Which noodle will reign supreme?

Fighter 1 Has Entered the Ring: Moe Moe ❤ Pink Ramen

The cute menus.

Is that… strawberry milk?

A quick glance at this ramen's striking baby pink broth might give you the impression that it's strawberry-flavored dessert ramen, or something equally "wacky." Thankfully, though the pink color does come from natural coloring, the flavor of the ramen is not particularly "pink," lending the noodles a nice savory broth flavor. As a dish found in an Akihabara Maid Café, it's appropriately adorable, but charmingly simple!
 
Moe Moe Pink Ramen (萌 え 萌 え ピ ン ク ラ ー メ ン) 1,200 yen
at Akiba Zettai Ryoiki (アキバ絶対領域)
Address: 3-1-1 Sotokanda, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
Phone: 050-1180-6584 
Hours: 12:00 – 22:00

Our Ramen Second: Burnt Black Ramen

This bowl is 360 degrees of intense soy sauce or miso, plus flaming pork fat, creating a broth that is a wonderful deep black (like our souls). Making the experience dinner and a show, the chefs light richly flavorful lard on fire before topping each bowl with a ladle-full, adding some of the broth’s black color and lots of toasty flavor.
 
Kogashi “Burnt” Ramen (焦がしラーメン) 890 yen
at Kyoto GoGyo Ramen (京都五行ラーメン)
Address: 452 Jumonjicho, Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto
Phone: 075-254-5567 
Hours: 11:30 – 14:30 / 17:00 – 22:30

Our First Udon Opponent: Tsurutontan’s Cauldrons of Udon

Tsurutontan is a Japanese udon chain popular among locals and visitors from all over the world, with its great variety of different kinds of udon, and noodles with a great bite.

But who are we fooling? Not only does Tsurutontan's udon taste great, it also comes in a huge bowl that's probably triple the size of a human face. Just look at that monster of a bowl.

There are dozens of options on the menu.

Yeah, it's big.

It's a lot of udon, but with all that great flavor, you'll slurp up the smooth, chewy noodles in no time. (You can do it, we believe in you!)

Udon of All Kinds!
at Tsurutontan Udon, Roppongi (つるとんたん 六本木店)
Address: 3-4-12 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo
Phone: 03-5786-2626
Hours: 11:00 – 20:00

For Our Final Contendor, Go Big or Go Home With: One Big, Chunky Udon Noodle

We've talked about the "Ippon Udon" (一本うどん, literally single-noodle udon) found in Saitama before, because honestly… we were and are impressed. The chefs at Gotetsu worked for three whole years to come up with the perfect recipe for this dish, since it's basically a dish of legend, and definitely not an established variety of udon. They certainly succeeded in creating something with impact! We think this is a pretty strong final bowl of udon to throw into the fight. Like, literally, look at that noodle. It's got some heft!

Aside from the visuals, it's actually a pretty tasty treat as well. The noodle is cooked in the soy-sauce-based broth, and it ends up with an almost mochi-like chew, surrounded by the soup's deep savory flavor.

Ippon Udon (一本うどん) 800 yen
at Gotetsu (五鉄)
Address: Hanyu PA Up, 1686 Azagoken, Miroku, Hanyu, Saitama
Phone: 048-598-3300 
Hours: 10:00 – 20:30

Well, that's really up to you, isn't it? Which one do you think you'll search out on your next visit to Japan?

If none of these quite won you over, maybe you'll instead be interested in one of Tokyo's three most instagrammable bowls of ramen? Or if you're in the mood for something a little less noodley, Japan has plenty of other unique dishes for you to sample. It's hard to make it through time spent in Japan without eating something delicious, and possibly quite unique!