The Best Ramen and Tsukemen In Shinjuku

Update-Date: Sep 26, 2025

Author: Kim Kay

Categories: Ramen

Holding the record for the world’s busiest train station, it’s highly likely you’ll visit Shinjuku during your time in Japan. With countless shopping and entertainment options, ranging from the giant Godzilla head over Kabukicho to the calm escape of Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden, you are bound to work up an appetite. Every time I visit Shinjuku I love trying a new ramen shop, and have discovered some truly delicious hidden gems. There are also some incredible tsukemen (dipping ramen) options that let you experience the high quality of homemade noodles as you dip them into a selection of creamy, thick, or soy sauce soups. To save you time and stress in making your choice, these are my top five favorite ramen shops in Shinjuku.

Kim Kay

Freelance Writer

Kim specializes in the connection between Japanese food, culture, and travel. Since moving to Japan in 2019, she has become known as the “Ramen Mistress” and enjoys over 150 bowls of ramen each year. A passionate food writer, her work history includes a variety of food and travel publications as well as various film and audio appearances.

Menya Sho Honten 麺屋翔本店（shio ramen）

You’ve probably heard of sea salt, but did you know there are dozens of different salt varieties used in ramen? This award-winning shop has been celebrated as one of Tokyo’s best ramen restaurants for nearly a decade. And when it comes to chicken ramen in Shinjuku, one name always comes up: Menya Sho.

They use four different types of salt in their famous chicken shio (salt broth) ramen. Each salt has different flavors, from smoky to mineral notes, and adds layers of complexity to the soup. Such a recipe produces an equally complex ramen—don’t let anyone tell you that clear-based soups are boring! Menya Sho also uses shamo chicken, a Japanese breed known for its meaty flesh and a full-bodied flavor. It’s a more expensive meat than standard boiler chicken, but Menya Sho keeps their ramen reasonably priced at only ¥1,000 for their house bowl, which includes two slices of pork, two bamboo shoots, and freshly sliced green onions from Kujo, Kyoto.

For an upgrade, you should order the specialty bowl which includes additional slices of their homemade pork and chicken, as well as two wontons—one shrimp and one pork. When your ramen arrives, take a moment to appreciate the luscious golden layer of chiyu (chicken oil) and the aroma of carefully simmered chicken bones before digging in.

I recommend ordering the specialty bowl with all the toppings for ¥1,500. The meat is excellent, with thin slices of smoky braised pork belly, tender sous vide chicken, and braised pork shoulder butt. The egg is marinated in a deep soy sauce tare (seasoning mix) with a vivid orange yolk. Also, there are only 140 grams of the firm, thin noodles in this ramen, which is a reasonable portion size that won’t weigh you down. Overall, it’s a very well-rounded bowl for anyone who loves chicken and is looking for top-tier ramen in Shinjuku.

The ticket machine is in English and has photos of each menu item, which makes ordering a breeze. They only take cash, so prepare accordingly. During lunch hours the line can get quite long, so it’s worth arriving twenty minutes before opening if you want to be one of the first served. Menya Sho is conveniently located twelve minutes from the west exit of Shinjuku station, or just around the corner from Nishi-Shinjuku station on the Marunouchi Line.

Menya Sho Honten
Open Hours: Weekdays 11:00-15:00 and 18:00-22:00; Saturday 11:00-15:00 and 17:00-22:00; Sunday 11:00-15:00 and 17:00-21:00.
Address: 7-22-34 Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo
Regular Holiday: None

Inose Ramen（tsukemen）

This is one of the most beautiful bowls of ramen in Shinjuku, and it comes with four different dipping sauces! This style of ramen is called tsukemen, where the noodles are served separately and you dip them into the soup as you eat. They arrive in a kombusui bath, which is made by soaking kombu, a type of kelp, in water overnight. This creates intense umami thanks to the high level of glutamic acid in the seaweed, and the cold soak keeps things flavorful without getting bitter. These noodles are so easy to slurp!

The house soup, on the left, uses a white soy sauce and seafood combination, while the “Tokyo classic” soup on the far right is a deep and dark soy sauce combined with vinegar and chili pepper. Its strong tanginess really stands out next to the aromatic white soy. The “chilled soy milk dandan” uses sesame paste, chili oil, and miso marinated minced pork. The creaminess makes this one a fan favorite! And the “nameko oroshi” uses grated spicy daikon, myoga ginger, and nameko mushrooms. I like to add a little of the soup wari hot dashi served on the counter to the nameko oroshi and have almost a fifth soup!

The thinly sliced pork is wrapped into a gorgeous rose atop the silky noodles. Each slice (and there are four massive pieces!) is delicately and tender. Experiment with dipping the pork into the different soups!

Inose has many tables and is good for groups. There were ten people in line when they opened on a Sunday morning, so make sure you set aside enough time when you visit. Credit cards and transportation cards are accepted in addition to cash. They even have a vegan ramen, but I highly encourage meat eaters to go all in with the special four soup combination; it’s a once-in-a-lifetime tsukemen experience.

Inose
Open Hours: 11:00-15:00 and 17:30-21:00
Address: Shinjuku Toyo Building 102, 2-20-19 Yoyogi, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
Regular Holiday: None

Menya Kaijin Shinjuku Ten（fish-based ramen）

There’s hardly a ramen shop closer to Shinjuku Station than Menya Kaijin: step out of the east exit and you’ll see it right away. But convenience isn’t the main draw here. It’s the delicately balanced fish ramen. While many people associate fish-based ramen with strong, pungent flavors, that’s not the case at Menya Kaijin. The broth is crystal clear, made with tai (sea bream) and a salt base, with only a touch of oil on top. Tai is a meaty white fish with a subtle sweetness, far gentler than the sardine flavors often found in other ramen.

Fresh fish bones are sourced daily, flame-seared to bring out their depth, then gently simmered into a refined, aromatic soup. The noodles are very thin and slightly firm, perfectly complementing the light broth. Since no pork is used, this ramen is also suitable for those with dietary restrictions.

The presentation is almost too pretty to eat, with a shrimp-and-cod meatball and a juicy chicken meatball, topped with spring onions, myoga ginger, shiso leaves, and chili threads. Overall, Menya Kaijin is an excellent choice for anyone trying fish ramen for the first time, or for seasoned ramen lovers looking for something refreshingly different.

Menya Kaijin Shinjuku Ten
Open Hours: Monday–Friday, 11:00-15:00 and 16:30-23:30; Saturday, 11:00-23:30; Sunday, 11:00-23:00
Address: Sanraku Building 2F, 3-35-7 Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku , Tokyo
Regular Holiday: None

Tsukemen Gonokami Seisakusho Shinjuku（tsukemen）

If you like shrimp, Tsukemen Gonokami Seisakusho near Shinjuku National Gardens offers one of the best shrimp bowls in the city. Their ethos is “only a wasteful spirit throws away”, and they make use of excess ingredients from other food industries to create their soup.

For example, the stock uses hundreds of pounds of leftover shrimp shells, which results in a creamy explosion of shrimp flavor. The noodles are homemade and use a lot of wheat, making them both healthy and delightfully textured. The sweetness of the cabbage serves as a nice contrast to the shrimp, and you can even order a side of basil pesto to create a new flavor fusion as you eat!

You can choose your portion of noodles when you order, and the sizes range from small (180 grams), medium (270 grams), and large (360 grams). I recommend the small or medium, as it is quite filling! Tsukemen Gonokami Seisakusho is open from 11:00am to 9:00pm every day, and lunchtime is definitely the most crowded. It’s best to go in the mid-afternoon to minimize your wait. But regardless of whether you have to line up, this ramen is worth it!

Tsukemen Gonokami Seisakusho Shinjuku
Open Hours: 11:00-21:30
Address: Chateau Shinjuku Gyoen Daiichi 1F , 5-33-16 Sendagaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
Regular Holiday: None

Afuri Karakurenai Shinjuku Subnade（spicy ramen）

You may have heard of the famous Japanese ramen chain AFURI, but did you know they have a secret spicy ramen location in Shinjuku’s underground shopping area? Shinjuku Subnade is an underground mall that connects directly to the station with endless shopping and dining opportunities. It’s the perfect choice for a rainy day or a sweltering afternoon. But one thing is certain—if you eat the spicy ramen at Afuri Karakurenai, you are going to sweat!

Their ramen is offered on a spice scale from zero to eight, resulting in more and more red pepper on an already spicy miso base. It is a complex blend of chili oil, pepper puree, doubanjiang, fresh black pepper, and Szechuan. The soup uses salt, yuzu, and chicken which helps temper the intensity of the spice levels and the heaviness of the miso. Overall, it’s a very well-rounded bowl of ramen and a fun chance to test your limits. For the true spice lover in your life, challenge them to try the “level 28”, which even uses ghost pepper. The day that I went, I tried level 5 out of 8 and was surprised at how spicy—and delicious—it was!

For those who prefer something milder, Afuri Karakurenai also offers non-spicy options, including the standout “Rainbow Vegan Ramen.” Made with sun-dried tomatoes and shiitake mushrooms for depth, it’s a vibrant, vegetable-forward option and a must-try for anyone seeking vegan ramen in Shinjuku.

Afuri Karakurenai Shinjuku Subnade
Open Hours: 10:30-22:00
Address: Shinjuku Subnade B1F, Section 005, Kabukicho 1 Yasukuni-dori, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo
Regular Holiday: None