Ramen Matsui marks third anniversary

Ramen anniversaries are a real thing in Japan — and at the good shops, they are basically treated like album-release days. RAMEN MATSUI, the small Shinjuku ramen shop near Shinjuku-gyoemmae Station, hit its third anniversary on May 10 and marked it with a one-day-only special shoyu bowl that regulars immediately framed as a premium version of the shop’s signature style. The point was not a discount or a gimmick. It was a flex — better ingredients, more layers in the soup, and a bowl built to show how far the shop has come in just three years. ### What actually happened on anniversary day? For the anniversary service, RAMEN MATSUI switched to a single limited menu rather than its normal spread of soy sauce, salt, and niboshi bowls. The featured bowl was called a “slightly luxurious” special shoyu ramen, priced at ¥1,800, with an optional extra order of shrimp-and-pork wontons for ¥300. That one-day-only setup matters because it tells you this was not just a social-media caption — the whole day’s operation was built around the commemorative bowl. (ameblo.jp) ### What was in the bowl? The toppings were the headline first. Diners described two slices of Hungarian magret duck, two slices of Fuji black pork shoulder chashu, seasoned egg, two meat wontons, two shrimp-and-pork wontons, komatsuna greens, and shredded white leek. That is a lot more elaborate than a standard shoyu ramen, and it pushes the bowl into the “special occasion” lane rather than everyday lunch. (ameblo.jp) ### Why did fans care about the broth? The soup was where the anniversary bowl really separated itself. One diner’s detailed writeup breaks the stock into three layers — jidori chicken, shellfish, and dried ingredients. The chicken side included Hinai chicken, Kawamata shamo, and Tanba black chicken. The shellfish side included shijimi clams from Lake Shinji, large clams from Akkeshi, and hamaguri from Kujukuri. The dried-goods side included Rausu kombu, soda-bushi, saba-bushi, and multiple kinds of niboshi. (ameblo.jp) Basically, this was an all-star broth designed to feel denser and more stacked than the regular bowl. ### Is RAMEN MATSUI a big-name shop now? Pretty much, yes. The shop opened on May 10, 2023 in Yotsuya, a short walk from Shinjuku-gyoemmae Station, and it built buzz quickly as a new project from Hajime Matsui, who previously worked as a manager at the respected ramen shop Shibazakitei’s Umegaoka branch. By 2026, RAMEN MATSUI had already landed in the Michelin Guide’s Bib Gourmand selection, which is unusually fast for such a small operation. (ameblo.jp) ### What kind of place is it day to day? This is not a giant chain doing anniversary marketing blasts. It is a small, polished shop with a reservation system, a dark interior, and a menu built around three soup styles — shoyu, shio, and niboshi. TableCheck describes the owner as a certified sommelier and pitches the shop as a place where ramen can sit alongside wine or sake, which tells you a lot about the vibe. It is ramen, but with fine-dining instincts. (tokyo-tabearuki.com) ### Why does the third anniversary matter? Three years is enough time for a ramen shop to prove whether early hype was real. In Matsui’s case, the answer looks like yes. The shop opened in 2023, earned strong review scores quickly, and now sits in Michelin’s Bib Gourmand tier while still leaning into obsessive, ingredient-heavy limited bowls for anniversaries. That combination — critical recognition plus fan-service craftsmanship — is how a neighborhood shop turns into a destination. (tablecheck.com) ### So what’s the takeaway? The news here is small, but the signal is clear. RAMEN MATSUI used its third anniversary to remind people what kind of shop it wants to be — not bigger, not cheaper, just sharper. In Tokyo ramen terms, that is a strong move. (ameblo.jp) (tokyo-tabearuki.com)