{"id":4710,"date":"2026-02-22T20:00:24","date_gmt":"2026-02-23T03:00:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/?p=4710"},"modified":"2026-02-22T20:00:24","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T03:00:24","slug":"yakuzen-ramen-restaurant-in-tokyo-is-very-different-to-a-yakuza-ramen-restaurant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/?p=4710","title":{"rendered":"Yakuzen ramen restaurant in Tokyo is very different to a yakuza ramen restaurant"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

This tonkotsu ramen has medicinal benefits that can boost your energy after a long day of sightseeing.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

Have you ever heard of yakuzen<\/strong>? Not to be confused with yakuza<\/strong>, yakuzen<\/em> literally translates as \u201cmedicinal meal<\/strong>\u201c, and is made up of the kanji \u85ac (\u201cyaku\u201d or \u201cmedicine<\/strong>\u201c) and \u81b3 (\u201czen\u201d, which refers to a meal<\/strong>, traditionally served on on a tray).<\/p>\n

The concept behind yakuzen is food as medicine<\/strong>, and you\u2019ll see it being used to describe meals that contain ingredients designed to boost health. One type of meal that can be given the yakuzen treatment is ramen<\/strong>, and a good place to try it is at Boku no, Yakuzenmen<\/strong>, in Tokyo\u2019s Jimbocho neighbourhood.<\/p>\n

\u25bc Boku no, Yakuzenmen translates as \u201cMy Yakuzen Noodles<\/strong>\u201c<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Here, you\u2019ll be able to try a bowl of yakuzen tonkotsu ramen for 1,000 yen (US$6.45), with some of the options being Red Spicy Tonkotsu<\/strong> and Miso Tonkotsu<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Tonkotsu as medicine might seem like a misnomer, but the ingredients have been carefully chosen for their health benefits, with the sign outside the store describing it as \u201cA bowl of medicinal pork bone broth ramen to relieve everyday fatigue<\/strong>\u201c.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The sign also shows the different elements in the ramen: roasted seaweed<\/strong> from a longstanding company founded in 1887; chashu pork<\/strong>, slow braised for hours for tenderness; seasoned quail eggs<\/strong> to restore the body\u2019s needs; time-honored Korean ginseng<\/strong>, a fatigue-healing ingredient; seasoned spinach<\/strong>, rich in vitamins to replenish energy; chopped green onions<\/strong> to invigorate and warm the body; medium-thick wavy noodles<\/strong> that cling to the broth, delivering a sense of comfort; and pork bone broth<\/strong> that\u2019s been slowly simmered and imbued with medicinal herbs<\/strong> to create a nourishing essence that restores balance in the body.<\/p>\n

That does sound like a restorative blend of ingredients, but would it make for a delicious meal? Anything with the word \u201cmedicinal\u201d makes us think of bitterness, something we certainly wouldn\u2019t want to taste in a bowl of noodles, so we felt a slight sense of trepidation after ordering the recommended light-tasting \u201cWhite<\/strong>\u201d yakuzen tonkotsu ramen.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

It only took a few minutes to arrive at our table, and when it did, we were immediately impressed by the generosity of ginseng<\/strong>. Korean ginseng is known for being expensive, and yet, we were given a whole root, cut in two, in our bowl.<\/p>\n

Dipping our spoon in for a taste of the broth, it turned out to have a very refined flavour, and although there was certainly a hint of something medicinal in its herbiness, it didn\u2019t taste bad, it just tasted light and dare we say it, healthy.\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The toppings of chashu<\/strong>, spinach<\/strong> and quail eggs<\/strong> didn\u2019t seem out of place, in that you wouldn\u2019t know they had any medicinal benefits unless you\u2019d been told about them. They provided a nice contrast to the light broth and chewy noodles, which did have a comforting quality.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

When it came to the ginseng though, this really packed a medicinal punch, with unabashed earthy and bitter notes<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Nothing could conceal the woody, medicinal flavour of the ginseng, but when you think about it, that\u2019s what you want when you\u2019re eating yakuzen. Ginseng is said to have a variety of health benefits as a nutritional tonic <\/strong>that\u2019s said to help ease fatigue<\/strong>, promote blood circulation<\/strong>, improve immunity<\/strong>, reduce stress<\/strong> and beautify the skin<\/strong>. With all that on offer, you want to know you\u2019re getting the real deal by tasting, and seeing the ginseng.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The signs in store don\u2019t gloss over the taste of the ginseng, saying:<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cKorean ginseng is an extremely valuable medicinal ingredient, but to be honest, it may not taste great. However, for your health and as a fun talking point, please give it a try. The soup is also infused with plenty of ginseng extract, so enjoy the double benefits.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

As they say, good medicine tastes bitter, and at this restaurant, a bowlful of noodles helps the medicine go down. So next time you\u2019re feeling under the weather, especially if you\u2019re visiting Japan and have no time to get sick, you might want to keep this place in your back pocket as a way to give your health the much-needed boost it needs. It may be the tonic that helps relieve exhaustion at the end of a long day of sightseeing too, which can come in handy when you don\u2019t have the energy to stand in line at some of the more famous, and arguable less healthy, ramen spots in Tokyo<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Restaurant information
\n<\/strong>Boku no, Yakuzenmen \/ \u50d5\u306e\u3001\u85ac\u81b3\u9eba
\nAddress: Tokyo-to, Chiyoda-ku, Kanda Jinbocho 2-4-11
\n\u6771\u4eac\u90fd\u5343\u4ee3\u7530\u533a\u795e\u7530\u795e\u4fdd\u753a2-4-11
\nOpen 11:00 a.m.-3:00p.m. (weekday lunch); 5:00-8:00 p.m. (weekday dinner); 11:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. (Saturdays and public holidays)
\nClosed Sundays
\nWebsite<\/a><\/p>\n

Photos\u00a9SoraNews24<\/em>
\n\u25cf Want to hear about SoraNews24\u2019s latest articles as soon as they\u2019re published? Follow us on Facebook<\/a> and Twitter<\/a>!<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This tonkotsu ramen has medicinal benefits that can boost your energy after a long day of sightseeing. Have you ever heard of yakuzen? Not to be confused with yakuza, yakuzen…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4710","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-rss"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4710","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4710"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4710\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4710"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4710"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4710"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}