Have you ever wondered what the very first Japanese ramen might have tasted like? Or what the atmosphere in a Tokyo ramen shop would have been like in the 1930s? Well, you can actually still come pretty close to experiencing these things today. Thanks to Japan’s reverence for mastery and tradition, several legendary shops, whose history dates back to the very beginnings of Tokyo ramen culture, remain fully in operation, with chefs serving the same soup recipes that were invented by their fathers or grandfathers decades ago.

Much of Tokyo’s new wave ramen scene is commendably preoccupied with pushing the cuisine forward, using cutting-edge technique and ever more rarified ingredients. Although these old school shops may seem simple by comparison, we tend to hold them in high regard. There is often a simplicity at work in these bowls that is plainly profound. And knowing that they are the roots of Japanese ramen culture, you can't help but marvel at your meal. After all, if the recipe hasn’t changed for decades, there’s probably a very good reason for that.

Here are seven of our favorite semi-ancient ramen shops in Tokyo — step through their entryways for a peek into the past; sip their soup to quite literally taste history.