The best place to try the unique local custom of “asa-ra”.

Like many countries, Japan is struggling to cope at the moment as rising production costs are raising the price of everything, including bowls of ramen. At one time, ramen commonly fell into the “one-coin” category of 500 yen (US$3.50), but these days it’s generally at least twice that, so when we found a restaurant serving up a one-coin ramen in the morning, we immediately swung by to check it out.

The so-called “Asa Ramen” (“Morning Ramen“) is available at Sarusuberi, a restaurant in Shinjuku that’s popular with locals. While it’s yet to be discovered by overseas visitors, the morning ramen is the perfect way for tourists without hotel breakfast plans to start the day, as it’s available from 7- 11 a.m. on weekdays.

▼ Asa Ramen (“朝ラーメン”)

Ramen eaten in the morning is commonly called “asa-ra” (an abbreviation of “asa ramen”), and it’s not usually offered at ramen restaurants, making Sarusuberi a special destination for noodle lovers.

▼ The restaurant is located in the underground shopping street at Shinjuku Sanchome Station.

Sarusuberi’s ramen usually costs about 1,000 yen so the morning ramen is an absolute bargain that can draw crowds early in the day. However, when we arrived at 9:00 a.m. to check it out, we were happy to find there was no line outside, but the place was nearly full with diners.

Most people were ordering the morning ramen when we were there, but a few were ordering the regular-priced tsukemen (dipping noodles), for which the restaurant is famous. There are two types of morning ramen to choose from — shoyu (soy sauce) and shio (salt), and we opted for the shoyu, which arrived after a short five-minute wait.

The toppings were simple — just green onions, kaiware (radish sprouts), and a small slice of chashu pork — but everything looked incredibly refined, as you would expect from Sarusuberi. Taking a sip of the broth, it had a rich niboshi (sardine soup stock) flavour that was so good it was hard to believe it only cost 500 yen.

The noodles had a pleasant bite to them that also exceeded the quality we’d expected for a cheap bowl of ramen, and they were so good we ordered an extra serving for just 150 yen.

The option to upszie the noodles is a great idea, as it meant we could leave Sarusuberi with a full stomach and a spring in our step for the rest of the day, all for just 650 yen.

There’s plenty to try on the menu, but we recommend the Asa Ramen as a top breakfast option for noodle lovers.

The Morning Ramen is a fantastic way to get a taste of Sarusuberi’s incredibly delicious signature broth for half the price you’d normally pay, and it was wonderfully warming, hitting the belly nicely for this time of day.

It’s the perfect morning meal for ramen lovers, but if you’d like a different Japanese breakfast alternative in the city, then this old-school eatery in Kabukicho will definitely fit the bill.

Restaurant information

Sarusuberi / 百日紅
Address: Tokyo-to, Shinjuku-ku, Shinjuku 3–4-8, Keio Frente Shinjuku Sanchome B2F
東京都新宿区新宿3-4-8 京王フレンテ新宿三丁目 B2F
Open: 7:00 a.m.-11:00 p.m. weekdays (Asa Ramen only available until 11:00 a.m.), last orders 10:30 p.m.; 11:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. Saturdays, last orders 10:30 p.m.; 11:00 a.m.-9:00 p.m. Sundays
Irregular holidays
Website (Instagram)

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