A Must-See For Ramen Lovers! The Charms of Ramen Koji

Masutani is a long-established ramen store which stays true to the traditional Kyoto-style taste. The chicken-based soy sauce soup sprinkled with backfat is simple but flavorful and matches perfectly with the thin, straight noodles. Masutani is favored by people of all ages. It’s impossible to tire of its familiar, almost nostalgic taste. The chuuka soba (650 JPY (incl. tax) for a regular size) with delicious soft roasted pork is very popular. They also have items exclusive to Ramen Koji, like the tantanmen (950 JPY (incl. tax) for a large) and fried rice (450 JPY (incl. tax) for a regular size).

Bannai Shokudo comes from Kitakata Fukushima, a location famous for its ramen. It is a successful store, having maintained its business for more than 50 years in an area that is very competitive for the ramen industry. The homemade soft roast pork is very highly rated and the pork based transparent soy sauce–salt soup goes very well with their chewy noodles. Enjoy a flavor unique in the Kansai region. The price is 650 JPY (incl. tax) for Kitakata Ramen. It's a superb meal that you definitely can't miss.

Menya Iroha is a ramen store from Toyama in the Hokuriku region. Their specialty is Toyama Black, the homemade black soy sauce with a seafood aroma, made by stewing the fishy sauce for many hours. It is popular for having a softer flavor than regular soy sauce. The base of a soup made using this soy sauce has a rich taste, yet is somehow simple. Menya Iroha’s unique noodles are made using deep-ocean water, and they absorb and match the delicious black soup.

*The picture is of Black Ajitama Ramen, 880 JPY (incl. tax)