Travel in Japan

Ikebukuro is a great place to enjoy for just a few hours. This time I stopped for a bowl of ramen first, and then went looking for anime goods. Here is the ramen part of my little trip.

Ramen at Tonchin (屯ちん)

I went to the Ikebukuro West Exit branch of Tonchin (屯ちん), a ramen shop that serves Tokyo-style tonkotsu (pork bone) ramen. The tonkotsu soup was delicious. It was around 3 p.m., a time when I thought it might be quiet, but every seat was full and some people were waiting outside. I also saw visitors from abroad enjoying their ramen, which made me feel happy.

The shop is open 24 hours a day, which is so helpful when you are traveling and your schedule is not fixed. Most people spend about 1,000 to 2,000 yen per person. (Please check the latest information before you go.)

Tonchin started here in Ikebukuro, and there are two branches in the area: the main branch and the West Exit branch. The West Exit branch is just a short walk from the station. Long ago, there were also branches in Kabukicho and Akasaka, and I used to go there often. So this bowl brought back many warm memories for me.

It is the kind of place where your feet seem to carry you naturally after an evening of drinking. And being open 24 hours is a joy even in the middle of a trip, whatever your schedule may be. This branch is close to the station and easy to find, so it is a comfortable place for visitors, too.

How to order

You buy a meal ticket from the machine at the entrance, then hand it to the staff. The machine has an English button, and it takes cash, cards, transit IC cards and QR payments. If you like, you can ask for small changes at no extra cost, such as firmer or softer noodles, richer or lighter soup, more or less back fat, or more toppings of chopped green onion. Just tell the staff when you give them your ticket.

There are side dishes, too. Gyoza (dumplings) are 230 yen for 3 pieces or 380 yen for 5 pieces. Many people were also ordering fried chicken or a bowl of rice with their ramen.

At the counter

Because this is Tokyo-style tonkotsu, there was no red pickled ginger, but there was spicy pickled mustard greens (karashi takana). On the counter you will also find house-made chili oil, garlic and doubanjiang (a spicy bean paste). Please be careful if you do not like spicy food. A little at a time is a good way to try them.

Then, Animate Ikebukuro Main Store

After the ramen, I walked over to Animate, one of the best-known anime and manga shops in Japan. The main store is about five minutes on foot from the East Exit of Ikebukuro Station, and the building has ten floors, so it is a lovely place to spend an hour or two.

A few floors to know about: the 1st floor has character goods and a café, the 2nd floor has manga, light novels and capsule toys, the 4th floor has apparel and household goods inspired by anime, the 5th floor has trading goods, straps and key chains, and the 6th floor has CDs, DVDs, Blu-rays and games.

The shop is open from about 10:00 to 21:00. Floors and events change from time to time, so please check the official website before you go.

I could happily stay here all day. I had also hoped to visit Sunshine City to see the Pokémon goods and the capsule toy machines, but by the time I had explored Animate from the bottom floor to the top, the hours had slipped away. Sunshine City will be my next visit.

If you would like to visit the Sunshine Aquarium there, you can buy your ticket online on Klook (affiliate link).

For anime music fans

For anime music fans, this album by voice actress and singer Nao Toyama is a gentle listen. CDJapan ships worldwide (affiliate links):

If you enjoy watching anime at home, That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime, Season 4 is also available at CDJapan (affiliate links):

Chiyoda Line toward Yoyogi-Uehara, front car, Exit A1.

Eat very good sushi. Walk two minutes. Buy something small and ridiculous and perfect. That’s the whole plan.

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Getting there

Omotesando Station has ten exits. Take the Chiyoda Line toward Yoyogi-Uehara, ride the front car, come out of Exit A1. You’ll surface across from the BOSS building, on the same side as the sushi restaurant. No crossing, no backtracking.

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Kaiten Sushi Ginza Onodera

It says kaiten — conveyor belt. Elsewhere that means cheap. In Japan it’s a format, not a price tier, and Onodera sits at the top of it.

Getting in. No reservations. There’s a ticket machine inside the door with language buttons down the left edge — tap English, then 受付する, take your ticket. The screen shows the number being seated, how many groups are ahead, and an estimated wait.

I took a ticket at 6:56 pm on a Tuesday: four groups ahead, ten minutes estimated. Nobody was queuing outside. The restaurant was nearly full and I was seated straight away. The estimate is a ceiling, not a promise. Early evening moves fast.

The shortcut. Next to the machine, a small sign: SuiSui — Skip the Line with Priority Entry. Buy a pass by QR code and you’re seated ahead of the queue. Prices change with demand. I didn’t need it. On a Saturday lunchtime you might.

Rules, posted in English.

• 70-minute seating limit at peak times
• Check your wait by scanning the QR code on your ticket
• If you’re away more than 30 minutes after your number is called, your booking is cancelled

Ordering. Every seat has a tablet. Language buttons top right. The house ranking is the fastest way to order well:

1	Chūtoro (medium fatty tuna)	¥720
2	Ōtoro (fatty tuna)	¥990
3	Engawa, salt-seared	¥420

The takeout menu outside gives you the range: nigiri sets at ¥3,480 / ¥4,980 / ¥5,980, bara chirashi ¥2,600. A sit-down meal lands in similar territory.

What this place is, and isn’t

This is not the place for a conversation with the chef. The counter moves fast, the room is busy, ordering happens on a tablet. Think of it as very good fast food — the fish is serious, the format is not.

If you want the other thing — a small owner-run counter, pieces handed to you one at a time, a conversation across the wood — that exists. Budget around ¥20,000 for a course, and book ahead.

Two different nights. Both worth having. Just know which one you’ve booked.

Open daily, roughly 10:30–22:30. Check before you go.

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Kiddy Land, two minutes away

Same side of the street. You’ll see it before you’ve finished deciding — a pink and blue corner covered in enormous cartoon animals.

Kirby was waiting for me at Kiddy Land. Here is a little look:

Floor
B1	Snoopy Town
1F	Chiikawa Land
2F	Ghibli, Disney, Doraemon, Koupen-chan, mofusand
3F	Pokémon, Mario, Kirby’s Pupupu Market, Tomica
4F	Sanrio, Rilakkuma, Sumikkogurashi

The rule that catches everyone: you pay on each floor. Each floor has its own register, and unpaid items can’t leave the floor — or go in the elevator. There are signs in four languages and most people still miss it.

Prices start low. Palm-sized plush from ¥638, stickers around ¥660, Sanrio earrings ¥2,200. Some popular plush are limited to one per transaction. Tax-free — bring your passport.

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Two hours. One meal you’ll remember, one bag of things that will delight people.

You’ve eaten fish handled by people who take it seriously, then walked into a building where a stuffed penguin sits on a plinth marked HARAJUKU. Both of those are Japan. Neither explains the other.

When I visited, the whole ground floor of Kiddy Land was a Chiikawa feature. If you love Japanese character goods, Chiikawa calendars and books are a cute souvenir (CDJapan, affiliate links):

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September 2026. Prices and times change — check before you go.