top of the wooden counter were large calligraphy posters of today’s special ingredients for the soup. The calligraphy was so beautiful that made me forgot how long I have waited and started to anticipate for the wonderful ramen I was about to dine.

The name of the ramen shop, Kaijin which means “God of the ocean”, suggested the base flavor of the broth — seafood, instead of the traditional tonkotsu (pork bone). Everyday, Kaijin chose the freshest seafood ingredients from the local fish market for their broth, to maintain its freshness and quality. Kaijin’s broth has a clear texture and a fresh as well as deep flavor, with extraordinary balance and a rounded profile.

The broth was cooked by different kinds of fishes and seafood, adding salt and condensed into clear and beautiful texture. the tonkotsu has a flavor both deep and long, with extraordinary balance and a rounded profile that has no jarring, gamy edges. Not being as greasy as tonkotsu broth, Kaijin’s broth is elegantly full-bodied, with the saltiness just about right. As I wind the thin, straight, and firm noodles into my mouth, the droplets that clings to them adds more level of this ramen orchestra. It was nothing like traditional Japanese ramen that is rich and salty, but refreshing and clean and it’s so good that I didn’t hear anything but slurping around the packed ramen shop. When the noodles are gone and the soups are empty, my mouth was still filled by the strong seafood flavor.

The unique seafood flavor ramen from Menya Kaijin.

And yet, Menya Kaijin is only one small ramen shop of the mega Tokyo ramen ecosystem. Thousands more are hiding in the alley of Tokyo’s neon halo and here is my list of 10. Enjoy the slurping!

Homemade Ramen Muginae (Homemade Ramen 麦苗)

Tel: 03–3298–5158 (+81–3–3298–5158)

Japanese Soba Noodles Rutsuta (Japanese Soba Noodles 蔦)

Tel: 03–3943–1007 (+81–3–3943–1007)

Menya Ittou (麺屋 一燈)

Tel: 03–3697–9787 (+81–3–3697–9787)

Motenashi Kuroki (饗 くろ喜)

Tel: 03–3863–7117 (+81–3–3863–7117)

Ramenya Maguchi (らぁ麺やまぐち)

Tel: 03–3204–5120 (+81–3–3204–5120)

Ginza Kagari (銀座 篝)

Tel: N/A

Menya Shou (麺屋 翔)

Tel: 03–3364–5787 (+81–3–3364–5787)

Menya Kaijin (麺屋海神)

Tel: 03–3356–5658 (+81–3–3356–5658)

Kujira Ken (くじら軒 八重洲店)

Tel: 03–3231–0807 (+81–3–3231–0807)

Toukyouekiikaruga (東京駅 斑鳩)

Tel: 03–3286–3586 (+81–3–3286–3586)