Shinagawa Station is a major transportation hub for Tokyo, the largest major transit hub to and from Haneda Airport, and the penultimate stop before Tokyo Station on on the Tokaido Shinkansen bullet train. The Keikyu group, which operates lines stopping at Shinagawa and Haneda, developed the area a just south of Shinagawa’s Takanawa (West) Gate as Shinagawa Shinatatsu Ramen Street in 2004 to provide space for seven ramen restaurants on a rotating basis. The success of this concept likely played some part behind the creation of Tokyo Ramen Street in 2011, the setting of many travelers’ hastily-taken ramen photos.
Shou originally got its start in 2007 in Shinjuku specializing in chicken-shio ramen that won it numerous awards, though over time has developed ts repertoire further. The Shinagawa shop, which opened in 2016 in Shinagawa Shinatatsu and is still going strong in the same location, shares a similar menu as the honten in Shinjuku, but with a number of different tweaks for differentiation.
That meant that the Tokusei Chicken Dashi Shio Ramen bowl that I got was a solid, not a spectacular bowl. The strongest element of this ramen was the broth, which offered a good balance of both flavor of both the chicken and the seafood dashi. This was all the more impressive given how delicate shio broth is, and how easily it can be overwhelmed by any one too-strong flavor in the bowl. The chashu comprised of three slices each of pork belly and shoulder, which I think was sous-vided. They were good on their own, but this collection of chashu pales in comparison to the deluxe bowl offered at the main shop that Ramen Guide Japan got, which had 5 different kinds of pork and chicken chashu. Noodles were fine by Tokyo ramen standards, but nothing particularly memorable. The sliced mitsuba mustard greens and shiraga negi (white hair leek) brought a different crispy texture and artistic touch to the bowl.
The most impressive part of the meal probably was not the ramen, but the side order of grilled chashu don, which was grilled pork brushed with sauce, over rice, topped with field greens, onions, scallions, and wasabi mayo. While it may not have been the best side-chashu don I’ve ever had in a ramen shop, I loved the textural contrast of the sweet savory pork with the plentiful greens and onions. Particularly in Japan, where everyday shopping for green vegetables can be expensive, this was a very welcome experience.
Overall, Shou’s Shinagawa outpost is a solid option for ramen if one is in the environs of Shinagawa, which surprisingly has little choice in the way of top-rated ramen according to review sites like Tabelog or Ramen DB. But like its counterparts in Tokyo Ramen Street, the real lesson is that when possible, avoid the shops located in these ramen streets and go to the original. These satellite shops, even if decent, are almost always markedly inferior to the originals. Don’t go to them thinking you’re getting the real experience.
Q(ueue) Factor: 10 minutes (1245 Weekday)
Sense: A very café-esque space with plenty of room for groups of 2 or more, and plenty of aisle space for travelers with luggage. Haneda is close by.
Price: ¥1000 (Deluxe Chicken Dashi Shio Ramen) + ¥500 (Grilled Chashu Don)
麺屋 翔 品川店 (Menya Shou Shinagawa-ten)
〒108-0074 東京都港区高輪3-26-20 ラーメンストリート品達内
Shinagawa Station (JR Yamanote, JR Keihin-Tohoku, Tokaido Lines, Keikyu Main Line, Asakusa Line)
