Tokyo Rahmen Ten — Restaurant in Tokyo

After several days in Tokyo, tired of long queues and restaurants that have become “things” because of some blogpost or another, we stumbled upon Tokyo Rahmen Ten, a refreshing deviation from the hyped up social media influenced eateries. A casual spot tucked away in a quiet street, this became one of our favorite experiences in the city. No nonsense, no fuss; just a hard working man serving up his life’s dedication in a bowl. It’s a hot, steamy room with ten bar spots or so, and some standing room behind. Prepare to sweat as he does. We encountered an ebb and flow of locals who were seated, served, and finished within 15 minutes each. The menu is in Japanese and G translate does a good job, but our host instantly offered us his phone with a picture menu in English. Hes constantly moving pots and pans, running a till, and shouting greeting and goodbyes at his customers over the clanging, but he didn’t bat an eye at our slowness and accommodates us just as any other. We ordered the garlic/egg ramen, soy ramen, and pork gyoza. He whipped out the filling and proceeded to stuff and fold gyoza in front of us. My goodness, I’ve never had any gyoza like that before. The ramen then came out in a giant bowls, each big enough for two of us but who are we kidding we’re on vacation. If you like garlic, the garlic/egg is delightful. Intense garlic flavor but not overpowering; complements the umami of the broth and pork. The soy ramen was more recognizable but was memorable in depth of flavor and nuance. Come hungry and be kind, this hard working man will take...

Important Note: Cash Only.

This ramen shop does not accept credit cards or digital payments make sure to bring cash.

The ramen is tonkotsu-based (pork broth), rich and flavorful. I found it enjoyable, though I didn’t try the gyoza this time.

Communication may be limited as the staff doesn't speak much English.

While this can come across as distant to some foreigners, the staff does their best to communicate in their own way.

During my visit, a group of tourists misunderstood the menu.

They ordered a vegetable topping and expected a fully vegetarian ramen, which it wasn’t. Vegetarian ramen is extremely rare in Japan, and when it exists, it’s usually clearly labeled on the menu.

The staff struggled to explain this, and unfortunately, the tourists took it the wrong way.

This is a simple local style shop, authentic, and meant for quick meals. It might not meet everyone’s expectations visually or in terms of service, but that’s part of the charm.

If you're a tourist, I recommend keeping things simple:

✅ Point to your choice on the menu. ✅ Don’t expect customization or detailed explanations. ✅ Eat and go! that’s the culture here.

If you're looking for a guided, tourist-friendly dining experience, this might not be the best match. But if you're up for something real and local, it’s worth a try.

Too many foreign visitors leave bad reviews without understanding the context of Japanese hospitality.

A little patience and cultural awareness...

This is the worst ramen place I’ve been to. The owner was so rude and racist. I felt it was because we were foreigners. My husband and I sat down and he threw his phone at our table of pictures I’d English menu. My husband took a picture of the original menus and had the prices of the menu. He took a while to get us our food. He was loud and rude towards us repeatedly asking us what we wanted to order. I order miso and he order soy ramen. He would at times lean over to listen to our conversation but we were speaking Japanese or Chinese which I think was what he spoke. We spoke another language, I shall not say as not many people know it… he was so loud and obnoxious! He yells out to my husband asking my husband how he plans to pay evens before we even got our food..”how you going to pay, Japanese money? “??? My husband replies “yes” 😑😑😑 we knew this was gonnna be a cash only restaurant.

In our mind, we were thinking wth is wrong with this guy…

Two customers that came after us got their food first… and we kept waiting…we finally get our order and the ramen wasn’t good…then he yells our cost was exactly 1800… he actually up charges us 100 yen. The funny thing was we had a picture of menu and knew the cost was 1705 but he told us 1800 yen. We attach the menu below.

Beware foreigners, this place is not friendly to foreigners and will...