Suzuran Ramen and MIST Ramen, #12 and #15 in Japan

Time to eat ramen again. This time, I visited a couple places in Shibuya.

ラーメン　を　又　食べます。　この間　私　わ　渋谷　に　行きました。


中華そば　すずらん



東京都渋谷区渋谷3-7-5
3-7-5 Shibuya, Tokyo
Go out the south exit at Shibuya station and find a map or ask a cop.



Suzuran is a popular ramen shop on the south side of Shibuya. It's close to one of my drinking places, Cataratas. I went for the おすすめ (recommended) and ended up with miso and vegetable tsukemen. You can order about five different types of noodles here. The flat noodles looked interesting, I'll try those next time.



The vegetables were mostly sprouts and cabbage, which is the norm for ramen at most places.



The menu is extensive, but it's mostly standard fare. There were some rice options and a couple soup styles.


創作麺工房　ＭＩＳＴ



東京都渋谷区　表参道ヒルズ本館3Ｆ
3rd Floor of Omotesando Hills. Omotesando station is easiest access.



Plum ramen? Not just any plum, but some nice 梅干し. That's sour, fermented plums people. You usually find it in rice balls or shoved in your face by a smirking bar master at a back alley drinking hole. But here it's mixed into a simple salt broth ramen. The combination is wonderful...if you like 梅干し. Which I do.



By the way, this place is up-freaking-scale. It's in the elite Omotesando Hills shopping complex. You came here at dinner time? Sorry, budget minders need to stick to lunch time. At dinner, there is some sort of ramen course menu for 5500 yen, about $55. To say that homey don't play that would be the understatement of the week. Lunch was 1500 yen, which although it's about double what a normal bowl costs at any other place, is doable. Part of the allure of ramen in Japan is it's cheap price. For $55, I could eat steak, or fugu, or better yet, I could eat ramen every day for a week.

MIST is featured at the #2 spot in this video:



So what's there to do in Shibuya? I really don't know what to say about Shibuya. It's by far the most popular neighborhood in the whole Tokyo area. I'll just say that it has a nice balance of normal and off the radar strange. You can have coffee overlooking the busiest intersection in the world, watch the sun set over Mt. Fuji from a sushi restaurant on the top floor of a skyscraper, and buy used panties, photo of the previous owner included, all without walking more than 10 minutes.