How to have two days worth of calories in one sitting (a tale of Jiro)

Imagine, a cauldron of pork parts simmering slowly in a broth of garlic and soy. As the hours pass, the collagen and fats from the pig melt into the soup. Discarding the spent bones, the resulting broth is luscious, silky, decadent.
An empty bowl, a bit of soy sauce goes in the bottom, followed by what appears to be at least a kilo of ramen - though the thickness of the noodle suggests udon. This is soon covered with 4-5 slabs of thick cut pork which has been simmered in a salty, soy sauce mixture. To cap off the heaving mass, a mountain of cabbage and beansprouts, a dallop of chopped garlic and the tour-de-force: a ladleful of glistening lard, scooped off the top of the steaming cauldron.

I speak of course, of the experience known as Ramen Jiro. I still struggle to find the reasons why I continue to return to Ramen Jiro, a shop best known for its gargantuan bowls of Tonkotsu-broth ramen. Needless to say, I feel my arteries clog and my stomach churn every time I go. But I cant stop. Everything they do at Jiro seems bigger, grittier, heavier. Exact figures are unknown but it feels like each sitting at Jiro results in the consumption of at least two days worth of calories. Not exactly known for their decor, Ramen Jiro draws long lines nonetheless. Perhaps its the its the portions, tiny interior or the rough run-down appeal of thier shops (they do not to call their simmered pork as "Cha-shu", they instead refer to it simply as "buta" or "pork".) While the flavor is not the best in terms of ramen, Ramen Jiro's no can do attitude and monster portions certainly appeals to the after work crowd.

My suggestion is, if you plan to visit Ramen Jiro, you might as well go all out - that is, order the big bowl and ask for "yasai to niniku mashi-mashi" (Lots of vegetables and garlic) and of course "abura" (oil, or in this case, lard.) Be prepared to smell of pork and garlic for the rest of the day and into the next morning. Go see for yourself and see what the Ramen Jiro experience is all about. Oh, and be prepared for a wait - the lines can stretch around the corner.

*I've been to the Ikebukuro and Mita branches but most recently the Kanda branch. Here is the Kanda branch address:

ラーメン二郎（神保町店）

東京都千代田区 神田神保町 2-4-11

Ramen Jiro (Jinbo-cho shop)

2-4-11 Kanda Jinbo-cho, Chiyoda-ku、Tokyo