Ginza Kagari - Soba

"Tori paitan (creamy chicken broth for ramen) is rich and comforting, like grandma’s chicken soup. The broth clings to the thin straight noodles as one slurps. At Kagari, seasonal and colorful vegetables such as watermelon radish, snap peas, and kabocha squash top the dish and rotate throughout the year. Use the side dish of grated ginger and fried garlic, along with a bottle of vinegar from the counter, to brighten up and adjust the umami-rich soup to your liking. The main Ginza shop is on a quiet pedestrian back street, but the sister shop at the Roppongi Hills complex (Minato-ku, Roppongi 6-4-1) is not as crowded." - Yukari Sakamoto, Robbie Swinnerton

"I waited for ramen—for a lot of ramen, and especially for one particular bowl, at Ginza Kagari, a tiny counter in the labyrinth of the Ginza subway station." - Helen Rosner

"Awarded: Bib Gourmand. Search tip: if you spot a snaking queue, you're probably on the right track. Located down an unmarked alley in the middle of Tokyo's Ginza district is the Kagari ramen-ya. Kagari offers its ramen in two very contrasting styles. The tori-paitan soba is served in a luscious, thick soup the color and consistency of creamed corn, and the niboshi-shoyu soba is a dark, soy-based broth made from dried sardines." - Alethea Tan

Ginza Kagari’s tori paitan ramen features a thick and creamy chicken-based broth with noodles, perfectly cooked cabbage and carrot, and slices of tender chicken. You can add more toppings and flavors and on this brisk day I opted for the garlic butter, which intensified the already rich broth. Other ramen spots worth a trip include Suzuran, Afuri, and many, many others.