Tokyo? Osaka? Kyoto? Where can you find the best ramen in Japan? Ranking system lists the top 100 restaurants nationwide
- The Hyakumeiten restaurant-ranking system, part of the Tabelog user review website, lists Japan’s 100 best ramen restaurants in order of popularity
- Everyone has their own favourite style of ramen, and Post Magazine goes in search of the best of the best bowls of noodle soup
When looking for restaurant reviews in Japan, Tabelog – a rankings website that uses a five-point scale based on user reviews – is often quoted as the nation’s most popular choice.
The system’s algorithm gives heavy users’ scores more weight than those from new users, lending some legitimacy to the numbers.
The consensus is that any established restaurant with a score above 3.5 is a great spot to eat, with scores above 4.0 being outstanding. Fewer than 50 restaurants in the entire country have a score above 4.5 and these fine-dining destinations are considered the best in Japan.
With fine dining dominating the top of the ranks, Tabelog introduced a new system in 2017 for casual restaurants, known as B-kyu Gourmet – much like the Bib Gourmand category created by Michelin.
These lists, known as the Hyakumeiten (100 top establishments), contain the best 100 restaurants in each B-kyu category. The 30 categories include soba noodles, gyoza dumplings, Japanese curry and cafes. Ramen, naturally, is one of Japan’s most popular B-kyu gourmet foods and was among the first dishes to be given a list.
With more than 50,000 ramen shops listed on Tabelog, the ramen Hyakumeiten was expanded to include separate lists for Tokyo, East Japan and West Japan. In 2023 a new Osaka-only list was introduced.