A note on the words: miso ramen is the style built on fermented soybean paste rather than soy sauce or salt, and it is the one associated with Sapporo. Koku-kara, the name of the evening-only bowl here, pairs koku, depth of flavor, with kara, heat. Noren-wake is the practice of a trained employee opening a shop of their own under the master shop’s name. Shinshu miso is the pale miso of Nagano. Chashu is the braised pork laid over the bowl, and ichimi is ground red chili. Koshihikari is Japan’s most widely grown rice variety. Funabori is out in the far east of Tokyo. Prices are as of this writing (August 2026).
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Oshima on Tabelog (English) — opening hours, payment details and the Japanese address are kept up to date there, not here.
Miso ramen fans, thank you for waiting! It is Hangover Meshi time!
Right — this time, to “Oshima,” the miso ramen shop in Funabori I have had my eye on for ages!
“Oshima” in Funabori is a Sapporo miso shop opened in 2013 by an owner who trained for twelve years at the famous Sapporo shop “Sumire,” as the first noren-wake branch in the Kanto region. It is popular for a bowl that is rich and piping hot while still letting the miso come through, and the straight-ahead miso soup with its hit of garlic is much talked about.
The thing about Funabori is that it is a bit of a trek. This time I had a little time on my hands, so to make a long-held dream come true I headed out to the east side of Tokyo!
Right, what to have — a look at the ticket machine.
Miso ramen is 1,280 yen, and the evening-only koku-kara miso ramen is 1,360 yen. Once you are told evening-only, you want it, do you not! The koku-kara miso ramen it is, of course.
Then Oshima’s mini curry caught my eye, and after some agonizing I ordered that too! I am not sure I can finish it all, but having come this far, order everything you are curious about!
Right — there were about two groups ahead of me when I arrived. Buy your ticket, then join the line again.
After a while, to a counter seat!
Well, obviously I am drinking!
The condiments are like this. Ichimi chili powder and pepper are set out.
Whooooooa! It looks wonderful!
Let us start with the soup!
What rises first is the scent of ginger. On a Shinshu white miso base, with a chicken and pork bone stock, the grated ginger dissolves into it and takes the edges off, and a film of lard sits on top, so it is rich without feeling heavy. The heat of the koku-kara soup is about mild, and it is not what you would call spicy at all. The impression is of a faintly sweet, rich soup with heat layered on to tighten it up.
The noodles are Morizumi Seimen medium-thick crinkled egg noodles, cut short, with a firm texture that gives back more savor the more you chew, and they carry the heavy soup up well. Very good. The thick chashu is lightly seasoned and soft, and taking it together with the soup rounds off its edges.
Well — a rich soup above all, with real depth to it. Later on, changing the flavor with the pepper from the table adds something a little different, and that is good too.
And here is Oshima’s curry!
A Japanese-style house curry made with the same chicken and pork bone stock as the ramen. The well-simmered pork falls apart, and the thickened roux has plenty of the stock’s savor dissolved into it. The heat is restrained, and what comes forward is sweetness and depth. The type that leans on stock rather than attacking with spice, I suppose. Delicious! The rice is domestic Koshihikari cooked in a large cauldron, with the grains standing up firmly.
And this is where the main event begins. Leave about half the rice of the curry…
— and now dip it gently into the koku-kara miso soup!! This is it!!
Onto the lingering sweetness of the curry, the richness of the spicy miso and the garlic layer up, and the slightly salty soup turns mellow with the rice. Irresistibly good!!
A combination that lets you eat the rice twice over, once with the koku-kara miso soup and once with the curry!!
This is one anyone who comes to Oshima absolutely should do!
So: I came all the way out to Funabori and ate miso ramen, and it is properly good, just as its reputation says! The Sumire-lineage shops in Tokyo are Oshima, Asahi Chonaikai and Mintora, I think? If so, I may have been to all of them. My own preference would be Mintora, or Asahi Chonaikai?! — somewhere around there, but they were all very good.
I am starting to want miso ramen again…
May you meet something delicious today as well!
Oshima (Ramen / Funabori Station)
Tabelog dinner rating ★★★☆☆ 3.6
I ate here and paid for it myself. Nothing on this site is a comped meal.
One more for the road?
