If you are visiting Tokyo and you want to know why ramen is famous in Japan then you owe it to yourself to check out Jangara Ramen
You probably know that Japan is famous for ramen and of course in the states we have Tom Ramen and Cup Of Noodles. What you may not know is that those products are about as close to real ramen as Taco Bell is to real Mexican food. Even in LA where we have a large Japanese national population and several ramen restaurants all of them are just horrid.
There are thousands if not tens of thousands of ramen places in Japan from fancy restaurants to portable ramen stands setup like hot dog stands in the states. With so many to choose from you need to know some good ones. Jangara ramen is one of the good ones.
They are a small chain. The original is apparently from Kyushu which is southern Japan. There are two I know of in Tokyo. One is in Akihabara. This one is always crowded with 20 or more people standing in like outside. I don't recommend you go to this one unless you don't might eating alone. It's so small that generally you will be asked to enter one at a time.
The other one is in Harajuku and it's easier to find as it's just a minute or so from the station. Exit the station, walk to the right to the big street. Turn left down the street and it's on your left just a few stores down.
Jangara ramen specializes in tonkotsu ramen. tonkotsu means "pig bone" which is what they use to favor the soup. If you come to Japan and you don't try tonkotsu ramen but instead try some other kind you will not know what you are missing. Even if you come to Jangara ramen make sure you order the tonkotsu ramen since Jangara Ramen carries 2 or 3 types. Try it and you will crave it for the rest of your life! 😉