{"id":5087,"date":"2026-03-15T06:00:07","date_gmt":"2026-03-15T13:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/?p=5087"},"modified":"2026-03-15T06:00:07","modified_gmt":"2026-03-15T13:00:07","slug":"train-station-platform-ramen-store-closes-its-doors-on-half-a-century-of-history-in-tokyo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/?p=5087","title":{"rendered":"Train station platform ramen store closes its doors on half a century of history in Tokyo"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

Sayonara to an old-school traveller\u2019s way to eat noodles.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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

The constant sound of trains arriving and departing. A stream of passengers appearing and disappearing. And all throughout, the delicious aroma of ramen wafting through the air.<\/strong><\/p>\n

That\u2019s the scene that passengers at Tokyo\u2019s Nishiarai Station have been able to enjoy for over 50 years, but it will soon be sadly coming to an end, with the announcement that Nishiarai Ramen will be closing its doors to the public on 31 March<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\u25bc This closure is big news in the noodle world, so we wasted no time in heading out to Adachi Ward to have one last meal at the ramen stand.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Located on Platform 3 and 4, which serves the Tobu Skytree Line, Nishiarai Ramen has been selling simple, old\u2011school Tokyo shoyu (soy sauce) ramen to hungry commuters since it opened here in 1969. When we arrived at the humble ramen stand on a sunny Saturday afternoon, we found it was crowded with customers.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve seen a few historic soba restaurants<\/a> on train platforms in our time<\/a>, but ramen restaurants are a much rarer find. The stands we\u2019ve seen have never drawn crowds like this one, suggesting we weren\u2019t the only ones here for one last slurp of ramen on the platform.<\/p>\n

\u25bc A sign by the stand confirms the closure.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The sign above reads:<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cNotice from Nishiarai Ramen.
\nThank you, Nishiarai Platform.<\/em>
\nTo everyone who has eaten here, alongside the sound of trains, Nishiarai Ramen will be closing on 31 March.<\/em>
\nWe won\u2019t forget those who have stopped by, even if just for a short time.<\/em>
\nThank you very much for the past 56 years.<\/em>
\nAlthough this location will be closing, the flavour will live on at our second branch in front of the station.<\/em>
\nNext time, please take a seat there and eat slowly.<\/em>
\nOne final bowl. And from then on, at the station-front store.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Though we were relieved to learn that Nishiarai Ramen\u2019s noodles will still be available, it did little to ease the pain of having to say goodbye to the branch on the platform. There\u2019s something beautiful about being able to enjoy a hot bowl of noodles while trains whizz by within metres of you, and it\u2019s an old-school, nostalgic experience that\u2019s disappearing now in the world of modern train stations.<\/p>\n

\u25bc Eating shoulder to shoulder on the platform is like a memento of a bygone era.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

With the sense of something soon to be lost making us feel slightly emotional, we purchased a ticket for our last bowl of ramen at the ticket machine and joined the queue. The line moved steadily forward, but it took about an hour before we were able to reach the counter and exchange our ticket for food.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

When we finally caught sight of our order, a bowl of Char Siu Ramen<\/strong> for 850 yen (US$5.39), it appeared slightly blurry through our tears.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

It was a simple-looking dish, but when we tasted the broth, it had a delicious soy sauce flavour that would be on par with any good non-standing ramen restaurant. The straight noodles from Tsurushiko (a Japanese restaurant chain known for chewy noodles made from wheat and potato starch) added to the overall flavor, creating a very hearty meal.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The salt in the char siu added a nice flavour throughout, giving the dish a nice balance that shows why this place has been popular for so many decades.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

As we slurped up every last strand of these noodles, we also soaked up every last bit of the atmosphere in which it was served. The smell of the trains, the noise of the people, and the ebb and flow of movement around us added to the unique enjoyment of the meal.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Ordinary places and moments like these can be the most beautiful of things, and we felt the sadness of Tokyo\u2019s disappearing history as we walked away from the ramen stand one last time.<\/p>\n

\u25bc Stopping by Nishiarai\u2019s ramen restaurant at the front of the station, we found that it retained its platform history on the sign outside\u2026<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u25bc \u2026but it just didn\u2019t have the same type of vibe.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

With the current Reiwa era steadily marching on through time, it\u2019s sad to see the remnants of the Showa era slowly disappearing in front of our eyes. Happy for small consolations, we chose to take solace in the knowledge that the flavour of Nishiarai\u2019s ramen will live on for now\u2026albeit without the bustling, decades-long atmosphere of the platform stand that made it famous.<\/p>\n

Store information<\/strong><\/p>\n

Nishiarai Ramen \/ \u897f\u65b0\u4e95\u3089\u30fc\u3081\u3093
\nAddress: Tokyo-to, Adachi-ku, Nishiarai Sakaecho 2-1-1 ,\u00a0 Tobu Isesaki Line Nishiarai Station Platforms 3 and 4
\n\u6771\u4eac\u90fd\u8db3\u7acb\u533a\u897f\u65b0\u4e95\u6804\u753a2-1-1 \u6771\u6b66\u4f0a\u52e2\u5d0e\u7dda\u897f\u65b0\u4e95\u99c53\u30014\u756a\u7dda\u30db\u30fc\u30e0
\nOpen: 8:00 a.m.-8:30 p.m.<\/strong><\/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":"

Sayonara to an old-school traveller\u2019s way to eat noodles. The constant sound of trains arriving and departing. A stream of passengers appearing and disappearing. And all throughout, the delicious aroma…<\/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-5087","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\/5087","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=5087"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5087\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5087"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5087"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5087"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}