Good food is where you find it; Mutsumi-ya in Tokyo Station

I spent my last hour in Japan (being in the lounge doesn’t count, because since you clear passport control, you’re technically “not” in Japan) puttering in 東京駅.
It’s been a while since I’ve needed to go through Tokyo Station on the way to NRT. These past few visits I’ve been going through Shinjuku Station since it’s closer to where I stay during my visits. There’s a lot happening in Tokyo Station and the surrounding Marounouchi neighborhood. For one, Tokyo Station has a left baggage service in the basement close to the NE’X tracks so you can check your bag and putter around for the day before making the long slog to NRT. Although both stations have lockers, they won’t swallow a 26″ roller, that’s why it’s nice to have the left baggage service at Tokyo Station because Shinjuku doesn’t have it. Another bright spot of Marunouchi are the many nice restaurants in the area that includes a branch of A16 and a Cafe that’s part of Joel Robuchon’s restaurant chains.
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Almost feels like being in Paris. Of course, we ARE in Marunouchi…
The best food I found though was inside Tokyo Station itself. There’s a branch of Mutsumi-ya in a special Tokyo Ramen Street section of the basement. I stumbled upon this gem as I was wandering around semi-lost for a new place to eat. Mutsumi-ya is a Hokkaido based chain as evidenced by their flagship bowl of corn-butter ramen.
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It was very oishii! Corn and butter in the broth…
Unlike most Hokkaido style ramen I’ve had, this bowl has the satisfying food buzz that you get with good Hakata style ramen. The broth was rich and hearty and very satisfying. And unusually for Hokkaido ramen, the noodles were firm and has the feel of quality. It’s easy to mass produce thick noodles (which Hokkaido ramen uses) and many shops cheat with store bought noodles. I don’t think Mutsumi-ya does that. It’s that good.
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The restaurant itself is not designed for lingering; rather it’s all about eating and going.
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Here’s some of their other menu offerings and some credentials

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