rokurinsha - popular dipping ramen at tokyo station's ramen street

(Tokyo, Japan).  I normally prefer tonkatsu ramen (soupy noodles in a milky pork based broth), but after reading David Chang's glowing review of the dipping ramen at Rokurinsha (located on Tokyo Station's Ramen Street), I had to give it a try.  On our last full day in Tokyo before heading to Kyoto, we trekked over to Tokyo Station early because we had heard that the lunch line would be crazy long.

The rumors were correct - here's the line around the corner.

Tokyo Station is HUGE and and a bit intimidating at first, but there are lots of maps and signs so we were able to find Ramen Street relatively easily.  (Note - the nearby Character Street has adorable shops and is a must-see for anyone wanting to buy cute stationery, stickers, plushies, etc.)  I had to drag myself away from all the cuteness and it's good I did because when we got to Rokurinsha before 11am, there was already a long line.  

The line went quickly but it's not a big restaurant so we still ended up waiting almost an hour.  When you get to the front, there is a vending machine where you can place your order.  While there is a little bit of English - not everything is translated, so I just picked what looked like a combo and got my tickets.  

 

The combo I picked was under $10.

When we were seated, we handed the waitress our tickets.  There were two Japanese "salarymen" seated next to us and they were very serious about their ramen eating.  They didn't say one word to each other .. in fact they didn't even look at each other.  They just slurped and slurped away until they were completely finished with their noodles and away they went.  Our orders came pretty quickly - we each got a bowl of thick, chewy noodles and a bowl of thick, meaty dipping sauce.  I also got a soft-boiled egg with my order ... the Japanese do amazing things with their eggs ... simply amazing.

 

Fabulous dipping ramen.

We started eating and it was delicious!  The texture of the noodles were fabulous - springy and firm and perfect for dipping into the meaty broth of goodness.  I can't really slurp like the Japanese so I had some technical difficulties - but no matter.   The food still ended up in my mouth so all was good.  Another couple seated next to us actually ordered "extra" noodles which astonished me since the regular order looked pretty big already.  But what was even more unbelievable was that the man finished it before I was on my 3rd mouthful.  Crazy!

 

Another look at the ooey goodness of the soft boiled egg.

I will definitely have to return in the future.  While I don't really like dipping ramen generally, this one was spectacular and worth the long wait.