Getting a Seat at Tokyo’s First Michelin Star Ramen Restaurant
This itinerary will give you a step by step guide on how to try Tokyo’s First Michelin Star Ramen Restaurant: Tsuta.
Day 1:
Yamanote Line to Sugamo Station
Take the Yamanote Line to Sugamo Station. From the station, it’s a quick 5-minute walk to the restaurant. I arrived around 7:30 am and thought I was the first one there, turns out that other people had arrived around 6:30-7:00 am and had already checked in…but it’s okay, there were still plenty of spaces left. At around 8:00 am there were ten people behind me and they finally opened up the door. From there you step inside, pay a 1000 yen deposit (bring cash for everything!!!) and receive a timecard to come back (I believe the time cards were anywhere from 11:00am-6:00 pm). I got the last 11:00 am card (Wooh).
Explore Sugamo
From there I went and walked around Sugamo, grabbed breakfast at Yoshinoya, then went to a local park, Rikugien Garden and enjoyed the cherry blossoms.
Return to Tsuta and Order
Finally, it was around 10:45 am, and we lined up next to the restaurant in the apartment building’s entryway. The first few people in line were brought into the restaurant after presenting their timecard, for everyone else in line, we had to wait for around 20-30 minutes depending on our place in line. Once we reached towards the front, they had us order our food and receive our 1000 yen deposit back.
Enjoy Tsuta's Delicious Ramen
It’s efficient, so just a few minutes after sitting down and appreciating the ramen making process, our food was ready! I ordered the most famous ramen which is their Shoyu ramen (soy sauce based) and the ro-su meshi. (I thought the flavor of the ro-su meshi was a little too rich.)
Grab a beer with your ramen and one of the side dishes!
(Also, if you want to order two servings of the ramen, you have to let them know when you get your reservation time.)
