Nakiryu (Tokyo) – World’s 2nd Michelin-Starred Ramen Shop in Japan, Famous for Delicious Tantanmen (辛麺)!

There are only two Michelin-starred ramen restaurants in the world, and Nakiryu (鳴龍) is one of them. It is located in Tokyo and is extremely popular with both locals and tourists. We had to queue for over two hours for our ramen!

Nakiryu (鳴龍)

rewarded with a seat after queuing 2 hours

Nakiryu is a small ramen shop located in Otsuka, Tokyo. It opened in 2012 and received one Michelin Star in 2017.

It is famous for its dandan noodles served in spicy broth, a dish inspired by Chinese Sichuan cuisine.

Nakiryu is the world’s second Michelin-starred ramen shop. Tsuta Ramen, another ramen shop in Tokyo, was the first ever to earn a Michelin Star in 2015.

Despite the ensuing popularity after receiving the prestigious accolade, Nakiryu has not raised the price of their ramen, meaning that you can enjoy a Michelin dish here from just JPY850.

If you like instant noodles, you can also check out the Nakiryu Dandan Instant Ramen.

Peaceful Neighbourhood

The ramen shop is located in Otsuka, a quaint neighbourhood located just 12 minutes away from Shinjuku Station by train.

Other than outside Nakiryu, we did not see any other tourists here at all. Therefore, even though we had to wait for very long, the peaceful surroundings was actually quite a nice respite from the hustle and bustle of touristy areas like Shinjuku and Shibuya.

Super Long Queue!

the second part of the queue is across the street (not pictured)

When we reached at around 10.30am on a Saturday, there was already a queue of around 15 people outside the shop! This was despite the fact that the shop only opens at 11.30am.

Nakiryu is a 10-seater restaurant, which means we would be able to make it for the second seating.

The restaurant does not have a numbering system like Tsuta Ramen, so we had to queue outside the old-school way.

At 11.30am, we were happy to see the restaurant opening its doors and letting the first group of 10 customers in!

Unfortunately, that group consisted of many children and so their parents had to wait for them to finish eating. They left after around one hour.

Therefore, we entered the restaurant at about 12.30pm. By that time, the queue behind us had grown to about 40 people, consisting of both locals and tourists.

If it rains, the ramen shop will lend umbrellas to waiting customers.

Ordering from Vending Machine

And so after a two hour wait, we finally got to enter the restaurant! Like other Tokyo ramen shops, we had to order from the vending machine near the entrance.

The machine accepts both notes and coins. Change is provided.

We inserted our cash, and pressed the respective buttons to order our food.

Once we were done, the machine printed out our orders on small “food tickets”. We then handed over the food tickets to the staff for them to prepare our food.

Nakiryu Menu (Click to enlarge)

Nakiryu offers three types of dandan noodles, labelled as “spicy noodles (辛麺)” on its menu:

• Tantanmen 担担麵 (JPY 850) – original spicy noodles
• Mala Tantanmen 麻辣担担麵 (JPY 900) – very spicy tantanmen
• Sanramen 酸辣麺 (JPY 900) –  sour and spicy tantanmen

These three items are the most popular. However, if you can’t take spicy food, the Michelin guide also recommends Nakiryu’s shoyu ramen.

The menu also offers a variety of other Japanese dishes like shio ramen, dipping noodles, soy-dipped egg, gyoza, rice dishes, and more.

Due to the long queue, there is a limit of one ramen per person.

Cosy Ramen Shop with Good Service

Nakiryu is a cozy 10-seater restaurant with an open kitchen. It was pretty cool to see the chef preparing our ramen in front of us with his deft hands.

The staff could speak basic English. They were very polite and did not rush us to finish our meal at all.

Tantanmen (担担麵)

I ordered the Tantanmen 担担麵 (JPY850), and was hooked from the first mouthful!

The ramen had a wonderfully rich and creamy texture.

The sesame paste, soy sauce, peanut and chili oil ingredients came together perfectly to produce an amazing combination of sweet, savoury, spicy and umami flavours.

The thin noodles were cooked perfectly with just the right amount of bite.

Together with the mini chunks of minced pork, this was one perfect ramen dish truly deserving of its Michelin Star.

Mala Tantanmen (麻辣担担麵)

As for the Mala Tantanmen 麻辣担担麵 (JPY900), my first impression was one of artful balance in the texture and flavours of the spicy broth.

The broth was smooth and creamy, but also light. There was a bright hint of citrus which helped to balance the savoury flavour of the broth.

Despite being labelled as “very hot”, I felt that the ramen wasn’t really that spicy. But perhaps that’s because I am a Singaporean who is used to local spicy food.

Compared to the Tantanmen, I felt that the flavours of this dish were not as rich. While it was definitely still delicious, it lacked the “wow” factor of the Tantanmen.

Conclusion

We enjoyed our ramen dishes at Nakiryu very much! The dandan noodles were delicious and we were very satisfied after the meal.

That said, I’m not sure if I would be willing to queue 2 hours again for this ramen, especially since there are many other great ramen shops in Tokyo. Perhaps the queue will become less mind-boggling after the Michelin hype dies down.

Nonetheless, I’m glad to have tried the world’s second Michelin-starred ramen. And it was interesting to know that there is this quiet neighbourhood just a 12 minute train ride away from Shinjuku.

Nakiryu
What to order: Tantanmen 担担麵 (JPY850)
English Address: 170-0005 Tokyo, Toshima-ku, 2 Chome-34-4, Minami Otsuka
Japanese Address: 〒170-0005 東京都豊島区南大塚２丁目３４−4 ＳＫＹ南大塚
Directions: 6 minutes walk from Otsuka Station
Opening Hours: | Mon: 11.30am – 3pm | Wed to Sun: 11.30am – 3pm, 6pm – 9pm | Closed on Tuesdays |
Phone: +813 6304 1811

This article is part of our super awesome Ultimate Tokyo Travel Guide For First Timers. Everything you need to know about Tokyo is just a click away!