★★★ 旭鳳 (Kyokuhou) - Tokyo

If you are going out of your way to eat at a ramen place like Kyokuhou then you must be a huge fan of ramen. Located deep in the heart of Kabukicho Kyokuhou is surrounded by love hotels and shady bars. I heard that this place has an authentic Asahikawa style ramen so I made the trek out here to try their 正油ラーメン (shoyu ramen).

The Soup - is a blend of tonkotsu (pork bone) soup, seafood (dried pompano fish) soup, and a vegetable broth. A rich flavored soup where the aroma of of the fish dominates over the others slightly. True to its Asahikawa origins where it can get really cold in the winter, the soup was served very hot.

The Noodles - are very good, a medium thin curly noodle that is cooked firm. These noodles are dense and chewy, felt like eating a slight variety of Hakata style ramen. Still, a good match with the rich soup.

The Toppings - were average. Cha-shu pork that could be a bit more tender and flavorful. Menma bamboo were a bit soft. Lots of spring onions.

Overall - out of the many Asahikawa ramen that I have tried this is my favorite. If I was in Shinjuku on a cold winter day I would take the walk here just to get warmed up with Kyokuhou's rich, hot soup. The store is kind of hidden away from all the traffic so it was slightly empty when I last visited there, sure hope it doesn't go out of business anytime soon.

Map and directions on how to get to Kyokuhou:
http://www.01ch.com/ramen/kyokuhou.html
新宿区百人町1-14-3