Mad Ramen

Jyugaoka is a lovely, chic little area in Tokyo with lots of little boutiques and cafes. And yet, sometimes when you are flitting between shelves of handmade notebooks and adorable tea sets, you still want a big bowl of ramen. How to reconcile the urge to be all stylish with the ramen itch?

Enter Jiyugaoka Ichibanya, just down a little staircase. The interior is all 50's modern, like Dan Draper is going to slurp down some thin noodles, stain a shirt, and slip on a crisp new one back at the office. The soup is nice and dark, with a little smokiness, but not so heavy. And that peppery slice of meat beside the roast pork turns out to be maguro (tuna) all grilled up and very like pork, actually.

So yummy, so chic, and so much more comfortable without the cinched waist and bullet bra.