This ramen shop can be easily found for its appealing exterior and as you enter you will find the inside is just as stylish. Not your usual ramen shop more of a hip cafe meets traditional. It’s spacious and clean, so either if you come here with a group or by yourself you will be able to make yourself comfortable.

The menu is pretty straightforward, with variations of ramen including Hida beef and deluxe Hida beef soba. And as you may guess, there is a substantial price difference with the deluxe ramen starting at 1820¥ for the M size. But they also have a few other dishes to choose from, however, the noodles topped with delicious prime wagyu beef is what to come here for.

I ordered the normal Hida beef soba, which at 1650¥ for the L size, seems still on the pricier side. But it is the price one needs to pay in order to get a slice (or three) of this premium beef and it is well worth it. Also, compared to other shops Kajibashi is the best value in town if you do want to give it a try.

When my ramen arrived it did not just look utterly delicious, as I dug in, the meat was incredibly juice and tender. Together with the flavorsome broth and the thin eggy curly noodles, Takayama style, it was the perfect combination. Great to have on a cold day to warm you up but equally nice on a sunny day. Sure is there ever a time not to eat ramen if it is that tasty?

Check out the full Hida beef ramen experience from this YouTube video to see what the hype is all about.

Web

N/a

Address

〒506-0011 Gifu, Takayama, Honmachi, 3 Chome−６２

Opening hours 

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Located in a small shotengai, a local shopping street close to Yasaka Shrine in Higashiyama, the traditional district of Kyoto, you will find this small Ramen Restaurant, known especially for its authentic Miso Ramen. 

It is a small shop, bright, clean, and they have installed plexiglass dividers between seats to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Something I have not often seen in ramen shops often yet. Also, the staff is lovely and ready to help you to find the right buttons on the ticket selling machine. They also have an English menu, again another plus.

I recommend the spicy miso ramen for 900yen. It’s topped with a thick slice of juicy meat, salad greens, and as a surprise grated ginger. Getting a bite of that on its own might be a bit overpowering, so the secret is to mix it in with the creamy heavy broth little by little. I promise you it takes this already tasty bowl of ramen to a different level. Just the right amount of zing to give it the freshness it needs. This is one ramen you will want to lick the bowl after finishing it.

So if your in the mood for ramen in Kyoto then Gion Shirakawa Ramen is just the place to eat after a long day of exploring! 

Web

https://gion-shirakawa.com/

Opening Hours

Address

567-26 Inaricho Kitagumi, Higashiyama Ward, Kyoto, 605-0068

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Ok, it is not like you are overlooking the Seine in Paris or a historical Piazza in Rome. However, just being able to slurp a nice bowl of Ramen without having to worry was priceless.

Also to be able to enjoy the nice weather really made my day. Though, it is worth mentioning this terrace has a solid roof, so it is perfect for any weather (with some minor restrictions of course).

Ok, Enough About the Terrace, How About the Food?

Yes, the food was also great!

Starting from 700Yen for a bowl of Abura Soba, soupless Ramen with an oily sauce on the bottom, the price is pretty fair. However, as it was my first bowl for at least 3 months, I decided to go all out and order one of Menchintei’s upgraded bowls. Meaning my choice of Ramen was loaded with juicy “Chashu”, the Japanese braised pork belly used as a traditional Ramen topping. I ended up paying 1400Yen using the ticket machine. Which made ordering effortless, as you can see what you get from the pictures above the buttons.

As I handed over my ticket, I noticed plenty of hand sanitizers around, another plus. And within just a few minutes wait, my Ramen arrived and I headed outside.

Ramen Terrace Bliss

This might be a personal thing, or cultural, but eating outside just makes me happy. It somehow gives me that “holiday” feeling. Something we don’t often get here, with the Tokyo restaurant experience mainly happening indoors.

So let me tell you, outdoor Ramen is pretty awesome! Especially, when you get perfeclty cooked noodles, with just that little bit of a bite and meat that melts in your mouth. Make sure to add their siganture garlic sauce to lift that bowl of Ramen to yet another level. What a nice culinary experience.

This is one shop that should definitely be on your Ramen list and if you are in the Shinjuku/Yotsuya area there is really no excuse not to visit!

Web

https://menchintei.jp/shop/yotsuya/

Opening Hours

Address

〒160-0004 Tokyo, Shinjuku City, Yotsuya, 4−8 店舗棟１F ライオンズ四谷タワーゲート

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Located near Yamanoto lines Okubo Stations south exit, it is easy to find. A rather small shop with about 10 counter seats it is cozy and comfortable. And the best part, in this small space, you get to see how the Ramen is made right in front of you! It might be a little distracting, but well…

Aburasoba Chigo Ramen is also a bit unusual as they have a variety of other dishes including a homemade curry and meats such as steak on the menu. Which as an added bonus comes in English and with plenty of pictures. So even if you are not entirely sure what to order, there won’t be any crazy surprises.

The food

I ordered the spicy oily ramen for 700¥ and added a poached egg for another 100¥. Which makes this place really affordable. And not just that, it was delicious!

The addition of more salady toppings, such as diced raw onion and green leaves helped to make it feel lighter and although it was the spicy variation, it did not blow my head off. Though, if that is what you are looking for, there is plenty of condiments including chilly to add. Ramen is great like that.

So this should definitely be on your list of must-eats, especially if you find yourself in the area. However, you may get there and have to wait for a little due to its smaller size. It is definitely worth it, but just in case you do not have time for that, there is another ramen shop close by selling the best spiciest ramen in Tokyo.

Web

Don’t have a site

Address

1 Chome-24-16 Hyakunincho, Shinjuku City, Tokyo 169-0073

Opening hours

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And it must have been because of the widely spread Coronavirus fear because, for the first time, there was no line in front of this popular Ramen place. I cannot say I minded, as it was nice to head straight in and see what they had to offer. As already expected I found the so typical ticket vending machine, sporting English labeles. Always nice.

They have a wide variety, with either yuzu or then spicy as their main flavor and although I love anything yuzu, it was some spicy Tsukemen I was after this time. With two sizes available I got a small size, which at 1350Yen, was definitely on the higher end. But I also must confess, it was the highest-priced item, with a normal bowl of their Ramen setting you back around 900Yen.

What I loved about Afuri Ramen, is you can customize your Ramen! Choose your meat, amount of oil ect it’s really a nice touch. Nevertheless, I would definitely recommend the Pork over the chicken. I mean if you already go for Ramen than make it count. Lots of time to be healthy afterward…

Fun fact: As I was watching my Ramen being made, I surprisingly realized that all the chefs here were women. Although this has not much to do with anything, it is still something I noticed.

And then the food arrived, it definitely looked the part and especially the Tsukemen sesame dipping sauce was amazing. With the Pork just perfectly seasoned and its gelatine texture just melting in my mouth, I can see why Afuri Ramen in Harajuku is such a popular place. I do say, if you are hungry, get the larger size. For me, someone who almost never finishes a bowl it was just perfect. But if you are a big eater, you may be left a little peckish.

Obsessed nor not?

I get the hype! I will definitely come back for there yuzu Ramen.

Also, I am curious about their “Rainbow Vegan Ramen”, as it just looked so delicious! And with locations all over Tokyo, it is sure on my emergency Ramen list, should the craving arise…

Web

https://afuri.com/

Address

〒151-0051 Tokyo, Shibuya City, Sendagaya, 3 Chome−63−1 グランデフォレスタ原宿 1F

Opening Hours

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Watch out Nihonbashi Bankara Ramen has arrived!

As of the 8th of March this year, Nihonbashi is home to Bankara Ramen, a well-respected tonkotsu ramen chain. It specializes in ajitama tsukemen and meat dishes such as kakuni bankara. The ramen is renowned for its pork-based broth, sweet flavor with lots of fatty goodness and variety of noodles on offer in its branches throughout the city.

My main man Steve of wonderful food blog Tokyo Belly rates Bankara very highly and labelles the Ikebukuro branch as “insanely flavorful.” Making it is great news to hear, that the good folk at Bankara bring a new branch of their superb ramen to the streets of Nihonbashi/Ningyocho from March 2020. So if you’re in the area and feeling peckish then it’s a no brainer to check out Bankara. 

Web

https://hanaken.co.jp/ramen-bankara/

Price

Under 1000Yen

Address

2-6-12 Nihonbashi Ningyocho, Chuo-ku, Tokyo

The post Hot New Opening – Bankara Ramen Nihonbashi appeared first on Obsessed with Japan.

By Paul McInnes

Hokkaido, the giant northern Japanese island is very different from the Japan you think you know and so is Hokkaido’s Food Culture.

The Japan from movies like Lost in Translation and Black Rain and from the crushed Tokyo and Osaka trains you’ve watched, gobsmacked, on YouTube and numerous TV travel shows. 

It is Japan. It has neon and big cities with izakaya, retail stores and ski resorts. But it’s a world away from Tokyo. It’s quieter, with more space and stunning scenery. Freezing cold in winter with piles of snow and relatively mild in summer making it a popular destination for mainland tourists. It’s also a relatively new addition to the Japanese archipelago. Having only been colonised in 1869 and due to its slightly frontier mentality Hokkaido does things its own way especially when it comes to food. Famous for its supreme, fresh seafood, quality dairy products and love of lamb it’s a world away from Tokyo and Osaka whose citizens eschew dairy and look down their collective noses at lamb – which many mainland Japanese view as pungent and unappealing. How wrong they are.

Ramen

One of the main variations on typical Japanese cuisine can be found in Hokkaido’s version of ramen. In Tokyo, noodle lovers can be found slurping up shio (salt) and shoyu (soy sauce) varieties while Fukuoka is renowned for its tonkotsu ramen made from pork bones. Hokkaido, in a wise move, uses and fuses what it’s famous for – its legendary miso ramen. The late, great Anthony Bourdain, one of the best food writers in recent memory, wrote:

“Miso ramen is a Sapporo thing, invented in the 30s. Like any ramen it starts with the broth. In this case roasted pork bones, crushed garlic, some fish oil. The broth is the heart and soul of ramen. But of course the ramen is important too. The noodles, fresh egg noodles to be precise. Lemony yellow in color, quickly boiled and slightly chewy. Here in Sapporo they saute crab legs in butter, infusing it with the taste of the shells and local scallops which it’s also famous for. Then miso, made from fermented bean curd. Garnished with beansprouts, char siu slices and a knob of whole butter. And then the kooky, crazy addition of sweetcorn.”

Hokkaido is a must-visit destination for ramen geeks and those looking for a hot and meaty broth to warm their cockles on a cold day. The ramen that Bourdain describes above has its regional variations throughout the island so best ask the restaurant staff for their recommendations with “osusume wa nan desu ka?” It’s one of the essential phrases that anyone new to Japan should learn.

More about Hokkaido’s food culture will be revealed in part 2. Until then check out some of Sapporo’s best Ramen restaurants including famous RAMEN YOSHINO or pushing the limits of what ramen can be at SAPPORO RAMEN HARUKA…

The post Hokkaido’s Food Culture – part 1 appeared first on Obsessed with Japan.

As with all shops in this famous ramen street in Sapporo, you will have to wait a bit. Each store has its own small queue in front and I spent about 15min waiting, while listening to soothing music playing on the overhead speakers. Not too bad.

The shop itself only has about 8-9 seats, is decorated with heavy metal stickers, small memorandums and of course, plays the same kinda music. I probably could have guessed from the logo, which is a redesign of Metallica’s iconic print.

Sapporo Ramen Haruka seems most popular with visitors, though some locals come here too. I guess the creative menu is something you either love or not. I got excited and ordered the miso cheese ramen. This is a must-try and their most popular Ramen dish for 950¥. But they also recommended the spicy miso ramen for 850¥ and a tomato basil version…

How was it?

Well, they did not save on the cheese. I was surprised, as it reminded me a bit of french onion soup with the addition of bean sprouts. Now it can be a bit much after a few bites, but adding a dash of vinegar made it lighter and again enjoyable.

All in all, this is a really great ramen place in Sapporo with a twist, which is why I loved it. The music was great and the staff super nice. So if you want to try something a bit unusual while in Hokkaido, make sure to visit this little ramen shop!

And if you love Ramen make sure to also have a look at some of the great Ramen shops we have recently been to!

Web

http://www.ganso-yokocho.com/shop_list/haruka/

Address

〒064-0805 Hokkaido, Sapporo, Chuo Ward, 南５西, 3 Nグランデビル１F

Opening hours 

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It is located B1, so underground and walking up to it is fairly unspectacular from the outside. But let us assure you, this is a well kept secret and one to put on your list if you love Ramen.

The spiel is as usual, get your Ramen ticket from the Machine and there are plenty of pictures to help you choose. The staff will then show you where to sit, hand over your ticket and your delicious bowl of Ramen will arrive shortly after.

You will probably be surprised when it arrives. They really do not hold back on the toppings in this shop, so if you manage to finish your humongous Portion, we salute you. 

We recommend the Leek miso ramen for 1080¥. Just delicious and the added mountain of leek gives it a fresh dimension. They are also well known for their Miso butter corn ramen, which would set you back 1000¥. Something you only get to eat in Hokkaido, so another solid one to try.

We love this shop for its delicious and generous Ramen, but also for the casual neighborhood vibe. Full of locals of all ages, it’s a really nice experience to eat here.

Web

https://misoramenyoshinotv.business.site/?utm_source=gmb&utm_medium=referral

Address

〒060-0042 Hokkaido, Sapporo, Chuo Ward, Odorinishi, 1 Chome, 札幌テレビ塔地下

Opening hours 

The post Ramen Yoshino – Sapporo appeared first on Obsessed with Japan.

It’s a small enough shop seating just about 13 people and it looks like a traditional ramen shop, nothing fancy, but the staff is so nice, it felt like we were locals.

Get your ticket at the machine. First, insert the cash then pick your Ramen. And we warn you, it’s a bit temperamental if your money comes back out a few times, it’s not you! Just keep trying.

And as already mentioned, the staff or what we think are the owner are super friendly although they don’t speak much English. The menu too is Japanese only, but every item has a clear picture on the machine, so you cannot go wrong.

We ordered the Tsukemen for 980¥ and the Nr2 Bestseller for 800¥, why not the Nr1? It was another Tsukemen so we wanted to change it up a bit. You can tell them small, middle or large for the noodles at no extra cost. And as always, the small was pretty big. So think wise. Especially as this is not your light broth, it’s a creamy thick sauce. Hearty and full of flavor. If you get through the whole bowl, fair play!

It is real soul food, so if you go see Osaka Castle, come and check it out. As Menya Ageha Ramen is definitely within the top ramen we ate this year!

Web

Twitter: https://twitter.com/nxuBpYdTY2UWYsP?s=09

Address

1 Chome-4-1 Otedori, Chuo Ward, Osaka, 540-0021

Opening Hours

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