Shio Soba Jiku- Fantastic Shio Ramen in Tokyo
I like ramen, but I’ve usually gone to random spots I see whenever I travel to Japan and be content with most of them. I’ve tried out different styles of ramen, but shio, or salt based, has always been my preference due to their lightness that lets all the ingredients shine. Plus, I still want to feel good after finishing a bowl of ramen.
Recently, I’ve been putting more effort in finding a place that specializes in shio ramen, and it has been quite a while since I had it from my last visit in Hakodate 3 years ago.
It turns out, there’s a new place called Shio Soba Jiku in Tokyo that recently emerged in 2023. It quickly gained traction and earned accolades like Michelin Bib Gourmand and Tabelog Hyakumeiten (100) in Tokyo’s ramen category, which represents the top 100 ramen shops in Tokyo.
Shio Soba Jiku- Location
The restaurant is located in western part of Tokyo in Suginami City. The closest train station is Takaido Station which is roughly 10 minutes walk away. It’s sort of out of the way from a typical tourist destination, though it can be a good opportunity to go here if you’re planning to visit Nakano Broadway or Kichijoji/Inokashira Park.
It’s best to navigate to Takaido Station first rather than the restaurant because Google Maps may instead navigate you to make a final train stop at Ogikubo Station and make you transfer to unnecessary bus ride. With that said, after arriving at Takaido Station, then you can navigate to the restaurant on foot.
Shio Soba Jiku- Fast Pass
Reservation is not necessary, but they do sell fast passes. Fast passes are not the same as reservations as they don’t guarantee you a spot, but they will prioritize you over people lining up in queue without the pass.
You may buy the fast pass through TableCheck for 390 yen per person. These are non-refundable, but can be worth it considering the restaurant is only open 3 hours 30 minutes a day.
Though during our visit, it didn’t feel necessary on a cloudy Tuesday noon, but you can never know with these things. Some people wait one hour before the store opens in hopes on not having to wait in line!
If you buy the pass, you can just wait at the front door without having to line up like others, and when a staff comes out of the door, simply show them your TableCheck confirmation.
Shio Soba Jiku Special Ramen
The restaurant is foreigner-friendly with English menu available. You can choose shio or shoyu ramen, but shoyu is only available on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. Luckily, I’m here for shio!
The restaurant also accepts credit cards as payment, and they even encourage you to pay with them which is not a common thing for a ramen place in Japan. You can also use your IC card if you wish. If you pay with cash, they’ll ask you to please have the exact change, so that’s why I recommend paying with a card here.
The ramen bowl came shortly after ordering and paying. The broth’s glistening clear, and you can see all the toppings inside! The broth has seafood base consisting of dried fish, mackerel, and scallops. The fish taste is very noticeable on this broth, but it is quite gentle.
The noodles are square cut and felt like al dente pasta. Great texture and slurpability! All the toppings are great as well. Chashu and chicken were juicy, and the eggs are also good (though I would’ve preferred it if it was boiled just a little bit less). Menma paired well with the soup with its absorption.
The standout topping were the tsukune, or chicken meatballs. On the outside, they look ordinary, but they added chicken cartilages that enhanced the texture by adding some bounce to each bite! Yet, they are still so soft. So addicting, and I wished I ordered more of them as topping, which I will absolutely do on a future visit.
What’s special about this place for me was how quiet the restaurant is. There’s no music (or if there is, it’s quiet or soothing) and there are no individual booths in here like what you’d see in Ichiran. All counter seats with stools to sit on. It felt like everyone subconsciously signed a social contract to stay queit and just focus on enjoying their bowl. Shortly after, I finished all of it, including the broth.
I loved this ramen, and it’s the best shio ramen I’ve had so far! I’ll happily return here again and possibly try their shoyu and chashu rice bowl as well.