A note on the words: shina soba is the old name for classic soy-broth ramen; chashu is the sliced braised or roasted pork laid on top; menma is seasoned fermented bamboo shoot; lu rou is Taiwan’s soy-and-star-anise braised pork. Evening service here runs Tuesday, Thursday and Friday only, 18:00–20:00. Prices are as of this writing (August 2026).
Shina Soba Osada on Tabelog (English) — opening hours, payment details and the Japanese address are kept up to date there, not here.
Drinkers, thank you for waiting. It is Hangover Meshi time.
This time, here! The number one ramen shop in Itabashi ward: “Shina Soba Osada”, near Oyama Station on the Tobu Tojo line. Evening service runs Tuesday, Thursday and Friday only, 18:00–20:00.
Arriving about ten minutes after opening in a spirit of absolute determination to eat here, I got the miraculous last seat. Lucky! Look at the sign and, for a ramen shop, “wonton” is written larger than “shina soba”. You sense a serious commitment!
Wonton men — 1,300 yen
Chashu wonton men — 1,600 yen
Wonton tantan men — 1,450 yen
Wonton tsuke soba (3 wontons) — 1,300 yen
Chashu plate — 500 yen
Menma plate — 350 yen
Lu rou plate — 350 yen
Spring onion chashu plate — 350 yen
Hmm. It is my first visit, after all.
The tantanmen looks good too, but let us go with the chashu wonton men!
Now, it being evening service, obviously, while waiting for the ramen…?
…we drink!
Drinking with nothing to eat is a lonely business, is it not?! They have that covered as well!
“You definitely mean the lu rou plate?” they checked…
…and indeed I did! (It is a drinking snack!)
So: the lu rou plate, companion to a highball. It is apparently a side dish in the lineage of Kazuya, where the owner trained. Diced pork belly simmered to the exact point of falling apart. The ratio of fat to lean is well judged, and biting in, the sweetness of the fat and the depth of the meat fibres dissolve together. Delicious!! A perfect drinking snack.
Rather than the heavy, star-anise-forward style of authentic Taiwan, the spicing is restrained. A beautifully balanced aroma over a sweet-savoury soy base. The body of sugar and soy, with a faint ethnic lift of star anise and five-spice — outstanding. This over rice as a proper lu rou fan would be a perfect match…! But eat rice and I could not manage the ramen!
And after a while enjoying the highball, the ramen arrived.
A clear, beautiful soy-coloured broth, with the neatly arranged noodles faintly visible beneath — lovely! The aroma of the dashi is good too. One sip and it is a layered thing: dried sardine, bonito and mackerel flakes complexly interwoven with animal stock from chicken. Dashi is the lead here, and those layers seep slowly into the stomach. Delicious. This might be a specific remedy for a hangover.
The noodles are house-made, medium-thin and straight; apparently the water content is adjusted daily in pursuit of the ideal slurp. Lifted still coated in broth, they have a supple, firm spring that hauls the savour of the dashi up with them. The chashu is hung-roasted, with real texture — chashu in the Chinese-restaurant manner.
And the lead role, the “wonton”, made in-house with great care! Firm, springy skins packed tight with a properly meaty filling; carry one up on the spoon with some broth and the slip of the skin, the deep savour of the filling and the body of the soup come together beautifully!!!
Broth, noodles, chashu, wonton — all of it…
…makes plain that it is not showy, but it has unquestionably taken enormous work!
So — the number one ramen in Itabashi, as advertised! Exactly as good as I hoped.
The owner’s skill and conviction all seem to reside in that one bowl of broth. Nothing flashy: an honest, orthodox shina soba with nowhere to hide. Clear soy broth, house-made noodles, meaty wontons, moist chashu — every element finished to an unreasonable standard, in a bowl you want to drain to the last drop. Right after opening on a weekday evening there is a decent chance of getting in without queueing, so why not travel a little out of your way for it?
May you meet something good to eat today too.
Shina Soba Osada (ramen / Oyama Station, Itabashi-kuyakushomae Station, Shimo-Itabashi Station)
Tabelog dinner rating ★★★★☆ 4.0
I ate here and paid for it myself. Nothing on this site is a comped meal.
One more for the road?
