Konjiki Hototogisu
Michelin-Starred Clam-and-Truffle Ramen
A one-Michelin-star soba house near Shinjuku Gyoen, built on a clam-forward shellfish broth finished with porcini and truffle oil. The third ramen shop ever to earn a star.
Last verified: 2026-05-16
Why Japanese People Love It
Konjiki Hototogisu earned a Michelin star in the 2019 Tokyo guide — the third ramen restaurant in the world ever to do so, after Tsuta and Nakiryu. Its signature bowl is built on a clam-forward shellfish-and-chicken broth, layered with a porcini paste and finished with a few drops of truffle oil. The combination sounds like fusion overreach and isn't: the clam dashi gives it a clean marine backbone, and the porcini-truffle finish reads as an intensification of umami rather than a French intrusion.
The shop sits near Shinjuku Gyoen in a small, unflashy space — the antithesis of a destination restaurant's theater. The chef's approach is closer to a tasting-menu kitchen than a noodle counter: the broth components are prepped with precision, the noodles are matched specifically to the soup's viscosity, and the bowl is constructed rather than assembled. The Michelin recognition was for that rigor, not for novelty.
For visitors, it's one of the most accessible Michelin-starred meals in Tokyo — a complete one-star dish for around ¥1,500, ordered from a ticket machine, eaten in twenty minutes, no reservation system to navigate. The trade-off is the constraint: limited seats, limited hours, closed Sundays and Mondays. Plan around it and it's arguably the highest value-per-yen Michelin experience in the city.
How to Experience It
Find it at 2-4-1 Shinjuku, four minutes from Shinjuku-Gyoenmae Station (twelve from JR Shinjuku). The shop is small and the queue is the marker. Hours are tight: Tuesday-Saturday only, 11:00-15:00 and 18:30-21:00, closed Sunday and Monday.
Arrive early in each service window — the seat count is low and the daily portions are limited; popular bowls can sell out before the listed close, especially at dinner. The first 30 minutes of lunch (11:00-11:30) is the most reliable window to get in without a long wait.
Buy a ticket at the machine for the bowl you want (the shio/clam base is the signature; there are shoyu and tsukemen variants). Hand it to the counter. The kitchen finishes each bowl deliberately; this is not a fast-turnover shop despite the format — eat attentively rather than quickly.
What to Order
The signature shio (salt-base) ramen — clam-and-shellfish broth, porcini, truffle oil — is the order, the bowl the star was awarded for. It's the clearest statement of what the kitchen does. Don't customize it on a first visit; the construction is intentional.
The shoyu (soy) version is darker and slightly more conventional, a good second-visit comparison. The tsukemen variant concentrates the shellfish further. For a first time, stay with the shio — it's the dish that defines the shop.
Plan your visit
| Area | Shinjuku |
|---|---|
| Category | Ramen |
| Price range | ¥1200-2000 |
| Hours | Tue-Sat 11:00-15:00 / 18:30-21:00 |
| Closed | 日曜・月曜 |
| Access | 東京メトロ新宿御苑前駅から徒歩4分・JR新宿駅から徒歩12分・新宿2-4-1 |
| Reservations | Walk-in only — ticket machine; arrive early, limited seats |
| English menu | ⚠ Limited Limited — ticket machine, photo-based |
| English support | Minimal interaction needed; the system is visual |
| Last verified | 2026-05-16 |
Nearby Experiences
Shinjuku Gyoen is four minutes away — a Michelin ramen lunch followed by the garden is one of the better-value half-days in Tokyo. Gonokami Seisakusho (shrimp tsukemen) is also nearby for an ambitious same-day ramen double.
For a Tokyo Michelin-ramen circuit, Konjiki Hototogisu (clam-truffle) and Nakiryu (tantanmen, Otsuka) are the two most accessible one-star bowls — both ticket-machine, both under ¥2,000, both worth structuring a day around.