As I said in an earlier post, our main ramen desires in Tokyo were to eat good versions of our favourite ramen styles and, as far as possible, to do so in an environment that did not cause stress. Our first stop, at Ginza Kagari’s Roppongi Hills branch, gave us fantastic tori paitan ramen with zero stress (ordering via a multilingual ticket machine that took credit cards; very easygoing atmosphere inside). Our second stop, at Ramenya Toy Box in Arakawa, gave us fabulous shoyu (and pretty good shio) ramen but a little more stress in the ordering process (courtesy a Japanese-only ticket machine that accepted only cash) and a relatively austere dining experience. Our third stop, at Koukaibou in Monzen Nakacho, gave us outstanding pork bone and seafood ramen and a warmer experience. Our fourth and final stop was at the Akihabara location of Kyushu Jangara. They specialize in tonkotsu ramen and I am pleased to say that not only was the ramen very good, but the experience was also very easy. Here are the details.

Kyushu Jangara has a number of locations in Tokyo. The Akihabara location is the main/original one, however. They are known for their mild take on tonkotsu broth, which can in some incarnations become very cloying/intense not only in the broth’s creamy/rich texture but also aromatically. So if, as we were, you are looking for a less extreme tonkotsu experience, Kyushu Jangara is a good option. They’re also a good option for non-Japanese speaking tourists as they have menus in multiple languages and are generally very foreigner-friendly. As at Koukaibou, there is no ticket machine either. You line up in front of the store and once you’re close enough to being seated a staff member comes out and takes your order. You pay at the end and, yes, credit cards are accepted. There are 15 seats inside—8 at the counter and 7 at tiny tables—and so the wait is also never likely to be very long.

As we were a party of four, we once again arrived well before they opened with a view towards being in the first wave of seating—as this is the only way to guarantee being seated together if you’re not dining solo or as a duo. They open at 11 every day. We arrived about 20 minutes prior on a Saturday and found two people in line before us. But there were more than 15 waiting well before the door opened and a staff member came out to take the first wave of orders and finally let us in. We were told to sit at two tiny two-tops right by the entrance. Once we were all seated they placed an extender in between and we now had a tiny four-top. Not a lot of maneuvering room—especially for the two trapped inside—but perfectly fine for eating ramen quickly. Interestingly, despite there being more people in line, they did not fill every counter seat in the first wave. Presumably, they also have an eye on the kitchen’s capacity at any moment.

Our drinks arrived first—Cokes for the boys, beer for the missus and me—and then a small side order of steamed rice with mentaiko (spicy cod roe) which we enjoyed a lot. Then the ramen arrived and we enjoyed that even more. The older boy and the missus both got bowl of their signature mild Kyushu Jangara tonkotsu ramen. He got his with chunks of marinated pork and mentaiko as add-ons and she subtracted the pork and added a seasoned egg. I got the Bonshan or creamy tonkotsu and topped it with the marinated pork, mentaiko and a seasoned egg. The younger boy meanwhile got the Kobonshan or creamy tonkotsu with fried garlic oil, adding on marinated pork and nori. You can also specify the firmness of your noodles, all the way from soft to ultra firm. The younger boy got the standard, the older the firm, the missus the extra firm and I the super firm. I was a bit nervous that that the super firm would border on crunchy but it was nicely al dente. As for the ramen, there are other incarnations of the tonkotsu available too—though these are not all listed on the English menu outside the store—as well as vegan shoyu ramen (which can even be rendered Buddhist-vegan).

How was the ramen we did order? Very good indeed. Easily the best tonkotsu ramen we’ve ever eaten but, of course, our comparisons are to versions in the US. For the trip I think we all had them in the fourth position (the missus and the older boy had Toy Box #1 and Koukaibou #2, the younger boy and I had Koukaibou #1 and Toy Box #2) but we would happily eat here again on another visit to Tokyo. Though I will repeat what I said earlier: excellent ramen can be found all over Tokyo; so consult Tabelog to find a good place near where you’re going to be rather than going out of your way to eat at a specific ramen shop. Well, unless you’re a ramen-hound, I suppose.

For a look at the restaurant and everything we ate, launch the slideshow below. Scroll down to see how much it all cost and to see what’s coming next.

As at all ramen places in Tokyo, prices at Kyushu Jangara are very reasonable. The basic bowl starts at 890 yen which is just about $6. My credit card statement tells me we paid just over $50 for our four bowls of ramen, rice-mentaiko bowl, two soft drinks and a beer. That is very good value.

Well, this was our last ramen meal on the trip—even though we ranked it #4 of the four we had it was a good one to go out with. I still have a lot of other food reports to come from Tokyo and Kyoto though. Next up will be another sushi meal and then two meals in genres I have not reported on before. Those will go up in the coming week.