Fuunji 風雲児 (Tokyo) – Fantastic Tsukemen Ramen in Shinjuku, One of The Best In Tokyo!

Our very first meal in Tokyo was at Fuunji (風雲児), a ramen joint famous for its delicious tsukemen ramen. We had to queue for almost 1.5 hours, which was pretty crazy!

Fuunji (風雲児)

Fuunji (風雲児) is a popular ramen shop in Shinjuku known for its “tsukemen ramen”. This is a dry ramen dish where you dip cold noodles in a separate bowl of hot savoury broth.

Fuunji makes its broth by simmering chicken bones, katsuo (tuna) and kombu (seaweed). It is served with a dollop of smoky dashi powder, which enhances the taste.

History of Fuunji

Fuunji was founded by chef Miyake-san years ago. Surprisingly, he had never served as an apprentice under another ramen master.

Instead, he worked at an Italian restaurant, but was a huge fan of ramen. Eventually, after systematically trying out many of Tokyo’s top ramen joints, he decided to open his own ramen shop.

Today, Fuunji is widely regarded to be one of the top tsukemen joints in Tokyo.

Fuunji Menu

The simple menu offers four items:

1. Dipping Noodle (JPY 800)
2. Special Dipping Noodle (JPY 1000)
3. Ramen (JPY 750)
4. Special Ramen (JPY 950)

The “Special” options include an onsen egg and char siu (pork belly).

Items 1 and 2 refer to the tsukemen ramen dish, which is Fuunji’s signature dish. Most people will order item 2, the Special Dipping Noodle (JPY 1000).

Items 3 and 4 refer to the typical ramen dish. We felt that this wasn’t as satisfying as the tsukemen ramen.

Fuunji also lets you choose the portion size of your noodles: small (200g), medium (300g), and large (400g). The price is the same regardless of size.

Super Long Queue

Check out the long queue across the road from the restaurant

When we got to the Fuunji at around 6.30pm on a Saturday, we were pleasantly surprised to see just a few people queueing outside the restaurant.

So we sauntered right to the entrance, where a queuing customer gave us an amused look and pointed across the road.

We turned our head to see what he was referring to, and alas, there was actually a really long queue of over 30 people behind!

And so we walked sheepishly all the way to the back of the queue, resigned to our fate.

While waiting, I observed that half the queue comprised of tourists, while the other half consisted of locals.

After waiting for about one hour, we finally got to enter the restaurant. But that didn’t mean that we could start eating immediately!

How To Order

First, like most other ramen joints in Tokyo, we had to order our food from the vending machine near the entrance.

This was pretty straightforward – we just needed to insert our cash and punch the respective buttons to order.

After queuing for one hour, we had long decided what to eat. I got the signature Special Dipping Noodle (JPY 1000) while the wife ordered the Special Ramen (JPY 950).

Note that all the items come with seaweed, bamboo shoots and green onions by default, so there is no need to press the buttons for these unless you want extra. And as mentioned earlier, the “Special” options include boiled egg and char siu.

After ordering, the machine issued us two nifty tickets printed with our orders.

Next, we had to join the queue inside the ramen joint, which was directly behind the seated customers eating their ramens.

It was pretty amusing to peer over their shoulders while they ate. No pressure pal, it’s just that I’ve been waiting for over an hour. Take your time.

Luckily, things sped up once we were inside the restaurant. After queueing for another 15 minutes or so, we finally got our seats!

At the same time, one friendly staff asked for our tickets and our choice of noodles size. We both went with small (200g) as we were going to visit another restaurant later.

Cozy Old-School Ramen Joint

Check out the queue behind the seated customers

Fuunji is the type of eatery where you’ll experience cramped, elbow-to-elbow sort of seating. It is a small space with a seating capacity of just 15pax.

I actually liked this interesting cultural experience. In addition, the ventilation was quite good, and everyone was very polite so we didn’t feel uncomfortable at all.

Open Kitchen

Chef Miyake-san taking a moment

It was interesting to see the restaurant staff preparing our food in the open kitchen.

Based on my observation, there were about four apprentices, with each of them expertly executing just one or two tasks.

Chef Mikaye-san was in charge of the noodle station, where he deftly boiled, sieved and served the noodles.

It was inspiring to see the kitchen running like a well-oiled machine. I must say the Japanese are truly dedicated to their craft.

Incidentally, I was also really impressed that Mikaye-san’s nicely styled hair remained firmly in place while he was cooking. He must be using a really good hair styling product!

Special Dipping Noodle

About ten minutes after the staff collected our tickets, our ramens were served. I was really excited to check out my Special Dipping Noodle (JPY 1,000)!

I quickly dipped my cold noodles into the tantalising bowl of chicken broth.

As expected, the broth was really delicious. It had a rich savoury flavour along with an alluring chicken essence fragrance. The brown dashi powder added an intense umami flavour and enhanced the richness of the broth.

The noodles was a highlight too. They were very well cooked with the perfect amount of bite. And it was a joy to slurp on them after they had soaked up the rich flavours of the broth.

Even though I had ordered the “small” noodles size, I felt that the portion was just nice for me. And I consider myself to be a big eater. I saw one tall male customer eating the “large” portion beside me and it felt like he was struggling to finish.

I really enjoyed eating the chunks of pork belly in the broth too. They were soft, tender and juicy, complementing the broth perfectly.

The onsen egg, bamboo shoots, and seaweed were delicious and served as awesome toppings for the tsukemen ramen.

Finally, after I had finished most of the broth, I poured in diluted dashi stock from the flask into the bowl to create a delicious “soup” and drank it up.

Special Ramen

I also tried the Special Ramen (JPY 950). While this was definitely delicious as well, I felt that the broth didn’t have the same satisfying rich flavour of the tsukemen ramen broth.

That said, it may appeal to people who prefer their food to be less salty.

Conclusion

Me looking satisfied after the meal

I am happy to have tried the super famous tsukemen ramen at Fuunji. So was it worth the hype? Well, it was definitely delicious. The rich broth had a wonderful umami flavour that left me very satisfied. And service was good too – the staff was friendly and could speak basic English. I would say go check Fuunji out if you haven’t before, just to tick it off your list.

However, I do not really think it was worth queueing for 1.5 hours. I definitely want to go back and try the delicious tsukemen ramen again, but only if I don’t have to queue for so long.

Fuunji (風雲児)
What to Order: Special Dipping Noodle (JPY 1000)
English Address: Hokuto Daiichi bld. 2-14-3 Yoyogi, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
Japanese Address: 東京都渋谷区代々木2-14-3 北斗第一ビル
Opening Hours: | Mon – Sat: 11am to 3pm, 5pm to 9pm | CLOSED on Sun and PH
Directions: 8 minute walk from Shinjuku Station JR South Exit
Phone: +813 6413 8480

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!