Abura Soba Tōkyō Aburagumi Sō Honten

Really great soba spot. Walked in and the very friendly staff immediately came over and handed me an English menu to make ordering easier. The prices are very reasonable. I got a bowl of spicy soba with a soft poached egg and extra roast pork. I ended up going back again and will probably go once more during this trip as well. It’s a place that is so good it warrants multiple trips.

Excellent ramen noodles! Helpful staff that assists with ordering if you don’t know Japanese. We wanted to return again but had to leave Tokyo before we had a chance. Delicious!

This is literally my favorite place to eat in all of Tokyo. I went there 3 times on our last trip! So as you’ve probably seen this is a ramen shop, but they specialize in a «soupless ramen» that’s called Abura Soba (which translates to oil noodles). I went there on a recommendation and tried it because I’d never heard of ramen with out broth. Glad I did… This place kicks ass! You walk in and order at a machine. It’s all in Japanese but there is someone to help you get things figured out. I went for spicy miso and all the toppings (cha-​chu pork, soft boiled egg, bamboo) and an order of the gyoza in spicy sauce. The noodles come with a thick sauce at the bottom of the bowl that you mix around once you’ve broken your egg and added vinegar, onions & hot oil to taste. Once you’ve coated all your noodles you’re ready to go! Seriously my all time favorite ramen. I can wait to go back to Tokyo and have another bowl! I just wish I could find anything like it back home.

This place was still opened when we arrived around 12:30am. It’s a small little place with seating all around the kitchen with condiments in front of you so you could as as you go. As you enter, you order your noodles through a machine on your right — they have an English menu on the side to help people like me order food. I got the A noodles with additional garlic and Yuzu pepper (free) and only costing 720 yen — which is less than $ 6 USD! What a deal! The cooks are your servers in which you take your receipt orders from the vending machine and hand it to them. As soon as you do, they start prepping your noodles which took only 5 minutes or so. They put it in front of the counter you’re sitting at so you just lift it to place in front of you. When you’re done you place it back up there and it is seen to be rude if you sit around and chat after eating — eat and leave is common courtesy for other customers. Once I got my noodles, I mixed it, added more onions, the oils (vinegar too) and a bit of spicy sauce too! Mixed it all up with the soft boiled egg yolk and it tasted like HEAVEN! Flavor was all there! Looks like ramen but it was oil noodles. Everything was cut so perfectly and the noodles were just the right texture, not too cheewy but just soft enough! I’ll def return before leaving Japan ^_^

A tourist staple, but definitely a must do if you like noodles!
There are a couple Abura Soba locations around Tokyo, but I frequented the Akasaka Mitsuke location the most. They are used to foreigners at this location although the ticket vending machine doesn’t have English. The staff speaks enough English to help, and they are very friendly. This place is different from typical soba or ramen shops. There’s no soup. They put a sauce on the bottom of the bowl, top it with noodles and whatever toppings you choose. When the chef hands you the bowl, add some of the red and yellow sauces in front of you, and mix it all up (including the bottom sauces). Then eat! If you’re a diet, it’s ¹⁄₃^rd the calories of ramen!