Kikanbo /鬼金棒神田本店 - Kanda

Kikanbo is without a doubt one of the most influential ramen shops in regards of the international ramen scene. Famous among tourists and locals alike, they sell a very addicting bowl of ramen, which has served as a gateway drug for many ramen fans in the past. So much so, that the spicy miso ramen has become the definition of a “beginner” ramen bowl and most likely is the most popular style of ramen outside of Japan. It’s no surprise that Kikanbo is very popular with tourists who come to try the “holy grail” of spicy miso ramen or challenge themselves with the famous ultra spicy and numbing options, which have been covered in many Food-YouTuber videos already (like Mark Wiens or Mikey Chen).

Kikanbo - the spicy miso holy grail?

The menu itself at Kikanbo has a very small core, which can be modified to your liking. The main bowl is their famous spicy miso ramen, however they also offer a tsukemen version if you prefer dipping noodles. The next decision the customers face comes in form picking the desired the spiciness and numbness levels, which ranges from 1 to 5. The lowest level, 1 or “nuki” actually has no spicy and numbing peppers added, while the highest level, called “onimashi”, also known as “devil” or “demon” level, puts the spiciness and numbness on full blast. You will feel this one probably even the next day, so order with caution. Probably not the best choice if you actually want to taste anything of the dish other than spiciness and numbness. My recommendation as a compromise between spicy and flavor, go with a 3 and just say “futsu futsu” when asked or point to level 3. They are probably dealing with enough foreigners to be able to communicate with some basic English as well, although I did not verify this myself.

The soup is made from a mix of chicken and pork bones, infused with a mix of spices and finished with great miso tare. For me, from the first slurp, it’s a kind of nostalgic flavor that brings me back to my first bowls of ramen I ever had. Rich, heavy, deep, lightly sweet and salty, full of flavor, simply addicting, especially combined with the additional heat.

The noodles are also quite interesting. Flat and quite thick when compared to other ramen shops which serve similar styles. They are very well balanced to stand against the rich and heavy soup. With their flat shape, they offer more surface to the soup to cling to compared to round or square noodles.

Don’t miss Kikanbo’s signature pork belly

Besides the soup and spiciness challenge, Kikanbo is also quite famous for their delectable pork belly topping. Slowly braised for a long time, you will get (and you should!) up to 2 pieces of pork belly with their more expensive bowl options. Although I can imagine that sky is the limit if you want to order extra pork and build a small tower in your bowl made of fatty pork goodness. Other potential toppings are adding a heap of fresh cilantro/coriander and of course classic things like ajitama eggs or sprouts. The vending machine is fully translated into English, so it’s not difficult to get what you want.

If you decide to venture to Kikanbo, you can either take the fastest way and directly go to Kanda station, or you enjoy a leisurely walk over from Akihabara (~10 minutes) or even Tokyo station (~15 minutes). Expect a line in front of the shop. Don’t go directly and stand in line, get a ticket from the vending machine first and then start standing in line. Depending on the time, the line can be anywhere from 30 minutes to over 1 hour, probably above 1 hour when all the tourists are back in Japan. There is also another Kikanbo in Ikebukuro which allegedly has shorter lines, but as it is on the other side of Tokyo, it’s really only an alternative when you are already in that area.