Tsukemen Enji Kichijoji Sohonten

The shop

The Kichijoji flagship opened on February 22, 2010. Manager Michitoshi Fujimoto had no formal ramen apprenticeship; he travelled Japan for work, and says the idea for the vegepota broth came from eating grated-yam (tororo) soba at a buckwheat noodle shop. Its frozen tsukemen has placed in the tsukemen categories of an online mail-order ramen award several times.

The bowl

The broth is a pork-bone and seafood base thickened with vegetables, using a stock drawn from root vegetables. Listed ingredients include pork bone, chicken feet, onion, carrot, yam flour and garlic. The standard noodle is an extra-thick, custom-made noodle containing wheat germ, and guides note other noodle types can be chosen. Chashu and menma are the basic toppings.

How to order

Order the Vegepota Tsukemen, the house signature; versions with a seasoned egg or extra meat are available. Guides report you can pick from several noodle types, with the germ noodle as the standard. Note that despite the vegetables, the broth is pork- and seafood-based and not vegetarian.

Before you go

• Open daily (closed over New Year): weekdays 11:00-16:00 and 17:30-22:00, weekends and holidays 11:00-22:00.
• Cash only: no cards, IC cards or QR payments.
• 13 counter seats, no reservations.
• About one minute from Kichijoji Station (park exit / south side).