Daiichiasahi (第一旭 西舞鶴店) in Maizuru, Kyoto

Daiichiasahi is a nationwide chain of ramen shops from Kyoto. I was in the northern Kyoto region of Maizuru to visit a friend and to eat ramen, so I stopped by here on the way back.

As expected from a huge chain, they offer a wide range of ramen to suit many tastes, but they know what they are doing here. I ordered the Taro, regular size, for 830￥ ($7.50 USD) and added the Manpuku (full stomach) Set for 480￥ more.

Most items on the menu were soy sauce-based, but the Taro was different because it also has tare sauce on their chashu. While at first I thought it was a bit of a gimmick, once I bit in, I could tell they definitely simmered in the sauce as every bite had it soaked through.

The broth was medium, but still had enough pork fat for flavor… the whole portion and taste was quite good.

The added side set definitely made my stomach full with fried rice, salad, fried chicken, and extra tare chashu slices… which I gladly welcomed after tasting it in the ramen. The fried rice and karaage chicken had just the right amount of crispiness.

In addition, the staff apologized that I had to wait for my other piece of karaage, so they gave me an extra piece. That is great service!

After paying, they handed me one of those fabled “half-price” ramen coupons that apparently are quite frequently used. Even without it, I would’ve come back. But for half price??? It is most surely guaranteed!

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Chicken Ramen Yarou (らーめん チキン野郎) in Hikone, Shiga

How do you make a favorite ramen restaurant even better? Take some friends!

It’s been a long while since I visited Chicken Ramen Yarou in Hikone, Shiga. Too long. The last time I came was during their anniversary nearly two years ago, but I thought I should show my friends some great chicken ramen since we were passing through. And for me to revisit what I had considered one of the best I’ve had in Japan. I ordered their Deluxe Kotteri Chicken ramen for 1050￥ ($10 USD), which includes chashu, several slices of chicken, nori pieces, and an egg. The more standard version is only 750￥. My friends opted for the lighter Deluxe Assari Ramen for 1100￥ ($10.50).

The ramen was just as delicious as I remembered… the creamy, savory broth had just the right amount of salty chicken flavor with a satisfyingly rich thickness. My friends commented that it tasted like gravy and the combination of soft chicken slices and gravy reminded them of home… I definitely agree! It is nostalgic in all the right ways. The chashu was also quite good, rare and sliced thin. The noodles were medium thick and soft, perfect for me but perhaps too soft for others. My only real complaint was the egg which was a bit hard-boiled for me.

This was also my first time to try the Assari broth, which had a lighter taste profile. It was still very flavorful, but the savoriness was more soy sauce than chicken or pork flavor and it had a bit more oiliness in the aftertaste than the thicker broth. Nonetheless, I enjoyed it a lot.

If you’re looking for amazing thick broth ramen, I highly recommend Chicken Ramen Yarou! The chicken flavor is uniquely delicious and well-worth a trip through Shiga to check out.

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Sing Sing (秦秦 高浜店) in Takahama, Fukui

Sing Sing was one of the first restaurants I posted about on my Instagram back in mid-2017. (Man, has it been that long...!?!) This place is actually a chain restaurant, though I have only been to the Takahama shop all the way down in South Fukui. I said back then this was one of the best ramen spots in all of Fukui when I had only visited a handful of ramen restaurants in my area and I haven’t been back in 2 years, so I recently went back to reaffirm or update my opinion of the shop. It’s extremely likely my experiences at two dozen or more ramen places in Fukui and more all around Japan would have changed my opinions on this place…

Surprisingly, my tastes were pretty spot on back then. This place continues to remain a top in my prefecture, though my feelings on the broth have changed a bit. They have a fairly large menu with the usual variety of ramen, such as miso, tonkotsu, shio… But my usual order is the Gokushiro Aburi Chashu Ramen, a strong, tonkotsu-based broth with deliciously grilled chashu for 1100￥ ($10 USD). As you can see, the highlights are definitely those thick slices of mouth-watering pork. You can hear the chef searing them in the back, the crackle of the meat making me even hungrier in anticipation. They are without a doubt as delicious as they look, soft and fatty, but with just the right crisp and savoriness.

The rest of the ramen is also quite good. The noodles are a good portion, but are a bit underdone for my taste. Also the egg is almost hard-boiled… while it was tasty with flavor, I prefer a softer, creamier consistency.

Of course, they have sides too…

You can also add in extra green onion and sweet pickled radish to taste. If you prefer a spicier noodle, a red version can be had for 60￥ more. A double portion of noodle is only 150￥ more for those really hungry.

I will say this ramen isn’t for everyone. Like all “strong” ramen, it is heavy to the taste, a bit greasy, and leaves you with a very full feeling. As expected, the flavors are also quite salty and umami, so if you’re looking for a light “gourmet” ramen, this isn’t it. (Then again, ramen is rarely gourmet or light!)

But for me, this hits the right spot. I highly recommend this rich, but deeply satisfying ramen.

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Mensho Kaguya (麺匠かぐや) in Tsuruga, Fukui (Revisited)

I actually visited Mensho Kaguya (麺匠かぐや) in Tsuruga, Fukui, a few months ago with my friends, but it was definitely well worth another stop.

With a large menu, they had plenty of options to try outside their monthly limited specials. This time I tried their Jukusei Miso Ramen which features aged miso for a deeper and stronger taste.

It was definitely rich and had a nice, smooth, savory miso flavor in the broth. The aburi chashu was a bit fatty, but the nice, grilled pork taste was fantastic.

The noodles were nice and thin with a medium-firm texture.

The ramen was 980¥ ($9 USD) and the excellent chashu rice was worth the extra 200¥.

Definitely worth another trip!

Ramen Niji (らーめん虹) in Mihama, Fukui

This is one of my favorite ramen restaurants in my area, Ramen Niji in Mihama, Fukui. The have a few variants of ramen, but their signature Niji Ramen has an extremely thick tonkotsu broth that is heavy on the richness of pork bone flavor. The thickness is more akin to a stew than a broth… definitely the kind of ramen that I love the most. I always opt for the Chashu Niji Ramen for 1000￥ ($9 USD) which adds a few plentiful slices of pork.

More than just the rich soup, they also grill their chashu to give it a deliciously savory taste that only serves to enhance the meaty umami flavors. While the thin noodles are not exactly my main preference, they have just the right firmness to complement the soup. You can also opt for a larger portion or add kaedama extra noodles for 150￥ more if you want more, but I think the heavy soup makes it feel quite satisfying as it is.

The only drawback for me is that they are nearly a forty-minute drive from my house. I have visited them many times over the years and I will definitely continue to go. I can’t recommend them highly enough!

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Menya Teru-no-Suke (麵屋 輝之介) in Fukui City, Fukui

While I don’t live near Fukui City, I go there often enough to try many of their ramen shops and sometimes, I am quite surprised. Spoiler alert: Teru-no-Suke Ramen is one such restaurant that I really enjoyed recently. For us single diners, they have a few “single booths” that are comfortable, wide, and offer a nice view of the street. Overall, the decor seemed quite clean and modern, leading to a good first impression.

Their menu had six total variations: Black, Red, White, Chinese-style, and Black and White varieties of Tsukemen “dipping-style” ramen. Their Black is what they recommended, so as my first time, I always try to go for the shop favorite. At 850￥ for the regular and 1000￥ ($9 USD) for the large, the bigger size was my choice this time, along with an unusual curry rice side for 190￥ more. Their Black is so named because of the charred garlic oil-based broth, combined with tonkotsu. This should give it a creamy savoriness from the pork bone soup with a salty, rich, and deep garlic taste.

And that it did. I was actually surprised at the strong, flavorful broth, with the black part of the soup the oil and the remainder tonkotsu. A quick taste of the black only revealed an incredibly savory, garlicky, and slight bitter flavor. Mixed together and the broth was sublime, a bit on the heavy and oily side, but amazingly delicious.

The rest of the dish was also amazing, as the plentiful, thick, and soft noodles soaked up and carried all the broth flavor. The bamboo shoots were firm, but soaked in a bit of flavor. The chashu was also quite flavorful and would be worth ordering an additional topping of it next time.

The only minor downside was the egg which was salty and tasty, but a bit overdone.

And lest I forget, the unusual (for a ramen restaurant) curry and rice side dish. While small, at only 190￥ it was well worth the price, as it was chunky, slightly spicy, and quite good to complement the richness of the ramen. Though it is slightly sweet so it’s similar to what you may have eaten at other Japanese curry restaurants.

As you can see, I quite loved their ramen and I will definitely leave it on my list to try again in the future.

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Aji no Daio (味の大王) in Tomakomai, Hokkaido

Curry soup is a food famous in Hokkaido, but Aji no Daio also offers a curry ramen version. Although I know it is not the typical curry soup I really wanted to try, my trip to Hokkaido was meant to be a ramen one, so when I was doing a bit of food research, I came across this chain around Hokkaido. And I just happened to be driving by the honten main store in Tomakomai, Hokkaido!

As expected, there was a line even though it wasn’t the peak lunch hour. Their menu has a few options and a few toppings, but I came here for their speciality. What goes great with curry? Cheese! I ordered one of their popular options, a Cheese Curry Ramen for 950￥ ($9 USD). After placing the order, I got a numbered ticket and took a seat. Around 7 or so minutes later, they called my number.

The smell of the curry was quite evident and the cheese looked absolutely mouth-watering. While it definitely is not the most beautiful of dishes as curry tends not to be, I couldn’t wait to dig in. The noodles were soft and the portion very reasonable, every ramen bite carrying the curry flavor. The curry broth itself was not simply just “watered down” curry, as it had plenty of meaty, rich taste. Since the soup was so strong, the cheese was simply not necessary and couldn’t really be distinguished. The chashu, too, was lovely and soft, but I wanted more.

Unless you’re a huge curry lover, though, I found myself halfway through the ramen wanting to cut the taste with some rice or some veggies to lighten it up. Still, it was worth having if you’re in town.

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Butanchu (豚人) Ichijoji Honten in Kyoto

Although I've stopped by Butanchu before, I went with my friend to check out their Honten (Main Store) in the Ichijoji area of Kyoto.

This area is famous for a ton of other main stores and amazing shops and Butanchu is no exception. Their huge variety of ramen choices and customizable broth and toppings are amazing... every time I've stopped by one of their shops, it has been delicious.

Instead of the “Bakusho” (LOL) crazy mountain of toppings I ordered last time, I went with their popular Doko Tonkotsu Ramen with Dragon Noodles, thicker broth, more pork fat, and more garlic... all for only 830￥ ($7.60 USD). The price, value, and portion was absolutely perfect. That soft chashu and thick, fatty broth were unbelievable.

The noodles were surprisingly awesome, as one side of the noodles had serration-like teeth that helped to really hold on to that thick broth, hitting me with a spike in flavor with every bite!

Definitely worth coming here again.

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Mensho Kaguya (麺匠かぐや) in Tsuruga, Fukui

Mensho Kaguya (麺匠かぐや) in Tsuruga, Fukui is currently offering a limited-time Kani Miso Noko Shio Ramen for 1080￥ ($10 USD) starting Monday, November 11th for the winter crab season, so I went by with my friends Jenny and Josie on their first opening day to try it. Luckily, when we showed up shortly after 6pm, there wasn’t much of a crowd.

They have signage proclaiming the crab ramen in front of their shop and on the menu so we were not led astray. Given that I didn’t have much for lunch, the 120￥ more for the larger size could be justified.

Here was the beautiful bowl of ramen that arrived: A slice of beautifully grilled aburi chashu, medium-thin ramen noodles, and thick, fatty broth, topped with wakame seaweed, scallions, and a crab shell. The crab was beautifully prepared with kani miso and scallions. Kani miso is actually the innards of the crab, perhaps because the consistency is much like soybean paste and it also has a strong flavor.

I was actually surprised at the clean and clear shell of the crab. My guess is they likely boiled the whole thing to clean and strain off every last bit of crab miso.

I’ve actually visited Kaguya before, so I am familiar with their thick, rich, and flavorful tonkotsu pork bone broth. Their noodles are medium-firm and their chashu nice, fatty, and soft; both a perfect complement to their soup. We were recommended to mix in the kani miso into the broth and it subtly added a creamy, salty sea taste with a hint of the bitterness of the miso.

The large portion was well-worth the value and I couldn’t help but gulp it up quickly, despite my burning tongue’s protestation. Especially given the price, the crab is an absolutely amazing value.

If you can, I highly recommend you try their limited-time ramen, but even their regular ramen is also quite good.

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