Tokyo

A seafood izakaya with ninety seats on the fourth floor of the HK Asakusa Building, open from 11:30 to 23:30 every day. It is the easiest of the three places in this building to walk into early in the evening.

There is a smoking room, free Wi-Fi and an all-you-can-drink plan.

Good to know

• The address says the 4th floor, while the shop's own directions say the 2nd. Follow the address.
• There is a smoking room inside the shop.

Uotami is a large all-round izakaya in the basement of a building in Jinnan, just north of Shibuya Center-gai, open until midnight every day. It has 115 seats, private rooms, karaoke, free Wi-Fi and a smoking booth. The menu runs from sashimi and sushi, through small dishes such as vinegared offal at ¥548 and pickles at ¥438, to a motsu-nabe offal hotpot at ¥1,208 per person and a beef shoulder steak at ¥1,428, all tax included. A charge of ¥498 per person covers the otoshi, and a 10% late-night charge applies to orders placed after 22:00.

Good to know

• A charge of ¥498 per person (tax included), which covers the otoshi, is added to the bill.
• A late-night charge of 10% of the bill is added when the first order is placed between 22:00 and 5:00. Since the restaurant closes at midnight, this applies to orders placed from 22:00 onwards.
• People under 20 are not served alcohol, and staff may ask for identification.
• The restaurant does not serve alcohol to guests who arrived by vehicle, including bicycles and electric kickboards.
• There is a smoking booth. The official page does not state whether the other seats are non-smoking.
• The official page does not give a walking time from the station, only a route description, and the address and the route description disagree about the floor.
• The tax rate differs between eating in and taking away; say before ordering if you want to take food out.
• There is no parking.

Ichiran is a tonkotsu ramen specialist, and this branch in the basement of the Peace Building, three minutes from Shinjuku Station, is open 24 hours. The ramen that the company has served since it opened is 1,180 yen, with extra noodles at 210 yen, and you choose how your bowl is made by filling in a paper order sheet. All 28 seats are at the flavour concentration counter, which is divided into individual booths. There is an English version of the shop page and a subtitled video explaining how to order for first-time visitors.

Good to know

• A late-night charge is added between 22:00 and 6:00. The rate is not published.
• Seats cannot be reserved.
• You may not be let in even before last orders when the shop is busy.
• The company notes that seat numbers, opening hours or opening at all may change depending on staffing.
• The official page does not state whether prices include tax, nor what the smoking policy is.
• There is no parking.

Isomaru Suisan is a seafood izakaya in the Ameyoko market area, three minutes from JR Ueno Station, and it is open 24 hours a day all year round. Its signature is isomaru-yaki, shellfish taken live from the tank and crab miso in the shell, grilled in front of you at the table. Sashimi and other small dishes are also on the menu. The restaurant has 154 seats on the ground floor, free Wi-Fi and a smoking booth, with all other seats non-smoking.

Good to know

• The restaurant states that it does not serve a lunch menu.
• Individual dish prices are not published for this branch; the chain notes that menu contents and prices differ by restaurant.
• Seating is non-smoking and there is a separate smoking booth.
• There is no parking.

Ichiran is a tonkotsu ramen specialist, and this branch in the basement of a building in Jinnan, three minutes from the Hachiko Exit of Shibuya Station and next to Shibuya Marui JAM, is open 24 hours. The ramen that the company has served since it opened is 1,180 yen, with extra noodles at 210 yen, and you choose how your bowl is made by filling in a paper order sheet. All 21 seats are at the flavour concentration counter, which is divided into individual booths. There is an English version of the shop page and a subtitled video explaining how to order for first-time visitors.

Good to know

• A late-night charge is added between 22:00 and 6:00. The rate is not published.
• You may not be let in even before last orders when the shop is busy.
• The company notes that seat numbers, opening hours or opening at all may change depending on staffing.
• The official page does not state whether prices include tax, what the smoking policy is, or whether seats can be reserved.
• There is no parking.

Nagi is a niboshi ramen shop on the second floor of a building inside Shinjuku Golden Gai, and the company describes it as the restaurant where Ramen Nagi started. It is open 24 hours a day and has ten seats at an L-shaped counter. The soup is made from a blend of more than twenty kinds of niboshi, dried sardines, selected from around Japan, and the company says it buys more than five tonnes of niboshi a month. Both ramen and tsukemen, served with a separate dipping soup, are on the menu.

Good to know

• Prices, accepted payment methods, the smoking policy and whether reservations are taken are not stated on the official website.
• The shop has only ten seats, so you may have to wait.
• It is on the second floor of a building inside Shinjuku Golden Gai.

Ichiran is a tonkotsu ramen specialist, and this branch inside Atre Ueno at JR Ueno Station is open 24 hours. The ramen that the company has served since it opened is 1,180 yen, with extra noodles at 210 yen, and you choose how your bowl is made by filling in a paper order sheet. All 36 seats are at the flavour concentration counter, which is divided into individual booths. There is an English version of the shop page and a subtitled video explaining how to order for first-time visitors.

Good to know

• A late-night charge is added between 22:00 and 6:00. The rate is not published.
• The restaurant is closed on the days Atre Ueno itself is closed.
• Seats cannot be reserved. The Fast Pass, booked through TableCheck, lets ticket holders enter through a priority lane but does not reserve a seat.
• You may not be let in even before last orders when the shop is busy.
• The company notes that seat numbers, opening hours or opening at all may change depending on staffing.
• The official page does not state whether prices include tax, nor what the smoking policy is.
• There is no parking.

AFURI is a ramen shop on Dogenzaka known for yuzu shio ramen, a clear chicken and dashi broth finished with yuzu. The Shibuya Dogenzaka branch opens at 11:00 every day and serves until 23:00, or until 5:00 in the morning on Friday and Saturday, closing earlier if the soup runs out. Both ramen and tsukemen, served with a cold dipping broth, are on the menu, and there is a rainbow vegan ramen made entirely from plants, with lotus-root noodles that contain no egg. The branch is fully cashless.

Good to know

• The branch is fully cashless, so bring a card or a payment app rather than cash.
• The shop closes when the soup runs out, before the listed closing time.
• It stays open until 5:00 only on Friday and Saturday nights; from Sunday to Thursday it closes at 23:00.
• The official site does not publish prices, seat numbers, a walking time from the station, the smoking policy or whether reservations are taken.

This is the main shop of the Menya Musashi group, four minutes from the West Exit of JR Shinjuku Station. The soup is a double soup: an animal-based stock built on chicken bones and pork bones, combined with a seafood stock taken from bonito flakes and dried sardines. Both ra-men and tsukemen, noodles served with a separate dipping soup, are on the menu, each in light and rich versions, with garlic, spicy tantan and extra-pork variations. The shop has 19 seats and is open every day.

Good to know

• The shop has only 19 seats, so you may have to wait.
• Prices and accepted payment methods are not listed on the official website.
• The shop is open every day with no regular closing day.
• The official site has an English version of this shop's page.

Menya Musashi Bukotsu opened in December 2003 near the North Exit of Okachimachi Station, three minutes on foot. The shop builds its ramen on a pork bone soup and offers three versions: the basic white, a black made with squid ink, and a red made with a house spicy sauce. Chashu is pork belly steamed for a long time and simmered in a sauce, then cut in front of you as it is served. The menu covers ra-men and tsukemen, dipping noodles, in each of the three flavours, with the shop having only 12 seats.

Good to know

• The shop has only 12 seats, so you may have to wait.
• Prices and accepted payment methods are not listed on the official website.
• The shop is open every day with no regular closing day.
• The official site has an English version of this shop's page.