Hello all! This post is coming to you live from the office as starting today I am officially back to work. The state of emergency has been lifted in Japan so hopefully things will be returning to usual over the next few weeks. (Sorry.)

In my opinion, the best thing about Japan is the food and the best thing about Japanese food is ramen. Before moving to Tokyo, I was never that fussed about ramen. If I was eating Japanese food it would always be sushi or a Wagamama’s katsu curry─but no more! The preparation of a bowl of ramen is not merely cooking, it is an art form. And it is mind-blowingly tasty.

I recently bought a new book called Tokyo For Food Lovers, which has opened my eyes to even more of the wonders of Japanese cuisine. One fun fact I have discovered in said book is the absurd number of restaurants in Tokyo. Estimates are set at around 160,000. In comparison, London has less than 20,000. Of course, it is subsequently not at all surprising that Tokyo has the most Michelin-starred restaurants in the world. So last week I thought I would take a stab at one of them, which is actually very easy to do without breaking the bank.

Three of Tokyo’s ramen restaurants have been awarded Michelin stars in recent years and a bowl of ramen wherever you are in Japan rarely exceeds ¥1000 (£7.50). Due to proximity purposes and the fact that this one was spoken about in my book, I took a twenty-minute train to Otsuka Station and joined the queue outside the restaurant Nakiryu, which was the second ramen restaurant to receive its star.

The restaurant opens at half eleven and many travel blogs describe arriving at twenty-five past and subsequently queuing for two and a half hours before finally receiving a bowl of noodles. The book I have describes various queues across different parts of the street, which together are managed by a traffic warden and one of the chefs. It must have been my lucky day because I arrived at half twelve and was seated within twenty minutes of waiting.

Once I was ushered inside, I was faced with a vending machine-type thing. This is very common in any type of noodle-serving hang-out. You insert your cash, press what you want to eat and give your ticket to the chef as you take a seat at the counter.

Nakiryu owes its Michelin star to their delicious dandan noodles, which take their inspiration from the Sichuan province in China. These consist of perfectly cooked, handmade wheat noodles with pork mince in a hot, beautiful, bright orange broth. I couldn’t actually read the writing on the machine but I said ‘dan dan’ to the chef and he helped me press the correct button. I then sat at the counter and I was instantly brought an ice cold glass of water. Most of the restaurant is taken up by the kitchen, which stands open behind the counter. Four chefs in very neat chef attire work their way around the kitchen, preparing the food in front of you.

After about ten minutes of watching them do so, I was presented with my bowl of dandan. The dandan was bloody delicious although I was initially taken aback by the spice. Anyway I coughed, spluttered and ploughed through it and walked out of Nakiryu very satisfied indeed. You have to get in and get out quickly as the queue of lunch-ers stare you down whilst you are slurping. The queue was much longer as I headed out so I must have timed it perfectly.

Thanks for reading and here’s a collage dedicated to the other delicious bowls of ramen I have eaten recently.

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