Ramen is Japan’s national obsession – and there more than 10,000 shops to choose from in Tokyo alone. Three local experts choose their favourites
‘Ramen doesn’t have rules the way many Japanese foods do, which means the possibilities are endless,” says Abram Plaut. “And in Tokyo people are always coming up with ideas that have never been done before.”
Plaut’s fascination with the noodle soup started when he arrived in Japan to teach English a decade ago. Ramen was cheap, plentiful and, thanks to the automated ordering machines, easy. He was hooked. But his hobby became an obsession, and within a few years he was writing articles on the subject and appearing on TV as an expert. In 2016, he helped open Mensho Tokyo SF in San Francisco with master ramen chef Tomoharu Shono.
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