Chuka Soba Shibata opened on 28 November 2013 in Sengawa, Chofu City. Owner Takashi Shibata came to ramen from a career in music, training at Menya Musashi and then spending five years at Onmen Shuka Rakuraku in Kichijoji before going independent. In September 2024, after nearly eleven years in Sengawa, the shop moved to a spot directly outside the North Exit of Komae Station on the Odakyu Line.
What kind of shop it is
The soy-sauce bowl, chuka soba, is built on a broth of jidori (heritage-breed Japanese chicken) — Kogen Hinai-jidori, Tanba Kurodori and Jitokko — combined with a tare of roughly ten selected soy sauces, as described on the official TRY Ramen Award site. The shio soba uses the same chicken broth with a salt tare made from the braising liquid of the chashu plus oysters, scallops and kombu.
The move was when the shop introduced its noodle choice: thin or thick. The noodles are house-made — the thin ones use Haruyutaka wheat, while the thick ones blend Kitahonami and Kitanokaori and are hand-massaged (temomi), so the same soup can be had with either noodle.
At the TRY Ramen Award, Shibata took first place overall in the New Shop category and first in New Shop soy sauce at the 15th edition (2014–2015). It has since been recognised in the Meiten (established shops) soy sauce category for twelve consecutive years, and at the 26th edition (2025–2026) it placed first in both Meiten soy sauce and Meiten shio, and third overall (source: official TRY site). On Tabelog it was selected for the Ramen TOKYO Hyakumeiten list for seven consecutive years from 2017, and won The Tabelog Award Bronze in 2020 and 2021 (source: Tabelog Magazine).
What to order
Chuka soba, shio soba and niboshi (dried sardine) soba are all ¥1,200, while the tokusei chuka soba with extra toppings such as chashu is ¥1,680 (as of July 2026). Since the noodles are your choice, you could take the chuka soba with thin noodles on a first visit and thick noodles on a return.
For a side, takikomi gohan — rice cooked with dashi and ingredients — is ¥200. A kids' ramen at ¥600 is also on the menu, and there are two six-seat tables, so families can be accommodated.
- Chuka soba ¥1,200
- Shio soba ¥1,200
- Niboshi soba ¥1,200
- Tokusei chuka soba ¥1,680
- Takikomi gohan ¥200 / kids' ramen ¥600
Practical tips
The shop is immediately outside Komae Station's North Exit, roughly a one-minute walk. There is no car park, so coming by train is the safe option. Seating is 20 in total: 8 at the counter and two tables of 6.
Hours are 11:00–15:00 and 17:30–20:30, closed Sundays and Thursdays. Sources differ on both the evening closing time and the closed days, however, and the shop may close early on selling out or shut without notice. Check the official X account (@takashi5746) before you go.
The shop runs an official online store on BASE selling frozen chuka soba, niboshi soba and shio soba (two servings each, ¥2,200) and offcut chashu (¥400). As of July 2026 every item is sold out, so check the online store or the official X account for restocks.