Love spicy ramen? 🌶️🍜 Then you should definitely try Mouko Tanmen Nakamoto! It's one of my favorite spicy ramen spots in Japan. 😍 You can also find the cup ramen version at 7-Eleven stores throughout Japan, making it a great souvenir to take home! 🍜🇯🇵

Not very spicy. Im not a huge fan of tantan flavor ramen. If thats your jam then youll love it.

The "North Pole ramen" is spicy as promised but lacks the depth and complexity of my favorite spicy ramens around Tokyo. Will return to try some of the other variations.

Great service, big portion and good price! What more can you ask?

The absolute holy ground of super-spicy ramen, and the place where "Moko Tanmen Nakamoto," famous nationwide, got its start. The signature "Hokkyoku Ramen" boasts 1.5 servings of noodles by default, and its secret flavor — not just spicy, but with the umami and sweetness of tonkotsu and vegetables melted in — gives off a one-of-a-kind addictiveness that makes your body crave it regularly, including the definite "aftermath" the next day. In fact, Kami-Itabashi here could be called the history of Nakamoto itself. In 1968, its predecessor "Chinese Restaurant Nakamoto" was born on this spot, and although it once closed, the current president Makoto Shirane, who had fallen in love with its taste, revived it in 2000 as "Moko Tanmen Nakamoto" — a moving drama. It's truly the spiritual hometown of all Nakamoto fans. The main store always has the image of a huge line, but this day I aimed for a slightly later time, so I got in smoothly without waiting. I bought the "Hokkyoku Ramen" at the ticket machine and went into the lively shop. Lots of people were having drinks at the counter seats, and there was a pleasant buzz unique to the main store. The bowl arrived about 7–8 minutes after ordering. Filling the bowl was a shocking soup dyed mercilessly bright red. Slurping it for the first time in several years, it seemed milder, without the piercing heat of before — was that due to differences between branches, or my own condition? I could clearly taste the umami and sweetness behind the chili at its base, but if you're after deep richness, the finish might have felt a bit light this day. The yellowish, straight, thick noodles, reminiscent of pasta, strike an exquisite balance that doesn't pick up too much soup, letting you dig in vigorously. "Maybe it's not that spicy?" I thought as I finished it in no time, but Nakamoto's destructive power is real after all. The next day, my stomach was thoroughly knocked out by the chili. If you're in the area, definitely stop by. ☺︎︎Order list ・Hokkyoku Ramen 980 yen

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