Your first trip to Tokyo, made simple

The classic Tokyo bowl

Broth

Clear chicken and/or pork stock seasoned with soy sauce

Noodles

Medium-thin, often curly

Toppings

Chashu pork, menma (bamboo shoots), naruto fish cake, nori, green onion

Light and clear

Broth

Clear stock seasoned with salt, often chicken or seafood-based

Noodles

Thin, straight or gently wavy

Toppings

Chicken chashu, green onion, sometimes a sliver of yuzu

Rich and warming, born in Sapporo

Broth

Miso blended into pork or chicken stock, often under a layer of lard that keeps it hot

Noodles

Thick, wavy, yellow noodles

Toppings

Stir-fried bean sprouts and cabbage, ground pork; corn and butter are classic add-ons

Creamy pork bone, with firmness to order

Broth

Pork bones boiled hard until the soup turns milky white

Noodles

Very thin and straight

Toppings

Thin chashu, kikurage mushroom, green onion; pickled red ginger and sesame on the table

Yokohama-born pork and soy, made your way

Broth

Tonkotsu-shoyu: pork bone stock with soy sauce and chicken oil

Noodles

Thick, chewy, straight

Toppings

Spinach, three sheets of nori, chashu

Huge portions, garlic and a mountain of vegetables

Broth

Very rich pork and soy broth with lots of back fat

Noodles

Extra thick, stiff and wheaty

Toppings

A pile of bean sprouts and cabbage, thick chunks of pork

Dipping noodles with a thick sauce

Broth

A concentrated dipping sauce, often pork and seafood (gyokai tonkotsu)

Noodles

Thick noodles, rinsed cold and served on a separate plate

Toppings

Chashu, menma, egg and nori, usually in the dipping bowl

Dried-sardine flavor, a Tokyo favorite

Broth

Stock made from niboshi (dried baby sardines), from gently fragrant to intensely bitter-savory

Noodles

Often thin and straight, or flat and wide

Toppings

Chashu, green onion, chopped raw onion

Chains like Yakiniku Like give every seat its own small grill. Built for eating alone; no reservation needed.

Chains like Gyukaku, with tablet ordering and all-you-can-eat plans. Good for groups and families.

Specialty restaurants serving top-grade wagyu, often as tasting courses. Book ahead.