Kyoto, Japan｜Men-ya Gokkei

This is more like a sauce than a soup. The additional topping of green onions is a perfect match. If you still have room in your stomach, order a bowl of rice to mix with the soup, and you'll be surprised that the incredibly rich flavor hasn't left any residue in your bowl.

Consistently rated as one of the best ramen shops in Kyoto and recommended by many Kyoto locals & college students, Gokkei is transforming the ramen scene with its thick, creamy chicken soup/gravy that is the ultimate comfort food. It's a bit out of the way but 100% worth your time and effort to try one of the most unique bowls of ramen in Japan. This ramen doesn't come with soup, it comes with straight up chicken gravy -- and it's a game-changer. It's so thick, I'm convinced that they placed a whole chicken through a blender until it became a creamy sauce that coats each noodle perfectly with each bite. The wait is ridiculously long but the food is ridiculously good. I got a ticket at 4:15 asking me to come back and wait in line at 5:30. When I got there at 5:30 I waited for another hour before being seated. The food arrived quickly because my order was taken while in line. There are no English menus so here are your four options: Toridaku (the original chicken soup, recommended for first timers), Akadaku ("red" soup, spicy), Kurodaku (homemade garlic oil), and Gyodaku (fish soup). They're a steal at 750 yen per bowl and each ramen comes with two bamboo shoot pieces, one piece of chashu pork, and a mountain of higenegi (a thinly sliced green-onion type vegetable). You can add a whole egg for 100 yen, extra noodles for 100 yen, and extra chashu for 200.

Store specialized in dense ramen. They have a good variety, but the three most famous are the standard and the black or red spicy ramen. Orders are made using a vending machine at the entrance, the first three buttons in the top row are standard, red and black, in this order. The store is very famous so try to get there at 11:30 if you want to find a seat