Komazawa Olympic Park is hosting a ramen festival with over a dozen booths serving Japanese noodles from different prefectures. You can go for a simple shoyu (soy sauce) or shio (salt) ramen, or a bowl with rich tonkotsu pork broth, or one topped generously with beef. Be warned though: some stalls are expected to have up to two hours wait time, as they are exclusive to the festival or have won the Ramen Grand Prix in recent years.
The event is split into two parts, each with a different set of vendors. The ramen restaurants that are participating in the first part (October 26 to 31) include Katsuryu from Ibaraki prefecture with its rich paitan (cloudy white chicken broth) ramen topped with uni, and Mame Tengu in Gifu prefecture, whose signature ramen is a voluminous bowl topped with seared char siu pork and hida beef.
The second part (November 1 to 5), on the other hand, features Yamagata prefecture's Sinsyunya with its award-winning paitan shrimp dan dan noodles, and Kodawari Ramen from France with its unique lobster and tonkotsu broth ramen.
In short, you’ll find every kind of noodle that your heart desires at Tokyo Ramen Festa. Admission is free while a bowl of ramen costs ¥1,000. Meal tickets can be purchased at Seven Eleven outlets nationwide in advance or at the venue. We highly recommend purchasing tickets earlier rather than later, as it can run out towards the end of the day.
The festival runs from 10.30am to 8.30pm, with the exception of October 31 and November 5, when it closes at 6pm.