Best Ramen in Nara: 7 Top-Rated Shops by Tabelog
The best ramen in Nara, ranked by Tabelog: seven shops rated 3.50 to 3.73, with what to order, queue times, prices and which ones take cards.
The best ramen in Nara is a short list of tiny counter shops, most of them cash only, several of them ranked on Tabelog's Ramen WEST 100. This guide covers seven, from a Michelin-listed creamy chicken bowl in the suburb of Tomio to a ¥800 tonkotsu counter two minutes from JR Nara Station. Ratings and review counts are as of October 2026.
To pick the best ramen in Nara, I started with Tabelog rating and review volume, then mixed styles (chicken paitan, niboshi, tonkotsu, tsukemen) and locations so you can fit a bowl around a day at Nara Park. Prices come in two flavors below: Tabelog's budget band, and what recent reviewers said they actually paid.
Quick picks
Here is the best ramen in Nara at a glance, with payment and price so you can plan around cash.
| Shop | Best for | Tabelog | Budget | Pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ramenya Mitsuba | Creamy chicken and pork bowl | 3.73 | ¥1,000–¥1,999 | Card, PayPay |
| Menya K | Chicken-and-seafood tsukemen | 3.70 | under ¥1,000 | Cash only |
| Menya Eguchi | Flat-noodle tsukesoba | 3.68 | ¥1,000–¥1,999 | Cash only |
| Fujimon Seimen | Gentle fish or pork broth | 3.56 | ¥1,000–¥1,999 (lunch) | Cash only |
| Niboshi Koishi | Dried-sardine broth, late dinner | 3.55 | ¥1,000–¥1,999 (dinner) | Cash only |
| Don Cheadle | Cheap tonkotsu by JR Nara | 3.55 | under ¥1,000 (dinner) | Cash only |
| Tori Soba Za Gin | Easy first stop, takes cards | 3.50 | ¥1,000–¥1,999 | Card, IC, PayPay |
The best ramen in Nara, shop by shop
1. Ramenya Mitsuba (ラーメン家 みつ葉), Tomio
Ramenya Mitsuba is the top-rated ramen shop in Nara on Tabelog, and it has earned a place on the Ramen WEST "Tabelog 100" list every year from 2020 through 2025. Reviewers also mention a Michelin Bib Gourmand listing. The signature is a frothy, creamy chicken broth with a soy or salt base, served with a choice of medium-thick or flat whole-wheat noodles.
Reviewers keep ordering the limited "Special Pork CHIKI Ramen" (one reviewer paid ¥1,500) and adding Mitsuba rice on the side. You buy a ticket from a machine, and staff may post a limited-quantity menu on a whiteboard. Tabelog's own remarks say the shop hands out numbered tickets on weekdays if the line is long before 11:00, and that on Saturdays there are often more than 50 people at opening.
The local trick is to go on a weekday. Sunday and public holidays are closed, and the shop warns of occasional temporary closures, so check its official site first. Tomio is on the Kintetsu Nara Line, a trip out of central Nara.
Tabelog: 3.73 (1,402 reviews) · Budget: ¥1,000–¥1,999 (reviewers paid the same) · Pay: cash, card (VISA, Mastercard, JCB, AMEX, Diners), PayPay, d Barai, Rakuten Pay, au PAY; no e-money · Reservations: not taken · Seats: 10, counter only · Closed: Sundays and public holidays · Getting there: 6 min walk from Tomio Station (Exit 1)
2. Menya K (麺屋 K), near Kintetsu Nara Station
Menya K is the best ramen in Nara within easy walking distance of the station: 3.70 on Tabelog and a Ramen WEST 100 pick from 2023 to 2025. Reviewers order the chicken-and-fish salt tsukemen (dipping noodles), a thick chicken dip with seafood and a sharp acidity, or a chicken shoyu ramen. One reviewer paid ¥1,150 for chicken tsukemen.
Expect a line. Recent reviewers reported waits of 30–40 minutes on a holiday afternoon, about an hour on a long weekend and 70 minutes on one October day. A few of them said you sign in before lining up, and that you get a pager that works within a short radius, so the shopping streets nearby are your waiting room. In October the ticket machine was reported out of order, so you may order and pay cash at the door.
Arrive 15 minutes before opening on a weekday and one reviewer was fourth in line.
Tabelog: 3.70 (895 reviews) · Budget: under ¥1,000 per Tabelog's band (reviewers paid ¥1,000–¥1,999) · Pay: cash only · Reservations: not taken · Seats: 11 (7 at the counter, 1 table for 4) · Closed: Wednesdays; open until sold out · Getting there: 7 min walk from Kintetsu Nara Station (Exit 2)
3. Menya Eguchi (麺屋 えぐち), Kyobate
Menya Eguchi is a tsukesoba specialist (the shop's word for dipping noodles) with 3.68 on Tabelog, selected for the Ramen WEST 100 in 2025. It opened in Nara in April 2022. According to one reviewer, the owner is a former chef at Osaka's Kadoya Shokudo and the shop moved from Esaka in Osaka.
The order is the Ajitama Shio Tsukesoba (¥1,450 in a reviewer's report; a large was ¥1,600 in another). Flat, glossy noodles come with a salt dip built on chicken and seafood stock. Back-fat niboshi shoyu ramen also gets repeat praise. Reviewers who mentioned timing waited only 10 minutes or so, with a ticket machine inside and a shaded waiting spot outside.
Note the hours: since January 2026 it closes Mondays and Tuesdays (open Monday holidays), and the last food order is 16:00. There is a parking lot, which makes it a decent stop if you're driving.
Tabelog: 3.68 (407 reviews) · Budget: ¥1,000–¥1,999 · Pay: cash only · Reservations: not taken (ticket system) · Seats: 12 (8 at the counter, 1 table for 4) · Closed: Mondays and Tuesdays · Getting there: 7 min walk from Kyobate Station (JR Sakurai/Manyo Mahoroba Line)
4. Fujimon Seimen (ふじ門 製麺), Babacho
Fujimon Seimen calls itself a noodle maker, and the pitch is gentle bowls topped with fried burdock and lotus root chips. It's rated 3.56 and sits roughly between the two stations and the Gangoji Temple side of town. Reviewers like the fish broth with thin noodles, and a salt-free pork-and-chicken broth with medium-thick noodles. Pork broth ran ¥1,050 in a May 2026 review, and a chashu mayo rice bowl set was ¥1,260 in a November 2025 one.
One reviewer described a kind elderly couple running the place and a crowd of older customers and families. It's lunch only (11:00–14:00), and in a weekday-afternoon report there was no wait.
Tabelog: 3.56 (411 reviews) · Budget: ¥1,000–¥1,999 lunch (no dinner service) · Pay: cash only · Reservations: not taken · Seats: 10, counter only · Closed: Tuesdays, plus occasional temporary closures · Getting there: about 8 min on foot from JR Nara and Kintetsu Nara Stations
5. Niboshi Koishi (にぼしこいし), Kintetsu Nara
Niboshi Koishi is one minute from Kintetsu Nara Station (Exit 7) and open late, which makes it the dinner pick. It's 3.55 on Tabelog. The "Nibokoi" ramen (¥1,000, large size free according to a September reviewer) is built on dried sardines, with choices of noodles including whole wheat. Reviewers describe the soy version as strong on niboshi but not heavy, and one noted a lunch set of soy niboshi soba with a tempura rice bowl for ¥900.
Evening hours run 18:00–23:30 or until sold out, and Sunday is lunch only. Tabelog lists it as cash only, with Nihonshu and shochu on the drinks list.
Tabelog: 3.55 (374 reviews) · Budget: ¥1,000–¥1,999 (dinner) · Pay: cash only · Reservations: not taken · Closed: Sunday evenings · Getting there: 1 min walk from Kintetsu Nara Station, Exit 7
6. Tori Soba Za Gin (鶏soba座銀), Kintetsu Nara
Tori Soba Za Gin is the easiest first stop: 105 meters from Kintetsu Nara Station, open 10:30–21:00, and it takes cards, e-money and QR payments (Tabelog doesn't name the brands). It opened in October 2023 and rates 3.50. A July reviewer said the ticket machine is set up for international visitors and saw many foreigners.
Order the tori soba, a creamy chicken paitan broth. A reviewer paid ¥1,020 for the salt version, and another found the chashu (chicken breast and low-temperature pork) the highlight. Spicy chicken soba and tantanmen are on the menu, and a reviewer noted a meat sushi side that felt tourist-oriented. The dim, stylish dining room is unlike most ramen counters.
Tabelog's closed-day note says Tuesdays, while its hours table lists every day, so confirm before you go.
Tabelog: 3.50 (279 reviews) · Budget: ¥1,000–¥1,999 · Pay: cash, card, e-money, QR (brands not listed) · Reservations: not taken · Seats: 24 · Closed: Tuesdays per Tabelog's note (hours table shows daily) · Getting there: 1 min walk from Kintetsu Nara Station
7. Don Cheadle (ドン．チードル), near JR Nara Station
Don Cheadle is a six-seat counter serving Hakata-style tonkotsu, rated 3.55. The owner trained at "Hakata Tonkotsu Tenjinbata", according to Tabelog. Reviewers order the clear tonkotsu soy or salt ramen for ¥800, pick the noodle firmness, and some add rice. Toppings are simple (scallions and wood ear), and the broth has no strong smell.
It's the cheapest bowl here and the best choice when you arrive via JR. Hours are 11:00–15:00 and 18:00–21:30 (evening closes a little earlier on Sundays and holidays). Six seats means a short wait at peak times.
Tabelog: 3.55 (402 reviews) · Budget: ¥1,000–¥1,999 lunch, under ¥1,000 dinner · Pay: cash only · Reservations: not taken · Seats: 6, counter only · Closed: Tuesdays · Getting there: 3 min walk from JR Nara Station (west exit)
How to eat the best ramen in Nara without wasting a day
Bring cash. Five of the seven shops above are cash only. Only Mitsuba (cards and QR) and Za Gin (cards, e-money, QR) take other payment, and Tori Next (3.56, 248 reviews) does too, accepting VISA, Mastercard and PayPay, a 5-minute walk from Kintetsu Nara Station. A reviewer said Thursdays there are limited to a collaboration bowl with Mitsuba, so check first.
Use the ticket machine. Almost every shop sells meal tickets from a vending machine. Look at the photos, buy, hand it to staff. Some also let you order verbally.
Timing beats everything. Arrive before opening on a weekday for Mitsuba, Menya K and Eguchi. Check closed days: Wednesday (Menya K), Monday and Tuesday (Eguchi), Tuesday (Fujimon and Don Cheadle), Sunday (Mitsuba).
Nobody takes reservations. All seven shops are first-come, first-served.
If you want a full day plan, cover the shops close to Kintetsu Nara Station (Menya K, Niboshi Koishi, Za Gin, Tori Next) first; they are a short walk from each other. Tomio and Kyobate are separate trips. For a broader look at the city, see Nara on TabeDog or the ramen guide. If you're based in Osaka, our tsukemen near Dotonbori guide covers dipping noodles there, and our food apps guide explains how to use Tabelog data on the road.
Frequently asked questions
Do ramen shops in Nara take credit cards?
Some do. Tabelog lists Ramenya Mitsuba (card and QR), Tori Soba Za Gin (card, e-money and QR) and Tori Next (card and QR) as accepting non-cash payment. Menya K, Menya Eguchi, Fujimon Seimen, Niboshi Koishi and Don Cheadle are cash only.
Can you reserve ramen in Nara?
No. Every shop in this list shows "reservations unavailable" on Tabelog. Go early.
Which Nara ramen shop is closest to Kintetsu Nara Station?
Niboshi Koishi (1 minute) and Tori Soba Za Gin (1 minute) are the closest. Tori Next is 5 minutes away and Menya K about 7.
What's the best ramen in Nara?
By Tabelog's numbers it's Ramenya Mitsuba, at 3.73 from 1,402 reviews as of October 2026. If you want the best ramen in Nara without leaving the center, Menya K (3.70) is the pick.
Find more
Browse every rated ramen shop on the TabeDog map, or see Nara's top-rated restaurants for non-ramen options. The best ramen in Nara changes as shops rotate limited bowls and closed days, so check Tabelog before you go.
