Bunka Review Summary

Weekdays 11:10 Pole position. The store opens at 11:20, so there will be a line if you arrive 10 minutes early. That's what I thought, so I felt very peaceful. However, within 10 minutes after opening, there were over 10 customers.

Jimbocho. It's a town with a lot of character, such as a used book town and a curry town, but since it's a college town, it's also a competitive area for ramen, and there are a variety of restaurants. Of course, competition is fierce, and turnover is frequent within a year, but the company was founded in 1950 and is now in its 76th year. ? An incredible long run. Now that I think about it, I remember that I came here once when I was in college.

This is Bunka-san, which is cheap, delicious, and hugely voluminous, and has the three sacred treasures that are essential in a student town. The exterior looks like a coffee shop (not a cafe at all), so a stranger might not know that this is a restaurant. Business hours are short, from 11:20 to 14:30 (LO 14:00), and the menu is limited to just noodles and fried rice.
The specialty here is the [Bunka Lunch] of green pepper meat and fried rice (quite a huge portion), but the order is

Half-chan ramen (900 yen)

Ramen alone costs 500 yen, a divine price in this day and age.
I wanted to go to Bunka lunch, but Jimbocho is all about half-chan ramen. I passed by Sabuchan, the legendary shop that is the originator of Hanchan Ramen...
As I was reminiscing, the rice bowl arrived in the blink of an eye.

The fried rice is huge... Yes, it's not half at all. The taste is moist and plain, with the meaty and salty flavor of the char siu accentuating, and the egg is gentle. yeah? Are you using chopped onions as an accent? Is it because the fried rice menu goes perfectly with curry fried rice and mapo tofu fried rice? Also, the reason why the seasoning is not strong is probably due to the tuning.

The ramen is Dosuppin's soy sauce ramen. Chopped green onions, menma, chashu pork, that's all. There are no unnecessary topics, it's solid and simple, but that's what makes it so appealing.

Yes, it has a gentle taste. The taste gradually comes out. Of course, the flavor has changed a lot since its founding, but in a good way, the old-fashioned soy sauce soup is not suitable for 2025, and it evokes nostalgia.
Crunchy, medium-thin curly noodles that are not low in water, but have a pleasant chewy texture. The structure is such that the moderate curls carry the soup just the right amount, and the gentle flavor of the noodles follows. So, I thought you were sipping, huh? The noodles are also of medium volume. It's probably the standard store's 1.5 balls by default, and the fried rice isn't half full at all, so it's going to be a belly bun.
Suddenly, I saw the next customer's Bunka lunch and wow... You can see its huge size even from a distance. If I don't do 100 squats before trying it, I'm going to get hurt.

Dad is in the kitchen, mom is on the floor, and the lively interactions make it feel like it doesn't matter even when it gets crowded. What generation? I don't know if you are here, but I hope you will continue to bring smiles and surprises here at Jimbocho. Thank you for the meal.

To be honest, the previous owner was better. It was open in the evening, and the menu was extensive. The meat bowl in particular was extremely delicious.
However, the restaurant now only has a small menu centered around fried rice, and despite this, the restaurant is more prosperous than it was under the previous owner. Even if you are silent, customers will come. That's why they're only open during the day, and that's probably how they're able to sustain themselves.
As someone who has known this store for a long time, I can't help but feel it's absurd. The amount of fried rice here is certainly large, but it's not that good, and to be honest, it's not something you'd have to wait in line to eat. The food environment in Jimbocho has probably gotten worse to the point where people have to line up to eat something like Bunka's fried rice. I can feel the decline of Jimbocho, the town of books. This is probably true of the entire publishing industry.
I'd rather find a new restaurant than stand in line to eat fried rice here.

This restaurant is popular not only for its taste but also for its generous portions.
Beneath the curry poured onto the plate,
The range of fried rice is expanding.
It's a curry made with so-called Chinese soup stock, so it's not very spicy. The finely sliced ​​char siu is a nice accent.

2 minutes walk from Exit A2 of Tokyo Metro/Toei Jimbocho Station, 3 minutes walk from Exit A3. About 7 minutes from Exit 5 of Tokyo Metro/Toei Kudanshita Station. It is about a 9-minute walk from the east exit of JR Suidobashi Station. It will be along Aizen Jizo Street. The store looks like a coffee shop or a Western restaurant, so please be careful not to walk past it. If you are driving, there is no parking lot, so you will need to use a nearby coin parking lot. It was 400 yen/15 minutes at the TOKYO PUBLIC Jimbocho Parking Lot, which is about a 1-minute walk away. (As of November 2024)

There's 1 table for 3 people, 4 tables for 4 people, and there seems to be table seating in the back. Oral order, payment later (cash only). Please note that seating is basically shared.

As of November 2024, the menu was as follows. As I mentioned earlier, the amount was three times more than I expected, so if you are not confident, I strongly recommend that you report the amount.

・Ramen (soy sauce) 500 yen
・Bean sprout ramen (soy sauce and salt sauce) 900 yen
・Bunkamen (green pepper meat noodles) 900 yen
・Mabo noodles 900 yen
・Curry noodles 900 yen
・Miso ramen 900 yen
・Fried rice 900 yen
・Half-chan ramen 900 yen
・Curry fried rice 1000 yen
・Ankake Fried Rice (Egg Ankake) 1000 yen
・Mabo fried rice 1000 yen
・Bunka lunch (pepper meat + fried rice) 1000 yen

Arrived at 11:52 on weekdays in November 2024. I was the third person in line with two people waiting. While I was waiting, someone came to take my order, so this time I ordered the Bunka lunch (pepper meat + fried rice) for 1,000 yen. As a result, it was delivered at 12:05.

First of all, as I mentioned earlier, the volume easily exceeded my expectations. The reviews said that the portions were large, so I was prepared for it, but it turned out to be three times more than I expected. . . This is just my experience, but for a normal portion (I didn't declare anything), I think the fried rice is about 600g, and the green pepper meat is about 300g. . . The fried rice is thoroughly stir-fried and served piping hot. It's simple and flavored, so it's delicious on its own. Even half-chan ramen has a good flavor. There's quite a bit of chashu in there too. The green pepper meat paste has a strong flavor and is also piping hot (so much so that it burns you!), and is filled with bell peppers, bamboo shoots, pork, carrots, etc. It also comes with soup, but it's the kind of soup you often find at regular Chinese restaurants. In addition, there is black pepper, white pepper, chili oil, and vinegar on the table.

The other menus look delicious, but this time I exceeded my limit twice and finished the entire meal (trauma), so I'm scared to come again. (The noodle menu was also amazing...) Those who can eat it are guaranteed to be satisfied. Also, as far as I could see, there were zero women.

It's very delicious and has a lot of volume. You can increase the amount of noodles to medium size, but if you use medium size, the noodles will be about 2.5 times as large, so it's best to do this when you have plenty of room in your stomach. The customer service is also very nice.