Three minutes' walk from Shimomaruko Station on the Tokyu Tamagawa Line, in a residential pocket of Ota City, sits a chuka soba (Japanese-style ramen) specialist with just seven counter seats. Owner Toshiyuki Hirabayashi trained at Mendokoro Bigiya in Gakugei-daigaku and ran a pop-up in Fudomae before opening this permanent shop on 22 January 2024. At the 25th TRY Ramen Awards (2024-2025) it took first place overall in the New Shop Awards, along with first place in both the shoyu and tsukemen categories.
What kind of shop it is
The name "Natsuya" comes from the proprietress - Natsuko, the owner's wife - combined with Bigiya, the shop where the owner trained (per a column on the ramen site Ramen-Japan). The shop drew lines back in its pop-up days, and even with a permanent address it still has only seven counter seats. Service ends when the soup runs out.
According to the TRY Ramen Awards official site, the broth combines three kinds of niboshi (dried sardines) - hirako, katakuchi and shirokuchi - with dried bonito and other fish flakes, Rausu kombu and hana-katsuo. The chashu pork uses both belly and shoulder loin. The noodles come from Kanno Seimen, a noodle maker in the same ward; Otafuru, the Ota Ward Shopping Street Federation's site, describes them as having a crisp, snappy bite.
What to order
The base bowl is the Natsuya no Chuka Soba, listed at 950 yen both by the TRY Ramen Awards site and by Time Out Tokyo in January 2024. Time Out Tokyo listed the mochi-mochi wonton chuka soba at 1,150 yen and 1,250 yen (January 2024), while a June 2025 report put the version topped with wontons and a seasoned egg at 1,300 yen; prices differ by bowl and by period.
The mochi-mochi wonton is made in-house, its wrapper using Mochihime, a glutinous wheat flour from Iwate Prefecture; Time Out Tokyo describes the skin as thick and mochi-like, wrapped around a ginger-forward pork filling. The Natsuya no Tsuke Soba, a dipping-noodle bowl, took first place in the TRY New Shop tsukemen category. On the side, the Natsuya no Chawan Curry is made from the recipe of the owner's family's Western-style restaurant, in business for more than 35 years. A rotating rice dish is also offered: Time Out Tokyo lists it as Natsuko no Kyo no Gohan at 250 yen (January 2024), while Otafuru calls it simply Natsuko no Gohan - the official name is not confirmed on official channels.
Tips for visiting
Since 2025 the shop has used an online sign-up system in place of a physical queue. According to a Yahoo! News Expert article from June 2025, sign-ups open at 7:28 a.m. - the digits read as "na-tsu-ya" in Japanese - and each account may register up to two people, with customers asked to arrive on time when called. Otafuru's article from February 2024, which describes a weekend trial with numbered tickets handed out from 9 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays, predates the online system. Because the method can change, check the official X account (@natsuyanochuka) for the current arrangement before you go.
The shop is closed Tuesdays and Fridays, with hours given as 11:30-14:30 (per Otafuru and the TRY Ramen Awards official site). Sources differ on the closing time (Otafuru lists 15:00), and daily hours and unscheduled closures are announced on the official X account.
- Nearest station: Shimomaruko Station (Tokyu Tamagawa Line), 3-minute walk
- Seating: 7 counter seats (per the TRY Ramen Awards official site)
- Closed: Tuesdays and Fridays
- Queueing: online sign-up from 7:28 a.m., up to 2 people per account (as reported in June 2025)
- Payment methods are not confirmed on official channels - check the official X account in advance