Hienadz Vardanyan 
There are tons of ramen shops, and you may have noticed two types available as you look for them.
There are full-service ramen shops where you order your meals as normal and ticket machine shops.
When you see a ticket machine shop, you will know, as it looks like there is a ramen vending machine either right by the entrance or just outside of the shop.
If you use these ramen vending machines, you should make sure you know what you want to order. Usually, there will still be menus available on the table, and it’s considered impolite to hover by the machine while deciding.
There are only one of these machines per shop, so you don’t want a line to form behind you.
Make sure that when you go to a ramen ticket machine shop you know what type of machine they have. There are those where you need to push buttons, and others with touch panel options.
Push-button machines have been around for longer and are relatively simple to use. You just need to push a button under items on the menu. Then, there are those with a touch panel.
These are more modern and often show pictures of the item on a large screen, with different models supporting different languages.
But you may be wondering how to order at ramen vending machines in Tokyo? If you’re heading over to Tokyo, you need to know how they work. First, you need to insert your money.
Once you’ve done this, you will be allowed to choose an item from the menu. Ideally, you should refer to any photos of items on the menu, or you can choose something on the top left of the machine.
Why choose from the top left of the ramen ticket machine? That’s usually where the recommended menu is. Once you’ve chosen your meal, take your meal ticket from the lower left tray of the ticket machine.
You should make sure you receive your change, so if it doesn’t appear straight away, simply push the button. Then hand the ticket over to the clerk, and thank them for making the dish.
They’ll leave you with a ticket stub, and you just need to keep hold of it until your food arrives.
But are you struggling to find a good ramen ticket machine shop? Then check out our guide to help you find a ramen ticket machine shop in Shinjuku, and what we have to say about them.
Niboshi Chukasoba Suzuran (煮干中華そば鈴蘭)
Niboshi Chukasoba Suzuran is a small ramen ticket machine shop in Shinjuku that isn’t too far from the Shinjuku Sanchome Station. There are thirteen counter seats and one table seat available to sit in the ramen ticket machine shop.
Suzuran specializes in using fish soup stock which uses dried sardines that they have carefully selected from all over the country.
You can choose from two types of ramen noodles, medium-thick curly noodles, or low-hydration thin noodles. However, you shouldn’t discount their rich tonkotsu ramen soup.
Their char siu pork is cooked at low temperatures so that the meat’s taste is maximized, so Suzuran is not a place that you would want to miss.
Many customers have praised Suzuran’s rich flavors and delicious aftertaste, noting that the niboshi soup has a rich flavor, but that it isn’t actually too strong.
Many have noticed that even with its push-button ticket machine, it’s not always filled to the brim with customers. However, it is incredibly popular with locals and should be visited if you’re in Shinjuku.
Suzuran is a ramen shop that is open from 11:00 AM to 23:00 PM and is a two-minute walk from the Shinjuku Sanchome Station on the Toei Shinjuku Line.
It is open every day, but you should always check the website to make sure that they aren’t closed as they do not have regular holidays.
If you want a map to Suzuran, please look down below:
Ramen Horiuchi Shinjuku (らぁめん ほりうち 新宿本店)
Ramen Horiuchi is a ramen ticket machine shop in Shinjuku, which is only a three-minute walk from the western exit of Shinjuku station.
There are fourteen seats available for you to sit at the counter, where you can enjoy the menu.
Ramen Horiuchi uses medium-thick polyhydric noodles that stand out from other restaurants. Polyhydric noodles are hard to spread, so they need to boil them every day for different amounts of time to cook them perfectly.
Once cooked perfectly, you’ll find that their medium-thick noodles have a chewy texture that goes brilliantly with their soy sauce soup.
You won’t only expect soy sauce ramen here. Ramen Horiuchi has a unique menu that includes natto ramen, tsukimi ramen, and zaru ramen.
When you have tsukimi ramen, you’ll find raw eggs placed on top, and zaru ramen separates the noodles and a cold soup. In fact, their zaru ramen is one of their most popular dishes at Ramen Horiuchi.
If you want to pick something from their ramen ticket machine, I would recommend the char siu zaru ramen. The char siu is tender and easily loosened so the meat has a wonderful flavor, and it fills the soy sauce soup with ease.
The soup itself is light, but the toppings have a great deal of flavor. On top of the medium-thick noodles, you can even add seaweed to combine with the flavor of the soup.
Ramen Horiuchi is open Monday to Saturday from 8:00 AM to 23:00 PM, with Sunday hours of 10:00 AM to 23:00 PM.
They don’t have any regular holidays, and you will find that they are only a three-minute walk from the western exit of Shinjuku Station in the Nishi-Shinjuku area.
If you would like a map to help find Ramen Horiuchi, here is a map to help locate it:
Sarusuberi (百日紅)
Sarusuberi is a ramen ticket machine shop in Shinjuku which specializes in tsukemen. You can find it in front of the Marunouchi Line’s C2 exit of Shinjuku Sanchome Station.
When you go to Sarusuberi, you can sit at one of the eleven seats available at the counter.
For those confused, tsukemen is a ramen dish where you can dip your noodles into the soup. Sarusuberi has a variety of different flavors available, including niboshi, niboshi curry, and spicy tsukemen.
A regular order of noodles weighs 200g, and a large amount is 300g. The good news is that the size of the noodles can be ordered at the same price. If you want more, then you can even increase the amount of ramen noodles you get to 400g.
Many people have praised the color of the ramen soup available and noted a good amount of acidity. You simply have to dip the noodles into your soup, and you’ll notice a faint taste of dried sardines.
Undoubtedly, many have praised Sarusuberi for being so easy to eat. If you are struggling to pick a flavor, you could always choose the salted tsukemen with asari.
Sarusuberi is open every day from 11:00 AM to 23:00 PM with the exception of New Year’s Day when they are closed.
Just leave the east side ticket gate on the Marunouchi Line of Sanchome station and make sure you go out of the C2 exit to find the restaurant.
If you would like help finding Sarusuberi, here is a map to help you find them:
