Seishin at Ochiai Station was opened in late 2024 by an enterprising noodle chef trained in French cooking and with apprenticeships at several big-name Tokyo ramen joints under his belt. His offerings are twofold: orthodox chuka soba (from ¥1,150), available in shoyu and shio versions, and the cult favourite kombu tsukemen (¥1,350).
But we’d be remiss not to narrow the options down to one outstanding bowl: the shoyu chuka soba, made with an artisanal soup mixing more than 20 different ingredients including dried seafood, various vegetables and Choshu Kurokashiwa heirloom chicken from Yamaguchi prefecture. Finished with a punchy shoyu-blend sauce, it boasts an impeccably refined, clean flavour profile and makes an irresistible match with the firm, hand-kneaded noodles.
The two slabs of char siu topping the bowl – one charcoal-grilled pork, the other meticulously cooked chicken – exude smoky aromas and release bursts of umami when bitten into. An ajitama egg and scallion slices complete the simple masterpiece. Still hungry? Grab a mini-bowl of char siu over rice for just ¥500.