Japan: Rokurinsha Tokyo Ramen Street, TOKYO

Shortage of time is a major issue among the Japanese considering that commuting for work and prolonged working hours take up at least 10 hours in a day, making it easy to dismiss the thought of running to a shop for a gift or to have a decent meal. From my two weeks of holiday in Japan, this was evident to me.

Ranging from sleep deprived to diligent spectacled, newspaper reading employees to the occasional flamboyantly dressed character out of a manga comic, of which, nobody seems to bat an eye at – everyone squeezes into the train in an attempt at avoiding having to wait for subsequent ones. Once we arrive at the Tokyo station, our eyes lit with excitement.

Crowded, yes but just like the other main stations that houses a JR line, it is well equipped with a delicious array of restaurants and specialty shops bearing gifts and souvenirs. I can see how the Japanese save time in a train station. Ah, how excited we were at the prospect of fuelling our exhausted souls.

Noting a line up outside this restaurant, we immediately jumped into the queue out of curiousity. And like any other main train station, free wifi is available, much to the delight of the researcher in me. Turned out this restaurant is renowned for their tsukemen (ramen consumed after dipping in a separate bowl of soup).

Flavour soft boiled egg dip noodles – bundled up neatly, the noodles were prepared al dente. Dipping it into the accompanying broth softened up its texture slightly, making it much easier for slurping.

For variety sake, we ordered a bowl of ramen in broth that comes served with pickled bamboo shoots pork meat, generously topped with fine slices of spring onions. Again, delicious and pork broth had a delectable flavour depth to it.

At $10 for a good portion of noodles and a thick slab of protein, I can see why the Japanese would brave the meal time crowd and queue up for a spot here.