Hopeken's Sendagaya main store began in 1960 with a borrowed ramen cart and has stood on its current Sendagaya site since 21 January 1975. The shop's official site bills its bowl as the "original back-fat ramen" (元祖 背脂入りラーメン). A short walk from the National Stadium, it serves around the clock, every day of the year.
What kind of shop it is
Founder Hideaki Ushikubo borrowed a yatai — a mobile street food cart — and began pulling it in 1960. According to Nikkan Gendai, he started out as an apprentice in Akabane, then spotted an advertisement from Hopeken Honpo recruiting cart operators and moved his cart closer to central Tokyo. After some 15 years on the cart, he opened the current shop on 21 January 1975. Marking 50 years in Sendagaya in January 2025, Ushikubo told the local paper Shibuya Keizai Shimbun that the shop had "not closed for a single day in 50 years."
On the back fat, the official site explains that it uses fat that melts out of the simmering pot, which it says adds depth and umami to the broth. The site says the back-fat broth has been unchanged since the shop's founding while being refined day by day, and that the amount of back fat can be adjusted to taste. The medium-thick noodles, made in-house, are meant to hold the broth.
The building has three floors: a stand-and-eat counter on the first, a seated counter on the second, and a third floor centred on tables, which the official site says can host group visits such as parties of four. The standing format was chosen so customers could eat quickly, and it remains on the first floor today.
What to order
The base bowl is ramen at ¥1,100. Char siu ramen is ¥1,450 and a large ramen ¥1,300 (all per the official site as of July 2026). Of the bean sprout ramen (¥1,300), the official site says the crisp sprouts change the texture and make it lighter to eat than the standard bowl.
The scallions are a distinctive touch: the official site states that scallions are all-you-can-add, set out at every seat for customers to add as much as they like — useful if the broth tastes too strong. Toppings include a seasoned egg (¥150) and small rice (¥150). Canned beer (350ml, ¥400) is served from 11:00 to 21:00.
The summer-only tsukemen (dipping noodles) is ¥1,300. As of July 2026 the official site announces that sales of the summer tsukemen have begun. The site describes a broth lighter than the ramen but still made with the shop's back fat, accented with shiso leaf.
Tips for visiting
It is a 7-minute walk from Sendagaya Station on the JR Chuo-Sobu local line, or 6 minutes from exit A3 of Kokuritsu-Kyogijo Station on the Toei Oedo line. The National Stadium and Jingu Stadium are both nearby, making it an easy stop after a game or an event.
Open 24 hours year-round, so timing is flexible, though how busy it gets varies by hour. The main store accepts credit cards and electronic money (transit IC and QR codes); the Kanjo-Nana Maruyama branch in Nakano does not. There is no dedicated parking, so coin parking nearby is the option.