Ramen Jinsei JET600

Once upon a time I went to a delicious shoyu shop in Fukushima called Ramen Jinsei JET. It was delicious and still reigns supreme as one of the best shoyu shops I've been in all of Osaka. Then I discovered there's a second shop in Tamatsukuri, called Ramen Jinsei JET600. I happened to have a friend who lived in the area, so we went to check it out.

昔々にめっちゃおいしい福島にあるしょうゆラーメン屋さんに行きました。ラーメン人生 JETでした。やっと、玉造にある「ラーメン人生 JET600」という支店を発見しました。その辺りには友達が住んでいたので一緒に食べに行きました。

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ラーメン人生 JET600
Ōsaka-fu, Ōsaka-shi, Higashinari-ku, Higashiobase, １丁目３−３

The Bowl
Just as I remember, peppery, hot, classic shoyu. Fantastic. The noodles were flat and easy to down. The chashu was alright, and otherwise in the bowl was menma, onions, seaweed, and a fishcake.

思った通り黒こしょうで熱いクラシックなしょうゆでした。うまかったです。麺が平たくて食べやすかったです。チャーシューの上にメンマ、ネギ、海苔、なるともありました。

Would I Go Again?
Yeah, here or the one in Fukushima.

福島の本店かここにまた行きたいです。

Should You Go?
Yes, to at least one of the JETs.

JETの福島店か玉造店に行かなあかんです。

Ryukishin LAB0

Avid readers of this blog will recognize that I'd visited LAB0 not long before this for some delicious tantanmen. LAB0 is a kind of ramen place that changes every types every once in a while, which means a new soup for me to enjoy. The last one was tantanmen, this time they offered a light tempura chuka soba.

このブログのファンはたぶん「最近LABOに行ったよね」と言うと思います。LABOはたまにスープの味を変えるので毎回行ったら違うスープが楽しめます。前回は担々麺でしたけど、今回はあっさりの天中華そば。

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龍旗信LABO
Ōsaka-fu, Ōsaka-shi, Naniwa-ku, Nanbanaka, １丁目１４−１２

The Bowl
Wow, this was almost more like soba than ramen. It was light and refreshing, with thin, bouncy, and very slurpable noodles. The shrimp tempura was pretty good and very bready, but the other piece of tempura, which was maybe pork or chicken, stood out. It's a bit different from what you expect in ramen, but it was delicious.

ラーメンよりそばっぽかったですね。スープあっさりでさっぱりでした。麺が細くてすすりやすかったです。エビ天が小麦粉が多くておいしかったけど、別の肉の天ぷらがもっとウニークな感じがしました。普通のラーメンで見たくないんですけど、うまかったです。

Would I Go Again?
I'll check this place out again when their next bowl is out.

また味が変わったら行ってみます。

Should You Go?
If you like light ramen or soba, this might be the place for you.

あっさり系ラーメンとかそばが好きだったら、行ったらいいです。

Men Life Taku

Not every shop is good enough to merit multiple visits, and even fewer merit multiple reviews. Men Life Taku is one of my Osaka favorites, and a fitting way to end my brother's adventure in Japan. After hitting a few bars in an ad-hoc going away party we went to Men Life Taku to get taste some chickeny goodness. I had tried the ramen before, so I ordered the tsukemen this time.

大阪にはラーメン屋が多いので店に二回以上行く機会があまりありません。麺Life拓がめっちゃ好きなので、兄の最後の日に一緒に行きました。前回ラーメンを食べたので、今回つけ麺を注文しました。

Information
Link here
Ōsaka-fu, Ōsaka-shi, Naniwa-ku, Inari, １丁目７−３０

The Bowl
Not too dissimilar from the ramen, the broth was fishy, chickeny, and delicious. The noodles were a bit thicker than the ramen, allowing them to suck in a bit more of the fishiness. All of the toppings were great: the creamy egg, the juicy chashu, and the bonito flakes on top.

つけ麺のスープの味がラーメンの味に似ていました。ラーメンより麺が太かったので、もうちょっとスープを吸収できました。トッピングも最高でした。ゆで卵がクリーミーだし、チャーシューがジューシーだし、鰹もおいしかったです。

Would I Go Again?
Yeah, it seems likely.

おそらくまた行きます。

Should You Go?
Yes.

是非行ってください。

Muteppo

Finally, a trip to the fabled Muteppo. I had actually been there once before, and once to the shop in Tokyo, but it had been a long time and I had never reviewed the shop. Just one more full day before my brother left, so we decided to cap his second to last night off with one of Kansai's most famous shops.

ようやく無鉄砲に行きました。実は、大阪店と東京の中野店に行ったことがありましたけど、久しぶりだったしまだレビューしていませんでした。もうすぐ兄が帰ると知っていたので、関西の有名なラーメン屋に行こうと思っていました。

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無鉄砲

Ōsaka-fu, Ōsaka-shi, Naniwa-ku, Ebisuhonmachi, １丁目５−２１

The Bowl
Muteppo is the tonkotsu shop to end all tonkotsu shops. It's not just kotteri, it's super rich and super thick. Before I ever tried it it was described to me as "essence of pork", and that's a pretty fitting description. The broth is so thick and porky that the noodles float instead of sinking. All of the toppings' individual flavors are completely overwhelmed by the soup. PORK.

さすが無鉄砲がめっちゃこってりでした。スープ煮麺が浮くほどドロドロでした。スープの味は豚の源みたいでした。味が濃くてトッピングでもスープの味がしました。

Would I Go Again?
Yeah, just not on a night where I have to do anything afterwards.

また行きたいです。でも食べてから動けなくなります。

Should You Go?
YES!

イェス！

Sumiyoshi

Ever since I went to Koyoken, I'd been curious to try neighboring old-school Takaida-kei shop Sumiyoshi. My brother was still around, so together we made the trek east to Fuse. Sumiyoshi was very small, and reminded me of Ganso Nagahamaya in Fukuoka in that, unlike some new posh ramen shops, Sumiyoshi feels like it's filled with people from around the area just looking for a good bowl of cheap noodles.

光洋軒に行ってからその近くにある住吉という高井田系の店に行ってみたいなと思っていました。兄がまだいたので一緒に布施まで歩いて行きました。住吉は狭くて、福岡にある元祖長浜屋みたいに新しいオシャレな店じゃなくてクラシック的においしくて安いラーメンを食べたい客様が入っていました。

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住吉
Ōsaka-fu, Ōsaka-shi, Higashinari-ku, Fukaeminami, ３丁目２０−８

The Bowl
Like other Takaida-style bowls I had before, the broth was a light, but sharp and salty shoyu. The noodles were very thick and very firm. They tasted good along with the saltiness of the soup. The chashu was alright and the menma was very flavorful.

高井田系ラーメンらしくスープが塩辛くて飲みやすいしょうゆでした。麺が太くてスープの味と一緒においしくなりました。チャーシューはよくて、メンマが厚かったです。

Would I Go Again?
Maybe, it was fun to bring my brother there.

兄と一緒に行くのが面白かったのでまた行こうかな。

Should You Go?
Takaida-kei is worth trying, and this is as good a shop as any if you make it out to Fuse.

高井田系ラーメンが食べる価値があるので、もし布施にいたら行ったらいいかもしれません。

Todai

In a mad dash to introduce my brother to as many possible ramen styles as possible, I scoured the internet for traces of Tokushima-style ramen in the Osaka area. Tokushima-style ramen typically has a shoyu tonkotsu broth, fatty slices of pork as opposed to thick pieces of chashu, and a raw egg on top. I had eaten it once before before starting this blog on a field trip to Tokushima to see the famous Awa Odori dance. Some internet searching told me that there was a branch of the chain Todai just a few stations north of the city, so I finally had a chance to try it again.

せっかく兄が日本に遊びに来たのでいろいろなラーメンの種類を食べに連れて行きたかったです。それで、インターネットで関西には徳島系ラーメンがあるか探していました。徳島ラーメンのスープはしょうゆ豚骨で普通のチャーシューより豚バラみたいな肉が入っていて、生卵が上に乗っています。このブログを書き始める前に阿波踊りを見に行ったので、そのとき本場で徳島ラーメンが食べられました。インターネットを探して、東大というラーメン屋の支店が関大前駅のそばにあると見つかったので、ようやく徳島ラーメンを食べる機械が出ました。

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東大
Ōsaka-fu, Suita-shi, Senriyamahigashi, １丁目７−２９

The Bowl
The broth was a salty shoyu tonkotsu, and the noodles were medium, and straight. It wasn't bad by any means, but I wasn't blown away the way I had been when I had the same style ramen in Tokushima. The pork was pretty good, but it couldn't make up for the lackluster soup and noodles.

スープがちょっと塩辛いしょうゆ豚骨で、ストレートな中麺が入っていました。全然悪くなかった出けど、本場で食べた徳島ラーメンなんか違いました。豚がおいしかったですが、スープなどがまあまあでした。

Would I Go Again?
Nah.

行きそうにありません。

Should You Go?
You should definitely try Tokushima ramen, but you don't need to try it here.

徳島ラーメンが本当に居間員ですが、本場で食べたほうがいいと思います。

Ippudo

It had really been a long time since I had been to Ippudo. After a very filling yakitori, one of my friends insisted we end the night on ramen. She was from Fukuoka, and representing her hometown well, she insisted we go to a tonkotsu shop. The closest one was Ippudo, but my eye was not on the tonkotsu, but rather the limited time miso ramen. How would this compare to all of the Sapporo ramen I had recently eaten?

一風堂で食べたのが本間に久しぶりですね。焼き鳥を食べてからおなかがいっぱいなのに友達にラーメンを食べさせられました。福岡の友達なんで、福岡人らしく豚骨専門店に行かないとだめになりました。最寄りの店が一風堂でしたけど、私は普通の豚骨じゃなくて期間限定味噌ラーメンを注文しました。最近の札幌ラーメンに比べたらどうでしょうか。

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一風堂
Ōsaka-fu, Ōsaka-shi, Nishi-ku, Minamihorie, １丁目１２

The Bowl
What could a miso bowl by Ippudo be like? As any Ippudo ramen would be, it was very porky, oily, and rich. It almost tasted like a mix of tonkotsu and miso; different from the classic Sapporo style, but not straight tonkotsu either. Either way it was pretty good. The kara-miso added a spicy kick, and the sesame oil provided some nice flavors as well.

「一風堂が作った味噌ラーメンはどうかな」と考えていました。一風堂らしくスープがこってりで豚の味が強かったです。ちょっと豚骨と味噌の半部半分の感じがしました。普通の一風堂ラーメンじゃありませんでしたけど、普通の札幌味噌じゃありませんでした。とにかくおいしかったです。辛みそとごまの油で面白い味がつきました。

Would I Go Again?
I might, but the miso ramen is over anyway.

また行こうかなと思っているんですが、限定がもうすぎました。

Should You Go?
It's too late.

もう終わった。

Shingen

The snow festival was coming to a close and I had one final day to say goodbye to Sapporo before heading back to Kansai. That day, like any good day, would start with a final bowl of ramen. Like the day before's Keyaki, Shingen was another highly ranked miso ramen shop I had researched, and so I shed a single tear and prepared to replace it with salty miso broth.

ようやく雪祭りが終わったので札幌に「さよなら」と言わないとだめでした。でも、最後の日にもちろん最後のラーメンを食べないとだめでした。けやきみたいに信玄がインターネットで調べた評価がいい味噌の店でした。

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らーめん信玄
Hokkaidō, Sapporo-shi, Chūō-ku, Minami 6 Jōnishi, ８丁目

The Bowl
A rich, classic miso. The medium yellow noodles and soy-sauce tasting chashu were what you'd expect, done well. More simple than Keyaki; it reminded me more of Sora, except where Sora fell flat, Shingen delivered.

コクがよくてクラシックな味噌でした。黄色い中麺があって、しょうゆっぽいチャーシューが特別じゃありませんでしたけど、よくできました。けやきよりシンプルでした。空のようなスタイルでしたけど、空よりほんまにうまかったです。

Would I Go Again?
I would probably explore other well-ranked Sapporo shops before making a return trip.

また札幌に行く機会があったら、たぶん他の評価がいい店に行ってみたいなと思っています。

Should You Go?
This was a solid miso, so yes.

けっこうおいしかったので、行ってください。

Keyaki

Day two of my Sapporo trip to the Yuki Matsuri. Day one had soup curry for lunch, and an OK-but-disappointing bowl of miso ramen for dinner, so I was hoping to beat that. Unlike the previous day's shop, this one would be one that I had hand-chosen from a few lists I looked at online before venturing to Hokkaido.

Keyaki is a small shop right near Susukino Station, one of the more popular stations and very close to the festival's ice sculptures. Of course that meant there was a long line, and of course that meant it was freezing.

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けやき
Hokkaidō, Sapporo-shi, Chūō-ku, Minami 6 Jōnishi, ３丁目

The Bowl
Now this is the miso ramen I came to Sapporo for. Bright orange, the broth glowed with warmth to heat my tongue up after being in the cold for so long. It was rich with just a little bit of a spicy kick. It reminded me of some of the better miso places I had tried in Tokyo. The noodles were thin, curly, and chewy. There were tons of veggies, too: kikurage, menma, cabbage, bean sprouts and onions. A balanced and delicious meal!

Would I Go Again?
Yeah, it was really good.

Should You Go?
If you're in Sapporo, then yes.

Ramen Sora

Every year in Sapporo a giant snow festival is held called the Yuki Matsuri. I've wanted to go since I moved to Japan, and this year the festival overlapped with a three day weekend. It was destiny; my brother and I booked our flights and went.

Sapporo is famous for many different kinds of foods: soup curry, seafood, crab, jinguskahn, and of course, miso ramen. Which meant that while we were there, my brother and I would be hitting up as many shops as we can.

The night I arrived we met with our host who took us to the Sapporo Ramen Republic, a collection of shops not unlike the Raumen Stadium in Canal City or Tokyo Ramen Street. I wanted to get the most authentic miso possible, so I did some scouting and decided to go to Ramen Sora.

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らーめん空
Hokkaidō, Sapporo-shi, Chūō-ku, Kita 5 Jōnishi, ２丁目

The Bowl
What awaited was a decent but not amazing miso. It was rich and hearty, but also covered in a layer of oil. The noodles were medium, curly, and eggy. The menma and egg were decent, but the super thick piece of chashu stood above the rest, fatty and delicious.

Would I Go Again?
Nah, this was nothing special, especially in Sapporo.

Should You Go?
There are better shops in this city.

Rakunijin

My trip to Fukuoka finally came to a close and I was back in Osaka. I had been dragging my brother around to so many wacky and weird shops that we hadn't even gotten around to having a classic shoyu bowl. After going back and forth trying to decide where best to take him, I decided to go to one of my old favorites Rakunijin and follow it up with a beer at the local Beer Belly. I had been here before, so I decided to try the spicy chuka soba instead of the standard.

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洛二神
Ōsaka-fu, Ōsaka-shi, Kita-ku, Naniwachō, ４−２２

The Bowl
Just like the standard shoyu bowl, the spicy one was light, fishy, and delicious. There was just a bit of kick to this broth, which kept it from overwhelming the shoyu taste. The noodles were great just like lasts time, and the rest of the toppings were solid too. Overall it wasn't as good as their main bowl, but I would easily go to a shop that only had this on their menu.

Would I Go Again?
Yeah, probably.

Should You Go?
Yes you should.

Shinsen

Sometimes one ramen shop a day is not enough. Earlier in the day my brother and I stopped at my favorite shop in Fukuoka, Isshin Furan, but we were still hungry in the afternoon. Canal City offers a wide range of ramen shops, and though I hit up a couple of them on my last visit, there were still plenty to be tried.

Shinsen is a tonkotsu shoyu shop from Kanazawa in Ishikawa Prefecture. I had never heard of Kanazawa-style ramen before, and most of the rest of the shops were more similar to the Fukuoka tonkotsu we had for lunch, so we decided to give Shinsen a try.

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金澤濃厚中華そば 神仙
Fukuoka-ken, Fukuoka-shi, Hakata-ku, Sumiyoshi, １丁目２

The Bowl
Wow, this was a bowl that tasted exactly like "tonkotsu shoyu" sounds. It was like someone took a bowl of tonkotsu ramen and poured a dollop of soy sauce into it. It wasn't offensive, but it was strong and lacked the subtle mixture of my favorite tonkotsu shoyu places. The noodles were surprisingly hard, and the chashu and menma were both decent.

Would I Go Again?
Nah. There are more places to try in Canal City anyway.

Should You Go?
If you make it all the way to Fukuoka, there are far better bowls to try than this one.

Ganso Nagahamaya

It was the first full day of my brother's and my Fukuoka adventure, so we had to choose a ramen shop to hit up. The previous time I went to Fukuoka I had somehow missed Nagahama, so with that in mind we set out for the classic Ganso Nagahamaya first thing.

I've had a lot of wacky types of ramen, or interesting takes on classic styles of ramen, but Ganso Nagahamaya was the exact opposite of those. An old-school shop with vending machines with just one thing to order: ramen. At an absurdly cheap 400 yen, how can you go wrong?

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元祖 長浜屋
Fukuoka-ken, Fukuoka-shi, Chūō-ku, Nagahama, ２丁目５

The Bowl
This bowl was even lighter than the bowl I had at the food stall the previous night. The broth was very light; it was practically just oil meant to flavor the noodles. The noodles were thin and hard like I've grown to expect in Fukuoka tonkotsu. The thin slices of chashu were very juicy. I plowed through my noodles but drinking all of the oil-like broth would have been ill-advised at best, and suicide at worst.

Would I Go Again?
It was good, I'd like to try it again.

Should You Go?
It's an original, and it's super cheap!

Pyonkichi

My brother visiting meant that this was a time of travel. We had eaten bowls of ramen in Tokyo, had our fair share of soup in Osaka and Kyoto, but now it was time for a trip to Kyushu. The first night in Fukuoka means that we can only do one thing: go to a food stall. We ordered some ramen and their recommendation of crispy gyoza.

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屋台屋ぴょんきち
Fukuoka-ken, Fukuoka-shi, Chūō-ku, Tenjin, １丁目

The Bowl
The bowl was a pretty standard tonkotsu, but it reminded me how different Fukuoka's tonkotsu can be. The thin chashu and thin noodles were all easy to eat, and the broth was light and refreshing, unlike the tonkotsu I'm used to eating. Instead of a full meal, a snack to get you through your next beer.

The gyoza, on the other hand, were great. They were crispy and small enough to pop in your mouth one after another.

Would I Go Again?
I would almost go back just for the gyoza. But I'd sooner hit another food stall.

Should You Go?
You should go to a food stall, you don't have to make it Pyonkichi.