Setagaya せたが屋 @ Haneda

I had to wake up really early for this morning flight from Haneda and have to skip breakfast in the hotel. Luckily for me, there’s a 24-hour ramen store in Haneda Airport.

I always enjoy my morning ride into the airport, not because I am going home. There’s the opportunity to try one of the many restaurants in Haneda.

“Ramen Setagaya” opens along Kanshichi, Setagaya Ward, a fierce ramen war zone, in Oct 2000. A native of Kochi Prefecture, Owner/Founder Tsukasa Maejima 前島司 is not your convention ramen maker after spending 10 years learning how to make ramen on his own.

Affectionately known as “Mr. Ramen” both in public and private life, he is one of the leaders of the Japanese ramen industry, and is working to train the next generation and expand the industry’s base both domestically and internationally.

He used different ingredients to make his stock, and experimented with making the perfect noodles. This store in Haneda Airport is the last stop to get a proper bowl of ramen before leaving Japan, and the lines that form around the entrance is true testimony to their excellent taste.

Setagaya せたが屋 is not your typical chain ramen store where everything is made from a central kitchen and heated on site. Every store has its own characteristics, and even at the airport store, the broth is prepared on site.

Pan-fried gyozas in the morning is a wonderful treat, a breakfast for champions. And to see that it was topped by so much negi (scallions) was simply delightful.

These are not frozen gyozas that have been left in the freezer forever, you can taste the freshness in every piece. The skin is just the right thickness to hold its content of pork and cabbage, and it has been pan fried on its based for that crispy texture while the rest of the gyoza remains moist and tender. Good addition.

I ordered the spicy ramen with two types of char siu. I didn’t realise it did not come with onsen egg or menma.

They purchase branded pork such as Mugi Fuji (the brand changes depending on the season), and the char siu is made in a dried sardine soup, making it a little different. At the Komazawa main store, the char siu is grilled over charcoal and served.

In addition to the regular char siu, there is a slice of char siu made from pork cheek meat, a rare cut of which only 10 pieces can be taken from each pig. This tender meat with just the right amount of fat goes perfectly with the ramen.

Setagaya’s homemade noodles, which are characterised by their smooth texture and chewy bite, are made from Setagaya’s private blend of 100% domestic wheat, a blend of rare wheat varieties “Kinuakari” 「絹あかり」and “Yukichikara” 「ゆきちから」from Aichi Prefecture. Only the centre part of the wheat is carefully selected and used to achieve a perfect golden colour with minimal discolouration and husks (outer coating), allowing you to taste the natural sweetness of the wheat.

I loved that the ramen came with lots of bean sprouts although many would ask for them to be omitted. But it was missing the bamboo shoots known as menma (メンマ).

Setagaya’s true essence lies in the soup, which uses two types of dried sardines in abundance and combines strength, roughness, and deliciousness. This exceptional dried sardine soy sauce ramen is made with a special soy sauce sauce that is a blend of three-year-aged Shimousa soy sauce and re-brewed soy sauce, and is layered with the flavours of dried shiitake mushrooms, kelp, and bonito flakes.

This stock is the combined with broth made from pork bones. It is this bold seafood flavour of Setagaya’s broth that keeps people coming back again and again. They do not have an option for extra negi so I simply added the scallions from the gyozas into the soup for that perfect finishing touch.

Turnover of the seats is quite fast, but it still takes time to finish piping hot ramen, so do pace your time. Not your average airport restaurant. Loved it.

Setagaya Ramen せたが屋
4F Haneda Airport Internatinal Terminal Edo-Komichi
2-6-5 Haneda International Airport, Ota-ku, Tokyo
Tel : +81 3-5708-0899

Visited Mar 2025