Favorite Places // Afuri, Tokyo, Japan

Ramen preferences are like this weird, deeply personal thing. I have discovered in my time here in Tokyo that no two ramen shops are alike, and one's affinity for shop A over shop B is rooted in a careful consideration of all the components: the noodles (straight and thin or wavy and thick?), the broth (rich or light?), the tare (shoyu, miso, shio or tonkotsu?), and the toppings (this list could go on forever). Hell, even the setting in which you'll be slurping is important (is conversation permitted?).

Personally, I don't discriminate when it comes to ramen - I love it all. You'll often find me dining on packaged konbini (convenience store) ramen, and I've also risen at 6AM to get a coveted ticket for the world's only Michelin-starred ramen (which I was forbidden from photographing). The point is: all of it is good. But there's one place that I always come back to; one place that we bring every visitor who crosses that vast ocean to come see us. That place is Afuri.

The first thing you'll notice about Afuri is that it's not a traditional ramen joint. In fact, Afuri is a bit of a ramen rebel. The interior of their restaurants are hip and industrial. There's often a TV in the corner that's playing a movie about transient surfers riding waves somewhere in Oceania. And the differences don't simply lie in restaurant decor - the menu here steps a little outside the box as well. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).