Keika Ramen Shinjuku Suehiro Branch

A ramen shop that calls itself “the one that sparked a revolution in Tokyo.” If I saw that bold claim on the website of some shop I’d never heard of, I’d probably think, “How arrogant for an unknown place…” and steer clear. But it’s a different story when that shop is the one that brought tonkotsu broth and garlic oil to Tokyo’s ramen scene—where shoyu-based Chinese noodles dominated—and sparked an explosive craze for Kumamoto ramen. During a business trip to Tokyo, I visited Keika Ramen Shinjuku Suehiro Branch in Shinjuku Sanchome to try Tokyo’s oldest Kumamoto ramen…

Actually, the soup flavor seems different from the Kumamoto location… Here’s what Keika Ramen Shinjuku Suehiro Branch is like.

I visited Keika Ramen Shinjuku Suehiro Branch around 6:30 PM on a weekday evening. Perhaps due to the rain that day, the customer turnout was a bit quiet. The shop has 30 seats, including 6 counter seats. At a glance, maybe about half were occupied… After buying a meal ticket from the vending machine and sitting down at an empty counter seat, a staff member promptly brought me cold tea and asked, “Would you like a paper apron?” This staff member was a foreigner, but they were incredibly attentive and provided excellent service. Even though it was a short time, I felt very comfortable.

Now, the Keika Ramen Shinjuku Suehiro Branch I’m introducing today opened in Tokyo in 1968 (Showa 43), 13 years after Keika Ramen was born in Kumamoto, as their first Tokyo location. It now boasts over 50 years of history. Beyond this location, they now operate four shops in Shinjuku (Shinjuku East Exit Station Front, Shinjuku Fanten, Shinjuku West Exit), plus one each in Shibuya, Shimbashi, Ikebukuro, and Okachimachi. Including franchises, they have eight shops across Tokyo, giving the impression they’ve steadily built a strong foothold even far from Kumamoto. But actually, at Keika Ramen in Shinjuku, each store makes its own soup, so apparently the flavor differs from the factory-made soup at the Kumamoto shops. If the taste varies across the four Shinjuku locations, it makes you feel like you have to try all four…

I debated between the signature Taro Ramen and… how did the standard Keika Ramen I ordered at Keika Ramen Shinjuku Suehiro Branch actually turn out?

Now, about my order that day… I hesitated a bit. Keika Ramen is famous for its Taro Ramen, generously topped with cabbage and pork belly slices, but the standard Keika Ramen was also tempting… After pondering at the ticket machine for a while, I decided to go with the standard Keika Ramen this time. The price, including tax, was 900 yen. After handing the ticket to the staff, I waited about 5 minutes. The Keika Ramen that arrived before me looked like this…

The moment I saw this ramen, I thought, “Huh? Soy sauce ramen?” I couldn’t believe my eyes for a second. After all, my image of Kumamoto ramen was a pork bone white soup. But the intense aroma of roasted garlic wafting from the bowl snapped me back to reality. The color of this soup was entirely due to the garlic oil. I’d never seen ramen with this much garlic oil before. Some shops currently operating in Kyoto also use garlic oil (like Menya Gokkei in Ichijoji or Ganko Men in Fushimi…), but the intensity of the garlic oil flavor here is on another level. If something like this had appeared back in the Showa era, I bet everyone would have been shocked…

So, I actually tried slurping that soup… Just as it looked, the garlic aroma completely overpowered the umami of the white soup base. While the pork bone and chicken broth flavors are definitely present, the impact of that roasted garlic aroma hitting my nose completely overpowers the umami I taste on my tongue. Consequently, there’s absolutely no hint of gamey odor in the soup. In fact, the rich, mellow pork bone and chicken broth almost feels light and mild by comparison. This garlic oil flavor stays strong right down to the last drop of soup, so you won’t get that disappointing “Huh?” moment where the flavor fades later on.

The noodles, meanwhile, are medium-thick high-hydration noodles, cooked to an impressively firm texture. They’re cooked to a point where you might wonder, “Are they fully parboiled yet?” Their bite holds its own against the soup’s presence. Apparently, the shop has a particular philosophy about how these noodles should be cooked. While firm noodles have gained acceptance nowadays, I doubt you’d find anything like this in Showa-era Tokyo… It seems tough for those with sensitive teeth, and it’s definitely a love-it-or-hate-it kind of thing, but I think those who like it will be totally hooked.

Now, looking at the toppings: two thin slices of chashu pork, half a boiled egg, chopped green onions, menma bamboo shoots, and wakame seaweed stems. Honestly, compared to the impact of the soup and noodles, it feels a bit sparse. But hey, this is the standard ramen… no room for complaints. That said, wakame stems in ramen is pretty unusual. It’s not a “Wow, this is amazing!” kind of shock, but I like it because it creates a difference from other ramen shops.

This is Keika Ramen from Keika Ramen Shinjuku Suehiro Branch. Born in the Showa era, it’s a bowl of ramen that still packs a punch that hasn’t faded at all in the modern day. It’s easy to see why they say it “started a revolution in Tokyo.” Regardless of personal taste, a ramen this impactful should inspire imitators like Ramen Jiro… Conversely, that means it offers a flavor you can only get here, making it a place worth visiting at least once, especially for those seeking a truly memorable ramen experience.

Keika Ramen Shinjuku Suehiro Branch Other Menu Items (Prices Include Tax)

• Keika Noodles with Thin Noodles: ¥850
• Taro Ramen: ¥1,300
• Spicy Dandan noodles: ¥1,300
• Taro Ramen with Thin Noodles: ¥1,250
• Chashu pork Noodles: ¥1,150
• Aso Ramen: ¥950
• Red Keika Ramen: ¥950

Keika Ramen’s mail-order service is also unique… Access to the Keika Ramen Shinjuku Suehiro branch is a 1-minute walk from the nearest station, Tokyo Metro (Toei Shinjuku Line) Shinjuku-sanchome Station.

This Keika Ramen also offers ramen via mail order, and that mail-order service is unique too. They actually have two versions of Keika Ramen: one shipped directly from the factory in Kumamoto and another shipped directly from the Tokyo store. The factory-direct version is the convenient option, while the store-direct version supposedly captures the authentic shop flavor. Seeing this makes me wonder, “Isn’t Keika Ramen actually tastier at the Tokyo shop than at the Kumamoto shop?” Well, this store-direct version isn’t from the Shinjuku Suehiro Branch, but apparently made at the Shibuya Center Street Branch… Anyway, even if you’re used to eating Keika Ramen in Kumamoto, Tokyo’s Keika Ramen is a must-try.

Now, here are the shop details…

P.S. If you are looking for delicious ramens in Tokyo, please stop by this article below…