Day by Day Japan plans a first trip to Japan the way a friend who lives here would: one day at a time, with the trains and the prices written down.

Each route is a real day or weekend: where to go first, how long the walk or the train takes, what the ticket costs and where to eat on the way. Prices come from the operator's or the place's own published fares and carry the date they were checked; where we have not checked a price, the route says so instead of guessing. If it rains, the route has a plan B.

Around the routes sits the week in Japan. Every few hours the site reads the Japanese city and food press and the English-language desks in Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka and Fukuoka, and puts the places they name on one map. Headlines stay in the language they were written in, every story links to its source, and we quote no more than a line.

The routes and notes are written by one editor under a pen name, Sora Nakamura, drafted with AI assistance from checked material and read before they go out. Day by Day Japan is independent: no advertisers, no affiliate links, no bookings.

← Day by Day Japan Archive

5AM RamenEat

Clam Ramen in Shimokitazawa: Mikawa's Shio vs. Shoyu, Compared

September 4

Clam ramen is rare even in Tokyo. Here's how Mikawa in Shimokitazawa handles it, and how the shio and shoyu bowls compare.

Ramen & noodles Tokyo neighbourhoods Tokyo

Read at 5AM Ramen ↗

One letter a week, in your inbox.

Latest

Clam Ramen in Shimokitazawa: Mikawa's Shio vs. Shoyu, Compared

Related

EatGion Duck Noodles Asakusa - Kyoto's Duck Ramen Comes to Tokyo 5AM Ramen

EatNishi-Eifuku Niboshi Box: Inside One of Tokyo's Best Niboshi Ramen Shops 5AM Ramen

EatJinenjo in Saitama: Rokurinsha's Tsukemen Cousin With Noodles the Size of Udon 5AM Ramen

EatHachimitsu Gotanda Ramen Review: Hand-Pressed Noodles & Shiro Shoyu 5AM Ramen

EatMugito Mensuke: Revenge Ramen in Osaka 5AM Ramen

EatTsuchinotomi Ramen Yokohama: Duck, Chicken, and Pork Broth Done Right 5AM Ramen