I'm surprised at all the luke warm reviews for Niwatei. I had the chashu ramen and it was excellent. Loads of tender pork and the broth was wonderful. Really umami and not too salty at all. It's a basic atmosphere, but that's fine. And the staff was friendly. I also had cold barley tea which was okay, but then I knew that I probably wouldn't be over the moon about it. The only reason I tried it was that I've never seen it on a menu before and it was something different. My only complaint would be that my appetizer, gyoza, arrived right near the end of the meal. Shouldn't an appetizer come *before* the main course? Pretty basic. But the waitress was apologetic and kept us informed. So that's something.
Really, though, I would totally recommend a trip to Niwatei. Someone here wrote that there's not much parking. There's LOADS of parking. And a visit to the J-Town Mall with it's strange odds and ends (Vanilla Pocky, Tomato Pretz, etc.) is always fun.
Worth a visit!