Feature photo by JasonRogers. Photo above by digiyesica.

When the north wind starts blowing and the mercury sinks, there’s nothing better for keeping out the chill than a steaming hot beverage. This guide to cold-weather cocktails will help you mix up the perfect libations for a winter dinner party, or a romantic ambrosia to enjoy while curled up with a loved one.

1. Hot Cider

There’s hardly a simpler beverage than this classic winter cocktail.

• 1 oz. dark rum
• 6 to 8 oz. apple cider
• 1 apple, sliced for garnish

Heat the apple cider in a small saucepan. Add the rum and garnish with apple slices.

Serves 1. (Recipe via Epicurious)

2. Hot Buttered Rum

Rich and comforting and sweet as candy, hot buttered rum is an essential spirit for your favorite mug.

• 1 cup rum
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 quarts hot water
• 1/2 stick butter
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 3 cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• pinch salt
• whipped cream for garnish

Combine the brown sugar, water, butter, and spices. Stir thoroughly. Cover and heat slowly, allowing the mixture to simmer for some time. Add the rum and serve hot with whipped cream.

Serves 15. (Recipe from cdkitchen)

3. Eggnog Latte

With eggnog, bourbon, and rum, this isn’t your everyday cup of joe.

• 1 Tablespoon rum
• 1 Tablespoon bourbon
• 1 cup hot coffee
• 2 cups eggnog

Warm the eggnog in a saucepan but do not allow to boil. Transfer the hot eggnog to a blender, along with the coffee and alcohol. Mix until frothy, and serve warm.

Serves 5. (Recipe from about.com)

Photo by Mohan S.

4. Irish Coffee

Supposedly invented in Ireland in the 1940s, when a chef thought to warm weary travelers by adding whiskey to their coffee.

• 1 1/2 oz. whiskey
• 3 oz. coffee
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar
• 1 oz. cream

Combine the coffee, sugar, and whiskey. Heat, but do not boil. Pour into a glass and carefully add the cream so that it floats on top of the coffee mixture.

Serves 1. (Recipe from the International Bartender Association.)

5. Hot Whiskey

Hot whiskeys probably counteract the bitter cold of a winter night better than anything else.

• 2 oz. whiskey
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 3 cloves
• 1 lemon slice
• boiling water

Combine the whiskey, sugar, cloves, and lemon in a whiskey glass. Fill with water and stir until the sugar dissolves.

Serves 1. (Recipe from drinkswap.)

6. Hot Toddy

Ward off a cold by steeping a cup of this robust hard tea, ideal for gray days full of sleet and slush.

• 1 oz. brandy or blended whiskey
• 1 cup hot water
• 1 tea bag
• 1 Tablespoon honey
• lemon wedge

Squeeze the lemon wedge into a glass containing the honey and brandy. Prepare the tea in another container and then add it to the glass.

Serves 1. (Recipe from about.com.)

Photo by stu_spivack.

7. Mexican Hot Chocolate

The inclusion of tequila makes for a potent variation on an old standard.

• 1 1/2 oz. tequila
• 1/2 oz. coffee liqueur
• 4 oz. hot chocolate
• 2 oz. cream
• Powdered cocoa, to dust

Combine all the ingredients in a mug and serve with a dusting of cocoa on top.

Serves 1. (Recipe via drinks mixer)

8. Peppermint Patty

A cocoa delightfully embellished with wintery mint liqueurs.

• 1 oz. peppermint schnapps
• 1/2 oz. dark creme de cacao
• 1 teaspoon creme de menthe
• 8 oz. hot chocolate
• whipped cream for garnish
• shaved chocolate for garnish

Stir together the liqueurs and add the hot chocolate. Top with whipped cream and chocolate shavings.

Serves 1. (Recipe via about.com)

9. Ume Kiss

Uncomplicated, sophisticated, and memorable.

• 6 oz. plum sake
• lemon wedge
• cinnamon stick

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and heat. Serve in a ceramic cup or mug.

Serves 1. (Recipe via Cocktails of the World)

Photo by chickache.

10. Tamagozake

Occasionally referred to as Japanese eggnog, this warm drink is a traditional remedy for colds.

• 6 oz. sake
• 1 egg
• 2 teaspoons sugar

Heat the sake in a saucepan to evaporate some of the alcohol. Meanwhile, beat the egg well. When the sake has cooled somewhat, stir in the beaten egg a little bit at a time. Add the sugar. Place over low heat, stirring constantly until the mixture thickens.

Serves 1. (Recipe from Obachan’s Kitchen.)

11. Glühwein

Brewed all over the world and known by many names, mulled wines comprise a large class of warm winter beverages. Gluhwein is a German version of the drink.

• 1 bottle red wine
• 1 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 lemon, sliced
• 3 cinnamon sticks
• 10 cloves
• 1 orange, sliced for garnish

Simmer the water, lemon, and spices for an hour. Strain. Add the wine, and heat but do not boil. Garnish with a half slice of orange.

Serves 12. (Recipe from Making Homemade Wine and Beer.)

12. Glogg

A Swedish elixir, deep ruby in color and fragrant with cold-weather spices.

• 2 bottles dry red wine
• 1 bottle sweet white wine
• 1 cup aquavit or vodka (optional)
• 1 Tablespoon bitters
• 1 lemon
• 1 orange
• 10 cloves
• 10 cardamom pods
• 3 cinnamon sticks
• 1 inch fresh ginger, thinly sliced
• 1 cup raisins
• 1 cup blanched almonds
• 1 cup sugar

Blend the wines together in a large saucepan. Squeeze the citrus juices into the wine. Scrape some lemon zest and orange zest from the citrus rinds and tie it in a piece of cheesecloth with the spices. Add the bundle to the wine, along with the raisins, almonds, and sugar. Bring everything to a boil and then reduce it to a simmer for about 15 minutes. When ready to serve, add the bitters and aquavit or vodka.

Serves 12. (Recipe via The New York Times)

Photo by r. e. wolf.

13. Pomegranate Apple Cider

Pomegranates and kumquats, in season during the winter, enliven this spicy cider.

• 1/2 cup apple brandy
• 3 cups pomegranate juice
• 1 1/2 cups apple cider
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp allspice berries
• 4 sticks cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp whole black peppercorns
• 1 orange, sliced into rounds
• 16 kumquats, sliced into 1/4-inch rounds

In a medium saucepan, combine all the ingredients except for the brandy and the kumquats. Add half the kumquats. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat and allow it to simmer for 20 minutes. Pour in the brandy and serve warm with the remaining kumquat slices.

Serves 4. (Recipe from delish.)

14. Wassail

Recipes for wassail are numerous and diverse, containing a range of ingredients: wine, cider, cranberries, tea, citrus. Historically, though, wassail was made with mulled beer or mead. This recipe features baked apples, mulling spices, fresh cider, and ale.

• 12 small apples
• 1 cup cream sherry
• 1 quart ale
• 1 cup calvados (optional)
• 1 quart hard cider (or use apple cider)
• 1 quart apple cider
• 1 to 2 cups brown sugar
• 1 orange
• 10 cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 10 blades mace (or more nutmeg)
• 4 cinnamon sticks
• 10 allspice berries

Preheat the oven to 350F. Remove the cores of the apples but leave the skins on. Bake in a covered casserole dish until soft (about 40 to 50 minutes). Meanwhile, combine the ciders and sugar in a large saucepan. Add the juice of the orange to the mixture. Scrape some orange zest from the rind and tie it in a piece of cheesecloth, along with the spices. Add the cheesecloth pouch to the saucepan. Bring everything to a boil and then allow to simmer for 5 to 10 minutes. Add the sherry, calvados, and ale. Serve with the baked apples floating on top.

Serves 12. (Recipe from The New York Times)

Learning tango in Buenos Aires from Matador Network on Vimeo.

You can watch this Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, Irish and Esperanto on Benny’s multilingual video blog at irishpolyglot.com

Feature image: Ana Cotta.

Photo by cinocino. Feature photo by ktylerconk.

As much as anything else, my travels have always been about finding new music. Not that I’m hunting for it (although on occasion I’ve made field recordings) but more just being out there with my ears open.

I’m always ready for the right factors to materialize, say a Saturday night in Cidreira, Brazil when an 18-wheeler converted into a stage with a full Samba band unexpectedly rolls into the town square. Or a quiet afternoon in El Salvador where your host family’s dad breaks out the rum and the guitara.

In the right moments it almost seems as if the music has come looking for you.

Hearing something for the first time.

But oftentimes you keep hearing the same music for a long time without really absorbing it. When I first arrived in Latin America (San Jose, C.R. 1999), everything the bus drivers played—salsa, merengue, bachata—sounded like wheels turning on a broken axle.

It took getting out of the city and up to the cloudforest, and an aguardiente-maddened night where a local dj was dropping merengue on the crowd.

I don’t know what it was exactly, but suddenly I could feel the clave. The rhythm. It went with the terrain, the howler monkeys and hummingbirds. The way people chopped wood with machetes.

Music which defines a moment.

Beyond the music rooted to the places you travel, there is also the music that seems to travel itself, migrating from one area to the next—making its way into hostels and dj stacks, becoming part of local culture abroad, and also returning home with you.

Here are some of those artists and groups producing music which, for the last 10 years, has helped define what world travel sounds like.

Photo by MissKristen*.

1. Manu Chao

1999. Montanitas, Ecuador. Manu Chao’s Clandestino was playing from every hut. It was said he’d been through there earlier with an entire carnival-tribe.

Those of us who’d been traveling for months or years or lifetimes knew immediately: only someone who has spent the better part of his life living with and loving local people could write music like this.

It’s taken a while for him to catch on in the US, but for the last three years he’s been hitting key spots on US tours, and headlined Lollapalooza last summer.

2. Sublime

Sublime, especially the album 40 oz to freedom, was pushed up and down the pacific coast throughout the late 90s and early 2000s by surfers, and picked up by local groms wherever they lived. I remember hanging out in baja and hearing the kids asking to put on Sub—lee—may.

What kind of music would Bradley Nowell be creating right now were he still alive? What a loss.

3. Balkan Beat Box

In their own words, BBB is “a natural reaction of musicians who wanted to erase political boundaries.”

Balkan Beat Box’s two Israeli-born and Brooklyn-based founders, Tamir Muskat and Ori Kaplan, routinely collaborate with Palestinians (at one point having Israeli and Palestinian rappers side by side on stage in Jerusalem), Syrians, Bulgarians, and Moroccans, among others, in a constantly evolving group of musicians and artists around the world.

Last year, Matador interviewed Ori Kaplan just after a break from tour in Tel Aviv.

4. Bajofondo Tango Club

One night after going out in Buenos Aires, I waited at the Correo Central for the 22 to take me back to Quilmes. That’s before I learned the bus doesn’t pull into the Correo at night.

It got super late and I was completely alone but I kept listening to Bajofondo, this drum and bass remix of an old tango. It felt like the city was all mine.

Bajofondo is made up of veteran musicians and producers from Argentina and Uruguay who mash up tango, candombe, and other South American rhythms with breaks, drum and bass, and hip hop.

Member Gustavo A. Santaolalla has also produced soundtracks for Amores Perros and 21 Grams, and later received a 2006 Academy Award for Achievement in music written for motion pictures (original score) for Brokeback Mountain, then a second Academy Award in 2007 for the film score to Babel.

5. Daft Punk

Photo by Caesar Sebastian

Daft Punk built on early Detroit techno, perfecting a brighter, funkier sound that’s remained in clubs no matter where you’ve gone over the last decade.

Anytime I hear “Around the World” I get flashbacks of discoballs in San Jose clubs at the end of the millennium.

6. Buena Vista Social Club

Buena Vista’s story is one of the greatest in modern music. American guitarist and producer Ry Cooder went to Cuba and reunited musicians who had performed at the club 50 years earlier—some of whom hadn’t touched an instrument or performed in decades.

Their recordings and performances were international successes throughout the late 90s.

7. Bebel Gilberto

Bebel is the daughter of bossa nova legend João Gilberto. Bebel’s music is a fresh and smooth and has spread from Rio and New York (where she lives) worldwide.

8. Amon Tobin

Another Brazilian, Amon Tobin is a key innovator and producer of electronic music, and one of the all-stars on the Ninja Tune label. He has collaborated with various artists and influenced countless djs and producers worldwide.

9. Kevin Johansen

Kevin Johansen is half Argentinean, half American, and plays a mix of rock, cumbia, reggae, tango, and other rhythms. He keeps getting better known each year.

10. Marley Family

Damian, Stephan, Julian, Ziggy, Rita—no other family has so many projects and tours going in so many places around the world. From Ziggy’s new album Love is My Religion to Damian and Stephan’s recent albums which have taken dance hall emceeing to new levels of social consciousness, this entire clan just keeps bringing more fire.

These are my top picks for the heavyweight musicians shaping travel culture over the last decade. There are many more to be sure. What’s yours?

Photo by pixietart (Creative Commons)

According to the National Weather Service, winter will officially begin at 6:04 A.M. CST on December 21.

It won’t end until 6:44 A.M. CST on March 20, 2009.

That’s three whole months without drinks in Manhattan’s and Brooklyn’s restaurants with backlot urban gardens. 90 days without an alfresco mimosa or a Manhattan at a sidewalk table. It’s ok: I feel your pain. In the meantime, try:

Campbell Apartment

The Campbell Apartment isn’t well-known even among New Yorkers whose daily routes don’t take them through Midtown. And even commuters hurrying through Grand Central each day may be unaware that one of the city’s best bars is closer than their subway train.

Located inside Grand Central Terminal, the Campbell Apartment is the former office of John W. Campbell, a 1920s NYC high roller. It’s all dark wood, soaring windows, and… a big stone fireplace, and best of all, opens at 3 PM, so you can justify a stop on your way home from work.

15 Grand Central Terminal
212-953-0409

Photo by mudpig (Creative Commons)

Cibar

Called the “Miss America of bars” by NewYorkMetro.com, Cibar is a bar for all seasons. During summer, its bamboo garden invites drinkers to linger awhile. In winter, though, it’s time to cozy up around the indoor fireplaces (yep, plural). Cibar is located in a townhouse, amplifying the homey feel. If only you had a home like this in the city….

56 Irving Place, Manhattan
212-460-5656

The Dove Parlour

Started by a group of friends who wanted to “democratize decadence,” the Dove Parlour is another warm, inviting bar with a tucked-in-a-townhouse kind of feel. There’s a fireplace here, too, but instead of wood, light is given off by a tight bunch of tall pillar candles.

Winter signals the addition of a specialty drink to the limited but creative cocktail list: hot spiced mulled red wine. Happy hour is every day from 4-8 PM, when most drinks are $6.00 USD. Another particularly attractive feature of this bar is how late it’s open: that mulled wine is served all the way ’til 4 AM.

228 Thompson Street
212-254-1435

The Auction House

If you’re feeling cold on the Upper East Side, then warm up by the fire at The Auction House. Just don’t come wearing fur; there’s a strict no-fur policy. Though there’s nothing particularly special about the decor or ambiance of this bar, it weeds out rowdier patrons by enforcing a 25-and-older policy on weekends.

300 E. 89th Street between First and Second Avenues
212-427-4458

Photo by Pingu1963 (Creative Commons)

Arctica

Cold is entirely relative. Save Arctica for one of those mid or late-winter nights when you think there just can’t be any place colder on Earth. This bar honors Shackleton’s Antarctica expedition. There’s lots of warm light, and heat radiates from a small pot-bellied stove. Gathered around the fire, it’s easy to forget you’re in New York.

384 Third Avenue (between 27th & 28th Streets)
212-725-4477

Zanzibar

Forget bellying up to the bar. Elbow your way to the open pit fire at Zanzibar to warm your hands; then head over the bar to warm your insides with some spirits. Cocktails are changed seasonally, so look for something hot and heavy instead of light and refreshing.

645 Ninth Avenue (corner of 45th Street)
212-957-9197

Photo by Digiart2001 (Creative Commons)

Employees Only

You don’t have to be on the payroll to get served at Employees Only… you just need to be able to pay your bill. Along the already warm and cozy vibe that characterizes Hudson Street in the West Village is the even more inviting bar that deserves a spot on your winter barhop list.

First, there’s the working fireplace. Then, there’s the inventive cocktail list: the Kumquat Sangaree blends candied kumquats and allspice with champagne. And then there’s the slightly odd yet curiosity-provoking fortune teller who holds court reading cards just inside the door.

510 Hudson Street (between Christopher and W. 10th Street)
212-242-3021

Huckleberry Bar

Lest you think I’m Manhattan-centric, I mention the Huckleberry Bar in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. In fact, Brooklyn’s one of the best places in the 5 boros to get winter cocktails, as there’s a mixologist movement growing in Brooklyn that’s worth watching.

Case in point? The tequila hot chocolate served at the Huckleberry Bar. What can I say about it? Nothing. You’ve got to check it out for yourself.

588 Grand Street
Williamsburg, Brooklyn
718-218-8555

Photo by Grumpy Chris (Creative Commons)

LIC Bar

LIC= Long Island City, and no, it’s not on Long Island. I’ve got to give my local nabe bar a nod, not because you’ll be blown away by its vibe if you cross the river and come visit Queens, but precisely because it’s NOT one of the pretentious see and be seen bars that are way too common in Manhattan.

Yet it’s not a dive, either. It’s a 100% nabe bar where even locals’ dogs are welcome. And so are you. Being an outer boro bar has its privileges. Space, for one thing. Enough space, actually, for a photo booth. AND a fireplace. So roll in, check out the menu, and if you’re gonna be around awhile, give me a call so I can stop by with my pup.

45-58 Vernon Boulevard
718-756-5400

What are the bars you frequent in the winter, whether they’re in New York or Naples? Share your favorites in the comments!

Burning Man – a week in the desert from Matador Network on Vimeo.

Benny Lewis writes:

My incredible experience at Burning Man this year. I lost over half the footage from my hard drive getting damaged because of dust storms, but I still had enough to piece together this documentary! Enjoy!!

If you want to see this in Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, Irish and/or Esperanto – or if you’d like to see more of my videos – be sure to check out my videoblog at irishpolyglot.com

Feature Photo: Ross Borden

Photo by Dust Mason

Kyushu Jangara – Harajuku Branch

Kyushu Jangara is a chain shop hailing from the island Kyushu (hence the name). Jangara is one of the most tourist friendly ramen shops in all of Tokyo, located just a one minute walk from Harajuku station. It also has an English menu, making ordering easy for first-timers.

On most weekends a member of the staff can be seen just outside the entrance, trying to usher shoppers inside and control customers in waiting if the line gets long.

The soup stock here is tonkotsu (pork bone) based, made from slow roasting pork bones for hours, sometimes even days. You can usually pick up a strange smell in the air that is characteristic of the tonkotsu stock making process.

The noodles here are quite good, and I would definitely recommend the shop due to its convenience and proximity to the shopping Mecca of Harajuku.

Kyushu Jangara – Harajuku

Shanzeru Harajuku II 1-2F, 1-13-21 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo

Tel: 03.3404.5572

Photo by Marufish

Menya Musashi – Shinjuku Branch

The Shinjuku branch of Menya Musashi is one of most famous ramen shops in the area. It has been featured on Japanese television several times, and lines of 20 people or more stretching down the alleyway are not uncommon around lunchtime on weekdays.

Musashi’s ramen is served in a light, shoyu (soy sauce) based broth; hints of katsuo (skipjack tuna) and yuzu (Japanese citrus fruit) can also be noted. After ordering your meal from a vending machine located by the entrance, one of the staff will take your ticket and ask if you want your ramen kotteri (heavier flavor) or assari (lighter flavor).

All of the cooks are animated in the open kitchen, with the head noodle chef constantly yelling as he pulls noodles from boiling water and shakes them. Musashi is a good place for ramen beginners; the taste is not too rich or overpowering, and the atmosphere is festive.

A good choice if you find yourself near Shinjuku station.

Menya Musashi – Shinjuku

K-1 Build. 1F, 7-2-6 Nishishinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo

Tel: 03.3363.4634

Photo by Telstar Logistics

Ramen Tetsuya – Higashi Koenji

Located in Higashi Koenji, Ramen Tetsuya serves up some of the best authentic Sapporo style ramen in Tokyo. I suggest ordering the Shoyu Chashu Men, which comes with hefty slices of smoked pork served over perfectly boiled noodles and a delicious broth.

I’ve heard that the original shop is located in Sapporo; this is the owner’s one branch outside of Hokkaido. Overall, one of my favorite bowls of noodles in the city, highly recommended if you are looking for something just a little different than your typical Tokyo ramen.

Ramen Tetsuya – Koenji

23. Umesato, Suginami-ku, Tokyo

Tel: 03.5929.1388

Ippudo – Ebisu Branch

If you have only have time to visit one ramen shop while in Tokyo, Ippudo might be your best bet for a great all-around Japanese ramen experience. Ippudo is one of the most famous ramen chains in Japan. There are many branches spread all across the country serving up Hakata style tonkotsu ramen from the island of Kyushu.

The soup stock is creamy and delicious, a unique taste that most people have never experienced prior to arriving in Japan. Along with your ramen comes an assortment of all you can eat toppings, including spicy moyashi (bean sprouts), crushed ninniku (garlic), karashi takana (spicy pickled greens) and shoga (pickled ginger).

Ippudo recently gained some publicity in the United States as it opened their first international branch, located in New York City.

Ippudo – Ebisu

1-3-12 Hiroo, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo

Tel: 03-5420-2225

Taishoken – Higashi Ikebukuro

Taishoken is one of the most famous ramen shops in Tokyo. Its owner, Kazuo Yamagishi, is said to be the inventor of tsukemen. While traditional ramen is a soup consisting of noodles, broth, and toppings all served together in a bowl, tsukemen is noodles and soup served separately.

The soup that comes with tsukemen is usually a little more potent in flavor than typical ramen broth, and is meant to be used as a dipping sauce for the noodles rather than to drink. While tsukemen is now common food in Japan, Taishoken is considered to be the original.

Taishoken

4-28-3 Higashi Ikebukuro, Toshima-ku, Tokyo

Tel: 03.3981.9360

Photo by Marufish

Ramen Jiro – Takadanobaba Branch

If any Tokyo ramen shop has a cult following, Ramen Jiro is it. There are 28 locations in the Tokyo metropolitan area (as far as I know), and while each follow the same basic recipe, they all vary slightly depending on the variations of toppings and ingredients the head chef of each shop decides to use.

The broth, made from both tonkotsu and shoyu stock, is almost more of a thick sauce rather than soup, with large globules of pork fat suspended the broth. On top of an already massive bowl, the chef will ask if you want additional bean sprouts, garlic, or pork fat, which he will throw in at no extra charge.

Jiro is hugely popular with college students, especially male college students. The shops are dirty, the counters greasy, and you are guaranteed to leave with your stomach ready to burst open. Not for the faint of heart but delicious nonetheless, Ramen Jiro is an experience like no other.

Ramen Jiro – Takadanobaba

3-12-1 Takadanobaba, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo

Tel: NA

Ramen Oyaji – Machida Branch

Ramen Oyaji is a little off the beaten bath, located on the edge of Kanagawa prefecture and over an hour by train from central Tokyo. For those looking for authentic Sapporo style Miso ramen however, look no further, for Oyaji ramen is the next best thing to hopping on a flight up to Hokkaido.

The broth here is made from white Miso, and is so creamy and rich I put it right up there with the best ramen I have had in Japan. Not to be outdone by the soup itself, the egg noodles are pretty close to perfection as well, served slightly al dente. I always go with the Oyaji set.

At 1000 yen you get a huge bowl of ramen and a plate of delicious gyoza dumplings. Well worth the trip for ramen connoisseurs looking to get out of the city.

Ramen Oyaji – Machida

1-19-1 Nakamachi, Machida-shi, Tokyo

Tel: 042-723-2951

Hakusan Ramen – Sengoku

What looks like a ramen restaurant from the outside is more of a counter where you order, pay, and pick up your bowl of soup. After receiving your bowl of noodles, where and how you eat is left up to you.

You can vie for one of the stools or benches on the sidewalk, or at peak hours stand or squat wherever you want and begin slurping away as you hold your bowl with one hand and shovel noodles into your mouth with the other.

The menu is simple; you have a choice between a) ramen or b) tamago (egg) ramen. Regular ramen comes with one egg; tamago ramen comes with two. Why the simplicity? Simple, the ramen here is flat out delicious, made from tonkotsu shoyu broth, slightly salty but not overpowering.

Hakusan is only open from the hours of 9:00 PM to 5:00 AM, making it a favorite stop after a late night of drinking.

Hakusan Ramen

4-37-26 Hakusan Bunkyo-ku Tokyo

Tel: 090-3337-9044

Photo by link

Yasube – Shinjuku Branch

While Yasube serves both ramen and tsukemen, one look around the shop interior and you’re likely to see plates full of heaping piles of noodles, hinting that most customers opt for the latter.

The kara miso (spicy miso) tsukemen reigns supreme here in my opinion. After all, what could be better than dunking thick, chewy ramen noodles into a zesty chili-miso sauce?

The real selling point is the price: for the same amount (790 yen) you can choose your quantity of noodles, from small all the way to extra large. The large size is enormous, making this a must stop for budget travelers looking for quick, delicious, cheap eats.

Yasube – Shinjuku

2-11-19 Yoyogi, Shibuya-Ku, Tokyo

TEL: 03-3375-5911

Aoba – Nakano Branch

Aoba has gained success by serving simple ramen with the finest ingredients. They are consistently ranked one of the top ramen shops in the city by Japanese noodle enthusiasts, and long lines are not only common, they are to be expected.

The soup here is shoyu based but an interesting technique is used putting each order together. Apparently they have two different soup stocks, one made from pork and chicken bones, the other from dried katsuo (skipjack tuna). The two stocks are combined just before the customer is served, creating a unique aroma and flavor.

Like many popular ramen shops, Aoba closes every day whenever they run out of soup stock. The busier the day, the sooner they close, sometimes even before dinner time, too early for most people getting off after a long day of work.

Aoba – Nakano Branch

5-58-1 Nakano, Nakano-ku, Tokyo

Tel: 03-3388-5552

Community connection

For more on Japan, including dozens of blogs, local experts and travelers you can link up with, as well as volunteer ops and orgs, please check out the Japan page on Matador.