Eating and drinking in Japan and Asia
On my first visit to Yokohama, I decided to visit Yoshimuraya (吉村屋), which is known as the birthplace of the Ieikei style ramen. Ieikei ramen is mix of tonkotsu style and shoyu style ramen with thicker noodles. I arrive during dinner rush and I had to wait a solid hour to get in.
Menya Kokoro 麺屋こころ was recommend to me by a Tokyo Institute of Technology professor while we were walking in the Ookayama area near the main campus. Since I will be spending a lot of time in this part of Tokyo for the foreseeable future, I would like to find as many good little places to eat. Menya Kokoro specialty is Taiwan Maze-Soba which is a form of soup-less ramen.
Abura soba can be translated to “oil noodles” and it’s a great meal for anybody not thinking too hard about their own arteries getting slowly clogged down. My co-worker strongly recommended Kasuga-Tei when I recently visited Tokyo. I had a meeting near Tokyo Station and the shop in Akihabara was the nearest one.
Negi ramen or ネギラーメン is a busy ramen shop located near Higashi-Okayama station. I visited the shop twice in the last 2 weeks and it’s a busy place. Like the name implies, they serve ramen with a lot of negi ( Japanese leek) and green onion.
Kirakuen 喜楽園 is a busy ramen shop in the Mizushima area of Kurashiki. I’ve driven near this shop for the better without ever noticing it.
Ichiban Shokuji Dokoro or 一番食事処 is located in Mizushima part of Kurashiki. The shop name means “the best place to eat” They serve Hakata style ramen and it was recommended by somebody who is from Kyushu. If you are familiar with the area, it’s located a minute from the Tsutaya movie rental shop.
When I last visited Fukuoka, the city was taken over by 35 000 members from Lions Club International. The Lions Club could not have picked a better place to hold their meeting. I was in the city for a very short business trip and I decided to try a new ramen shop.
百万両 本店 （ひゃくまんりょう）Hyakuman Ryou ramen is an old shop located in the Tsurajima part of Kurashiki. Despite being a short distance from my house, it’s my first visit to this very popular shop.
With a bit time on my hands, I let my feet and my stomach guide me in the back streets of Shibuya. I made a right turn up a small hilly alley and I found Kiraku next to somekind of sex shop.
The famous Tsuta ramen from Tokyo recently struck a deal with the Circle K Sunkus convenience store chain and you can now buy their cold ramen all over the nation for a mere 498 yen.
