Tokyo Ramen & Street Food Night Walk

Tokyo has more Michelin stars than any other city on earth, and some of the best casual eating anywhere. This walk visits both ends of the spectrum and the enormous middle: the ramen counter with eight seats that opened in 1968, the izakaya where salarymen have been drinking since the same decade, the yakitori grill hidden under the train tracks at Yurakucho.

Your guide has been eating his way through Tokyo for twenty years. He takes you to places with no English menus and no tourist visibility, places that survive on neighbourhood loyalty and the quality of a single dish done perfectly for forty years.

The walk covers approximately 3.5 kilometres across Shinjuku and the surrounding alleys, with six eating stops. The emphasis is on conversation as much as food: every counter has a story, every cook has been doing this their whole life, and if you speak some Japanese, the stories deepen considerably. Your guide translates everything.

Ramen is one of the great Japanese dishes, though it is a relatively recent arrival. Noodles in broth came from China in the late nineteenth century, and after the Second World War, cheap bowls sold from carts became a staple of city life. Today, there are regional styles across Japan, and Tokyo's specialities include shoyu ramen, in a clear soy sauce broth, and tsukemen, with noodles served on the side and dipped in a concentrated soup. The broth, the noodles, the tare, the seasoning at the bottom of the bowl, and the toppings, from slices of chashu pork to seasoned eggs and menma, fermented bamboo shoots, are chosen with great care by each chef.

The walk begins at 7:00 PM at the east exit of Shinjuku Station, under the ALTA sign. From there, you head into the lanes of Shinjuku, where tiny restaurants have been serving for decades. Omoide Yokocho, the narrow alley of yakitori stalls near the station, and Golden Gai, a network of tiny bars, are nearby, though the tour takes you to places away from the busiest tourist spots.

You may try a bowl of ramen at a counter with only a handful of seats, where you order from a ticket machine and eat in minutes. At an izakaya, a Japanese pub, you sample small plates such as edamame, karaage fried chicken and grilled skewers, accompanied by a non-alcoholic drink or, if you wish, a local beer or sake at your own cost. At a yakitori grill, skewers of chicken are cooked over charcoal and seasoned with salt or tare sauce. Gyoza, pan-fried dumplings, are another favourite.

Your guide explains the etiquette: slurping noodles is not rude but expected, as it cools them and enhances the flavour; tipping is not customary; and it is best to finish your bowl. Your guide also explains how to order, how to read a ticket machine and how to behave in tiny restaurants, so that you can return alone.

Please tell us about dietary requirements in advance. Traditional ramen is meat- or fish-based, and vegetarian versions are available at some shops but may need to be arranged.

The tour lasts around three hours and covers around three and a half kilometres. Six tastings, non-alcoholic drinks at each stop, an expert guide throughout and a walking guide booklet to revisit alone are included. Alcoholic drinks are paid for locally.