Ramen Nijubunnoichi sits on Ogu-Honcho-dori in Higashi-Ogu, Arakawa City, about two minutes on foot from the Higashi-Ogu-sanchome stop on the Toden Arakawa Line — one of the last streetcars still running in Tokyo. It opened in October 2012. The owner trained at the Hokkaido chain Ramen Santouka; he was born in Hokkaido and raised in Kyushu, but Arakawa is where he has lived longest, and his official site said he picked this spot because he wanted a shop in the old-Tokyo shopping street he loved. The name comes from his birthday, 20 January — "nijubunnoichi" means "one twentieth", and a friend suggested it.

What kind of shop it is

The bowl is built on a lightly clouded chicken shio chintan — a clear, simmered chicken broth. The introduction posted on the official site described this soup as "light and clean-tasting, yet lacking nothing", with concentrated chicken savour and a seafood aroma that "asserts itself just enough". The broth simmers whole chicken, chicken bones and pork leg bone, then adds a dashi of kombu and dried sardine; the salt tare draws on kombu, sakura shrimp, shiitake and dried scallop. The owner's stated aim was "a soup you could drink every day, like miso soup", and he explained that he varies how long the noodles are boiled so that the texture suits everyone from children to older customers. The whole idea — a bowl the neighbourhood can eat routinely — shows up in both the seasoning and the way it is served.

It also has a listing history. In December 2017 the shop announced on its own news page that it had been included in the MICHELIN Guide Tokyo 2018. It went on to receive the Bib Gourmand in the MICHELIN Guide Tokyo 2023 and 2024, the latter also announced on the shop's news page. We could not confirm any listing from the 2025 edition onward.

What to order

The core menu is shio soba and shoyu soba, listed on the official menu at ¥1,300 each, ¥1,500 with a seasoned egg, and ¥2,200 for the deluxe "tokusei" version (prices as of November 2025).

The toppings are where the shop's character shows. Duck loin — magret de canard — is ¥350 for a single slice, with an explicit limit of one per customer. The mixed chashu plate was listed as "pork shoulder loin + duck loin + ???" for ¥1,250, with part of the contents left blank on the menu itself. On the rice side, charcoal-hung roast pork chameshi was ¥700 and limited to three servings a day. Fitting for an owner from Hokkaido, a limited-quantity "Sapporo chuka soba (miso)" at ¥1,300 also appeared on the board at times.

Tips for visiting

Service centres on lunch, and the shop closes once the soup runs out. The day-by-day hours, however, are not confirmed: the official website (www.20-1.jp) has been serving empty pages since around December 2025 — the domain still resolves, but every page comes back blank — and the shop-information page has not been archived since March 2024. That leaves the official X account (@ramen_0120) as the only primary source for current opening days and hours, so check it before you go, including for whether evening service is running. Prices, at least, are on record from the November 2025 menu.

The room is small — the official site asked customers to refrain from bringing strollers inside for that reason. There is no car park, so you would need a nearby coin lot.

  • Closes when sold out; lunch is the main service
  • Opening days and closures may have changed — the last official posting dates from March 2024; check the official X account
  • No parking; coin lots nearby
  • The shop is small — official notice asks that strollers not be brought inside