
Have you heard about this Japanese TV program, called “Kitanachelin”?! It’s a program that showcases neighborhood restaurants that have great food and are dirty looking. The title combines the word “kitainai” or dirty with an abbreviated version of Michelin, as in the guide to fine dining.
We stumbled into this ramen shop in Sangenjaya using Tabelog. Only when we had ordered did I recognize the proud trophy on the counter. I wonder when they won the coveted prize: the food was OK but not great, and the place merely untidy rather than over-the-top filthy.