ramen | The Kyoto Project

Recommended Food Information in Enmachi, Kyoto

March 26, 2020

by Masashi Morishita, and Noa Murakami

Do you know Enmachi? It is a sightseeing spot in Kyoto. There are many temples and shops there. You can go by train from Kyoto Station in about ten minutes. In particular, we recommend that you eat delicious foods if you go to Enmachi because there are a lot of good restaurants there. We visited a restaurant and a café this time. The first one is a famous ramen restaurant. Ramen is a noodle soup dish that was originally imported from China. The next one is a cafe. It is a curry and pancake cafe. We want to introduce this restaurant and café.

Tantanmen YEBISU

At first, we will explain about ramen. As we said, ramen is a noodle soup dish. It has become one of the most popular dishes in Japan. It’s common to eat it for dinner. You can find ramen restaurants in every corner of Japan and the tastes of countless regional variations. We went to a restaurant called “Tantanmen YEBISU” in Enmachi. In this restaurant, Tantanmen is delicious. Tantanmen is Chinese noodles in spicy soup. It looks red, and it’s hot and spicy food. We actually ate it, and it was very delicious, and you can select the level of hotness (spiciness). Therefore, you can enjoy eating tantanmen even if you are not good at eating hot tasting food. Also, the “cheese tantanmen” is the most popular ramen for woman because it is not hot and even children can eat it. This shop is bright and very comfortable. The staff are very gentle and will welcome you with pleasure. In addition, there are some kind services. For example, it offers its customers paper aprons, hair ties, and soup spoons with small holes. Any customer who wears a white shirt or whose hair is long can enjoy tantamen without getting stains on

themselves by using the paper apron and hair tie. Also, you can eat small ingredients like meat and green onions in tantanmen by using the soup spoon with small holes. The original way of eating ramen in Japan is to make a loud sound

while eating, similar to a slurping sound. You shouldn’t worry about making sounds when eating Asian noodles in Japan because eating loudly (slurping) is a good thing in Japan when eating noodles. It is very surprising. Actually, people will just think you are enjoying your noodle meal! When you eat tantanmen in this restaurant, you can make a loud sound, so let’s eat tantanmen.

Café and Bar, Off Time

This café is a hidden café. All of the menu items such as curry, plate lunch, french toast, focaccia and sweets is homemade. In addition, this café has a relaxed atmosphere, so you can avoid the crowds and enjoy a leisurely meal because it located in a calm place. Also, there are a lot of miscellaneous goods, and the interior design is good.

You can enjoy reading Japanese children’s books such as “The Cat That Lived a Million Times” and the “Gama-Kun and Kaeru-Kun” series. And then, the main attraction is the variety of deserts on the menu, and you can enjoy a lot of different cakes every day. The cakes have a soft, spongy texture with a homely and nostalgic taste. It also isn’t too sweet, so even those who don’t like eating sweet things can enjoy them. However, you should visit this cafe early in the morning because the popular cakes sell out quickly.

Also, you can enjoy not only meals and sweets but also tableware like cups, spoons and dishes. They have cute designs and make you excited. In addition, the owner is a kind woman who is loved by customers, and she cooks all the food on the menu by herself. You will have a good time in this café. You should stop by Off Time if you visit Enmachi.

Conclusion

Many famous restaurants are lined up in front of the station in Enmachi, while there are many cheap and delicious hidden restaurants a little far from Enmachi station. Therefore, you will enjoy finding your favorite restaurants while walking around the town in Enmachi. Also, it is easy to search for your favorite restaurants or foods because most restaurants post their restaurant’s information on Instagram or Twitter. Enmachi is not a very famous place in Kyoto and there are few foreign tourists; however, it is a very nice place with good restaurants. Therefore, we hope that a lot of foreign tourists visit Enmachi after reading this article, and we want you to enjoy many restaurants and cafes in Enmachi, especially Tantanmen YEBISU and Café and Bar, Off Time.

Access information

“Tantanmen YEBISU” takes about 2 minutes on foot from Enmachi Station (JR Sanin Line).

TEL: 075-366-6767

Time: 11:00AM-11:00PM (closed on Tuesdays).

“Café and Bar, Off Time” takes about 10 minutes on foot from Enmachi Station (JR Sanin Line).

TEL: 075-801-8108

Café time: 11:00AM-5:00PM (Tuesday-Sunday)

Bar time: 6:00PM-10:30PM (Thursday-Saturday) 6:00PM-9:00PM (Sunday)

Tuesday and Wednesday are only café time (Closed on Mondays)

Ichijoji Kyoto Ramen

by Hanami Yanagi, Saya Ishida and Tomoka Yamazaki

Japanese foods are recognized to be delicious all over the world recently. Therefore, we would like to introduce ramen (Chinese-style hot noodles) because it is popular and everybody likes it. There is a district in Kyoto known as Ichijoji and it is famous for being the location of many good ramen restaurants. We chose two ramen shops Gokkei and Takayasu. We went there and ate some ramen. Therefore, we will introduce two famous ramen shops here.

Gokkei

Access: Near to the Kyoto City Bus route 31 ‘Ichijoji Kitaomarucho Station’ stop.

Business hours: 11:30~22:00

Closed: Mondays

Gokkei is the most popular ramen shop in Ichijoji. There is always a line of people wating to get ramen there.

There are three types of ramen. First is Toridaku and simmered egg ramen. The price is 750 yen. It is ranked No.1 in Gokkei. Toridaku features a thick soup, which is created through long hours of simmering chicken bones. The soup lis almost like carbonara sauce. You can even let the Chinese milk spoon stand in the soup. But it isn’t heavy. Medium thick noodles are used. Bamboo shoots in the soup are too big, three times the size of usual servings. the slices of roast pork are also large and very tender. the dish is topped with a soft-boiled egg and green onions which are a good accent. Toridaku looks hearty but woman can easily eat it. It is very delicious!

Toridaku

The second type of ramen is called Akadaku. It costs 750 yen and its color is red! It is topped with chili. It looks very spicy but only has a moderate hotness. It goes well with rich soup and satisfies a big appetite. The ingredients are the same as Toridaku.

Akadaku

The third type of ramen served here is Kurodaku. it also costs 750 yen. Kuro means garlic. The smell of garlic fills the air when you order this ramen. It satisfies the appetite. If you eat Kurodaku, you become full of power! When you need energy, I recommend you eat this ramen. Its ingredients are the same as Toridaku.

Kurodaku

Takayasu

Access: Near to the Kyoto city Bus 31 ‘Ichijoji Kitaomarucho Station’ stop.

Business Hours: 12:00~23:00

Closed: None

Takayasu is another famous Chinese noodle shop in Ichijoji. Like Gokkei, there is always a line. The shop assistant is so friendly and kind. We ate two types of ramen here and side dishes. We introduce them.

First is Chinese noodle. The price is 600 yen. It is the most popular ramen in Takayasu. Although It is a very simple ramen, its taste is impressive.I t has a mild and smooth soup. The taste is like the Samgyetang, but it has a thick Tonkotsu soup. The noodles are straight. There are tender Char-siu slices of pork atop the ramen. These Chinese noodles are very filling, so you can get full only with this ramen!

Chinese noodle

The second kind is Suji ramen. Suji is beef gristle in English. The price is 750 yen. The ramen has many tender and melting pieces of beef gristle. Its ingredients are the same as Chinese noodle. The third type of ramen is Spring Chicken. It features a big piece of chicken! The taste is spicy because the seasoning is curry. The coating is crispy and chicken is juicy.

Suji-ramen

Ramen is popular all over the world nowadays. Ichijoji is a famous area for ramen and each shop features its own style of ramen. In fact, there are a lot of other shops than the ones written about here. Ichijoji is an attractive area. Therefore, we want you to go Ichijoji and find your favorite ramen.

ACCESS:

By bus: use bus number 3. It takes about 40 minutes from Kyoto University of Foreign Studies and the fare is 230 JPY. Continue on foot for about 10 minutes to reach the ramen area

Ramen in Saiin

15ua0225 Hiroto Takao

15ua0084 Tsubasa Ota

15ua0011 Kyoka Azuma

We are going to introduce three ramen shops around Saiin station in Kyoto. Saiin station is a station on the Hankyu Kyoto line, just four stops from Kawaramachi, which is downtown. There are so many places that we can enjoy eating, having fun, and being relaxed around Saiin. Among them, ramen shops are really vibrant, so a variety of people often visit these ramen shops. The three shops we want to recommend are “Toritani”, “Kirameki” and “Watanabe Seimen”. We decided to introduce these shops because they are very close to Saiin station, have strong features and are very popular.

Kirameki Chicken Heart

The Kirameki group, which is a noodle restaurant in a chain that is also listed in magazines, currently has 8 stores in Kyoto City. Kirameki is a homemade noodle of commitment, all the noodles are blended with Nagano prefecture-produced, stone-milled wheat flour “Yumemanten ” and they do not use alcohol, so the expiration date of the noodles is only 4 days. The chicken stock is cooked carefully for a long time, using thigh meat and chicken skin, as well as chicken bones.

Kirameki Chicken Heart

The standard dish is a rich noodle with soy sauce-based dish filled with thick, rice-based chicken and pork noodles. A popular dish is Taiwan’s Mazesoba (Soupless Noodle) “Naotaro” is a hot topic. This dish originates in a Taiwan restaurant, and is only served in Kirameki inside Japan. It seems that the o

rigin of this name came from the owner’s son’s name. Taiwan Mazesoba is a type of ramen from Nagoya. Taiwan Mazesoba, provided by the Kirameki group, was created under the supervision of Mr. Shinzane, the general manager of “Noodle Shop NANABI”, which was its origin. Minced leek, onions, chives, seaweed laver, fish meal, garlic and egg yolk are vividly served and followed by small rice at the end. The chicken rich soup is great and it has a mellow but slightly bitter taste. On the table is a seasoning for mild buckwheat so that you can add the seaoning to your noodles. Another feature is the r

ecommendation that you use a “paper apron” , which is prepared in the restaurant, without being disturbed, and not being shy. In addition, there is a point card in this restaurant. When you order a meal, you can get points. Customers get one stamp for every noodle dish they enjoy. Ten stamps is equal to one point. Your noodle dish is free at 3 points. You can get an Original T-shirt with 5 points, and a hoodie is 7 points. Such ingenuity is also a secret of popularity. Moreover, all Kirameki restaurants close occasionally so that the Kirameki group can have a conference, and discuss improving their food and service. The Kirameki group has become a hot topic every day in internet reviews and the media. They seem to have plans to open new stores in the future.

Kyotohu Kyotoshi Ukyo-ku Yamanouchi Naecyo 28

Toritani

Toritani

The appearance is refreshingly simple and much in the the Japanese style. Inside of the shop, there is a counter, and there is one table seat. You can wait inside the store. Instead of a ticket vending machine, order directly from a waiter. The menu is a simple thing of handwriting, and the noodles are classified roughly into 4 sections of rich, light, dipping noodles, fish and soups. Only rice items are prepared for a side menu. Popular rice, chicken and butter pork roll are dishes recommended by an employee. The toppings are loaded with three types of roasted pork fillet, green onion and radish sprouts, which are well colored. Roasted pork fillet is a dipping noodle dish of chicken meat and pork, chicken is two kinds of thigh and breast, pork is tender and rare leaving as it is a light taste. Slightly strong seasoning, but overall balance is good, when you finished eating, the soup is entangled with the noodle so much that the soup hardly remains. After eating you feel a satisfaction, like eating chicken dishes rather than noodles, None of the ingredients use additives and chemical seasonings, and noodles are homemade, so this is supported by a wide range of customers. Depending on the situation such as vegetables in season, the kind of noodle seems to change subtly from day by day. That information can be sent by SNS.

The place is the about 15 minutes on walk from Saiin Station, heading somewhat west from the intersection of Nishioji-Shijo. Also there is a coin parking lot on the west side in the immediate vicinity.

6150566 Kyotohu Kyotoshi ukyoku Saiin Shijou H

atakecyo 1-22

Watanabe Seimen

Watanabe Seimen is a ramen shop in the back of Saiin Station. But their main menu is not ramen, but Tsukemen. Tsukemen are called dipping noodles overseas. There are three types of noodles, flat noodles, thick noodles, and medium thick noodles. To make the flat noodles, flour is blended with Canadian Western Red Spring and Domestic Wheat, as well as Prime Hard wheat from Australia. Furthermore, the noodles becomes elastic and chewy by kneading the dough with a vacuum mixer. By adding tapioca powder texture is further enriched. Thick noodles used medium wheat and Australian

Watanabe Seimen

medium flour. Because it removes the outer skin, there is a fragrance and a sweetness due to abundant minerals and protein. It is a recommended dish of the store. For medium thick noodles, cassava flour and tapioca powder are blended into the strong flour of Western Red Spring of Canada. This is also kneaded with a vacuum mixer, it is a multi-additive type noodle. Medium thick noodles are rarely used for Tsukemen, so you can enjoy the unique texture of Kansai.

There are four soups, which are seasoned soup, spicy meat, vegetable paste and curry taste. The seasoned soup is made of boiled fish with miso and yuzu (a type of Japanese citrus, similar to a lime) and blended spices. It has a dense and solid taste. Spicy meat soup uses minced pork stewed in Sichuan sauce. Spiciness and sweetness are blended, and you can taste a fine pungent taste. They use a vegetable stock made from six kinds of vegetables in vegetable paste soup. It has a balanced and mellow taste. Curry taste soup is blended with several kinds of curry powder and it has a mild sweet curry taste. In addition, recently shrimp flavored soup was added. There are a variety of autographs in the shops.

615-0012 Kyotohu Kyotoshi Ukyo-ku Saiin Takayama Teramachi 12-11

Ramen of Saiin

by Kanae Hamano & Shiho Fujinami

About Saiin in Kyoto

What do you imagine when you were asked for famous foods in Kyoto? You will imagine a lots of food like Matcha or Japanese confectioneries and so on. However, ramen is the famous food in Kyoto. Not many people know about that.

In this time, we are going to introduce about history of Kyoto ramen and three ramen shops at Saiin in Kyoto where we recommend. Saiin is located near Kawaramachi of the sightseeing spot. And Hankyu train and the bus go along this town and it is easy to access. Also there are some university in Saiin area, for example Kyoto university of foreign studies and Kyoto Koka woman’s university. So there are a lot of cheep and yummy restaurants in this area.

About Ramen

First, the ramen in Kyoto is thick type of soup. That is common. As history of Kyoto ramen, according to Shin-Yokohama Ramen Museum, Kyoto ramen was started by Chinese man in 1938. That person opened a ramen shop called “Shinpukusaikan” near Kyoto station. It is the start of Kyoto ramen. After that, the number of ramen shop gradually increased.

Shinpukusaikan(新福菜館

The first ramen shop is “Shinpukusaikan” There are just one kind of taste.That is one of the shops that surely(definitely) comes out if you search with Kyoto ramen. There are 5 stores in Kyoto. There are so many people who come all the way from a distance. This shop is famous as a shop that became the origin of Kyoto ramen. It is that has a lot of history.We visited to the Tenjingawa branch in Saiin area. Inside of the shop makes us nostalgic. A pitch black soup is characteristic. This ramen shop is famous not only ramen but also fried rice. There are 7 set menus; setA ( regular size ramen and fride rice), setB (small ramen and regular size fride rice), setC (ramen, fride rice and gyoza), Fried chicken set menu, Korokke (fried mashed potato) set menu, Pork cutlet set menu and Ground meat cutlet set menu. You can choose favorite one from these set menu and you can add more toppings. The best thing of all, the price is very cheap. Set menu is all 950yen. And you can take out ramen, fried rice, gyoza and so on.

Shinpukusaikan Ramen

Yakiniku no buru(焼肉ノぶる）

The second restaurant is Yakiniku-no-buru. Yakiniku means Japanese barbecue. Do you know that ramen of Japanese yakiniku restaurant is so tasty? This restaurant is a Japanese yakiniku restaurant not a ramen restaurant. But this place is a so famous at Saiin area for having delicious ramen. There are two kinds of tail ramen and yukgaejang ramen. Of course, it’s available to order only ramen.

Tail Ramen

This ramen is based white soup. This soup is condensed umami(delicious taste) because it’s stewed for three days. This place is a Japanese Yakiniku restaurant that’s why can offer. Also, tail is stewed spending a long time and it’s soft.

Tail Ramen for 1050 yen

Yukgaejang Ramen

Yokgaejang is Korean spicy meal with beef and some vegetables. This ramen has a very red and gives a strong impact. But it combines not only spicy but also umami(delicious taste). And it has a lot of ingredients such as egg and bean sprouts, so it gives a sense of satisfaction. For those who love spicy foods, cannot contain yourself for joy.

Yugaejang Ramen for 950 yen

Toritani（鶏谷）

The third restaurant is Toritani. This restaurant is a relatively new one opened in 2014. However, it’s so popular year by year. And this place is liked by many students of Kyoto university of foreign studies because it’s near university and Saiin station. Also, it’s often full and you may wait for a while.Ramen has five kinds and side menu has two kinds.

Torisoba

There are various kinds of torisoba such as rich taste (kotteri) and rough taste (assari). Every ramen has a soft char-siu chicken, you can enjoy chicken. Soup of rough taste torisoba is lightly but you can feel the taste of chicken tightly. Tori means chicken and soba means noodle, so Torisoba means chicken ramen.

Torisoba

Mazesoba

This ramen restaurant is popular mazesoba besides torisoba. This has ginger as a very good accent. The combination of mazesoba and torimeshi is the best. Mazesoba is that it is not include soup, so you can eat mixed them with dipping sauce. And torimeshi is chicken rice.

Mazesoba

Torimeshi

There are a lot of famous hotspots for ramen in Kyoto. Unfortunately, Saiin is not well known. But there are many great ramen restaurants that we know that’s why we are students of Kyoto university of foreign studies at Saiin area. Please try to eat the cheap and delicious ramen that Kyoto is proud.

Access

Shinpukusaikan

Adress: 33 Umezu Minami hiromachi, Ukyo-ku,kyoto-city, kyoto prefecture

Nearest station: 10 minutes on foot from the Randen-Tenjingawa station

Phone number: 075-864-9728

Regular holiday: Wednesday

Business hours: 11:00~23:00 (LO22:40)

Yakiniku no buru

Address: 2F 36-11 Kitayake-chou, Saiin, Ukyo-ku, Kyoto-city, Kyoto prefecture

Nearest station: 3 minutes on foot from Hankyu Saiin station

Phone number: 075-925-9029

Regular holiday: Thursday

Business hours: 18:00~01:00(LO 00:00)

Credit card: VISA, Master Card, JCB, American Express, Diners Club

Website: http://www.yakinikunobull.com/sp_saiin/

Toritani

Address: 1-22 Shijoubata-chou, Saiin, Ukyo-ku, Kyoto city, Kyoto prefecture

Nearest station: 7 minutes on feet from Keihuku Arashiyama line Yamanouchi station

15 minutes on feet from Hankyu Saiin station

Phone number: 075-754-7969

Regukar holiday: Monday

Business hours: on weekday 11:30~14:30/18:00~22:00

on holiday 11:30~15:00/18:00~22:00

Credit card: unavailable (only cash)

The Hottest Ramen Noodles in Kyoto

by Kensei Iizuka, Yuta Kobayashi, Takanori Tsuhako

As you know, there is a lot of delicious food in Kyoto. In this article, we are going to tell you about the noodles. Kyoto, especially Kyoto City, is one of the most famous places for noodles in Japan. That is why there are a lot of great noodle restaurants here. In this article, we will introduce you to Menya-Kirameki: a really famous noodle restaurant on Kyoto Sanjo and part of the Kirameki chain of noodle restaurants in Kyoto. We will introduce other Kirameki restaurants at the end of this article. If you want to get more information about the Kirameki Group, please check them out.

Menya-Kirameki Kyoto Sanjo

Taiwanese Spicy Soupless Noodles

The most famous noodle dish in Kirameki is their Taiwanese Soupless Noodles. This dish was born in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture in 2008. It was created from meals that were prepared for the staff of a Taiwanese restaurant in Nagoya. The Taiwanese owner used to serve these soupless noodles only for his employees until one day a customer saw them and asked him to put it on the regular menu. The owner tried to add some spices to make it tastier because it was a simple dish compared to other items on the menu in this restaurant. The dish contains ground meat seasoned with some spices that are placed on the top of super thick noodles. It also has fish meal, leeks, Chinese chives and fresh egg yolk. The way to eat it is straightforward: you just mix all the ingredients to taste them together. You might be surprised by the flavors when you eat this for the first time. However, we are sure that you will like it more and more as you continue to eat. When you have finished eating, it is recommended that you put a small cup of rice into your noodle bowl that still has some flavor from the spices. This is called “shime” in Japanese, and it is meant to refresh your mouth. To put it simply, it plays the role of brushing your teeth. By eating a bowl of plain white rice, you can ‘clean up’ the remaining flavors in your mouth. In Kirameki, you can get a small cup of rice for free when you order Taiwanese Soupless Noodles. It is okay to put the rice into your noodle bowl at the end of eating, and it is great to eat the noodles and rice together. It definitely makes you full and satisfied. But, please take care of the smell of your breath after eating Taiwanese Soupless Noodles! Those are some spicy flavors!

Chicken Bone White Broth Noodles with Soy Sauce

There is a wide range of noodles in Kyoto. Most noodle restaurants in Kyoto specialize in ‘rich noodles.’ Kyoto is called the “Student City” because there are many universities in Kyoto City. Students want to feel full and satisfied for as little money as possible. That is why many noodle restaurants are serving ‘rich noodles’ to make students-the main customers-feel satisfied. Kirameki serves ‘rich noodles.’ The soup in this dish is made from chicken bones. It takes a long time to produce the umami flavors from the chicken bones. Umami is made from the chicken bones and adjusted for taste.When you eat ‘rich noodles,’ at first, try a spoonful of just the soup and enjoy each original rich flavor. Secondly, pick up some of the noodles and eat them together with the rich soup. The noodles are all made from Japanese flour called yumemanten, which is made in Nagano Prefecture. They are really thick and chewy. Most people fall in love with these divine noodles due to their texture. Also, you can enjoy some awesome toppings such as slices of roasted pork, juicy menma (bamboo shoots), shredded green onions, and a slice of lemon. They make these noodles even tastier.

Chicken Bone Noodles

As well as their soy sauce dishes, Kirameki also serves noodles that have a delightful salty taste. This dish is very similar to the soy sauce options. However, the color of the soup is a little different. These dishes have a special handmade sauce that contains salt made from fresh sea water from Vietnam and France. You can taste the natural flavor of the salt, which gives you a very different taste to the soy sauce noodles. It would be great to share two noodles with others if you go to Kirameki with your friends. Comparing two flavors is just one way of enjoying noodle restaurants and becoming an expert in Japanese noodles!

Golden Noodles with Sesame Sauce

In Japan, especially in Kyoto, the temperature reaches up to about 38 degrees in the summer. It is said that the summer climate in Kyoto is worse than a desert. Someone might say “I don’t want to get hot food on such a humid day.” But, for those people who need to cool down in the coming summer season eating noodles can be a great option. Golden noodles with sesame sauce is a dish of cold spicy noodles. It has plenty of shredded meat on top and also some peanuts. The peanuts play an important role in this dish. The sweet taste of the peanuts balances the spiciness. In Kirameki, this dish is served only in the summer. It would be the perfect noodle dish for anyone who really wants to eat noodles even on a hot day. Although we concentrated on Kirameki noodle restaurants this time, enjoy discovering and experimenting with a variety of noodle restaurants around Kyoto. You may be able to find a special noodle restaurant that your friends don’t know, and can be your noodle heaven.

【Access】

There are six Kirameki restaurants in Kyoto:

1. Kirameki-no-tori

This was the first Kirameki restaurant opened in Kyoto. If you visit Kyoto Imperial Palace, Kirameki-no-tori is nearby. The opening hours are 11:00-15:00, and 18:00-23:00. The telephone number is 075-231-2505.

2. Yuhi-no-kirameki

This was the second Kirameki restaurant. If you visit Ichijoji, or Takaragaike, it is nearby. The opening hours are 11:00-15:00, and 18:00-23:00. The telephone number is 075-746-5388.

3. Kirameki Chicken Heart

This is Kirameki’s third restaurant. It is near Kyoto University of Foreign Studies. If you visit Arashiyama, you can go there by bus. The nearest bus stop is Shijo-kadono-oji, which takes about 15 minutes from Arashiyama. The opening hours are 11:00-14:30, and 18:00-22:30. The telephone number is 075-754-6388.

4. Kirameki ☆ JAPAN

Kirameki ☆ JAPAN, the fourth Kirameki restaurant, is near Demachi-yanagi Station and Kyoto University. Take the Keihan Railway and get off at Demachi-yanagi Station. It is easy to get there. The opening hours are 11:00-14:30, and 18:00-22:30. The Telephone number is 075-741-7174.

5. Komugi-no-kirameki

This is the fifth Kirameki restaurant. The nearest station is Kamikatsura, and Katsura. Kamikatsura is on the Hankyu Arashiyama Line. You could visit here before or after visiting Arashiyama. The opening hours are 11:00-22:30. The telephone number is 075-874-4411.

6. Menya-Kirameki -Kyoto Sanjo Street

This is the sixth Kirameki restaurant and the head restaurant of Kirameki. If you visit Kawaramachi, you can visit here. Head to north from Hankyu Kawaramachi Station. It takes about ten minutes on foot. The opening hours are 11:00-23:30. The telephone number is 075-744-6199.

Il ramen di Men Bistro Nakano

Yuji Yamazaki, Yuto Masuda

Il ramen è un piatto che ormai rappresenta il Giappone nel mondo, ed è conosciuto e apprezzato quasi quanto la pasta.

Il ramen è infatti uno dei piatti più noti della cucina giapponese moderna, insieme al riso al curry e alla cotoletta di maiale. Grazie al boom di interesse per il ramen, recentemente le maggiori catene di ristoranti di ramen giapponesi hanno aumentato il numero di filiali all’estero.

〇La storia del Ramen

1697: Secondo una tradizione, Mito Komon è il primo giapponese a mangiare gli spaghetti cinesi. Il letterato confuciano cinese Zhu Zhiyu (Shu Shunshu nella lettura giapponese) viene in Giappone, e per ringraziare Mito Komon dell’ospitalità gli fa assaggiare una zuppa di tagliatelle cinesi di grano. Tuttavia per lungo tempo le tagliatelle cinesi non si diffondono tra la gente comune.

1859: Con l’apertura del paese entrano in Giappone molti stranieri, e con loro arrivano varie cucine di oltreoceano. In seguito a questo fenomeno, le tagliatelle cinesi cominciano a diffondersi in Giappone.

1870: Il primo ristorante cinese del Giappone appere nell’insediamento per stranieri di Yokohama.

1899: Con l’abolizione degli insediamenti per stranieri comincia a diffondersi tra i giapponesi la cucina cinese, compresi i piatti a base di tagliatelle cinesi.

1910: Apre il primo ristorante di ramen giapponese, Rairaiken ad Asakusa, un quartiere nel centro di Tokyo, che unisce i piatti cinesi a base di tagliatelle e la cultura culinaria giapponese.

1923: A causa del grande terremoto del Kanto, i ristoranti di ramen che si trovavano principalmente a Tokyo e Yokohama si spargono in tutto il paese. A causa della distruzione degli edifici, aumenta il numero delle bancarelle, tra cui molti ristoranti di ramen.

1939: Inizia la seconda guerra mondiale e molti ristoranti di ramen devono chiudere. Alcuni di essi riapriranno dopo la fine della guerra.

1945: Dopo la guerra il ramen ricomincia a diffondersi in ogni parte del Giappone.

1958: Viene lanciato sul meracto il primo ramen istantaneo “Nissin Chicken Ramen”. Fino a questo momento il ramen era generalmente chiamato “shina soba” (“tagliatelle cinesi”), ma grazie al ramen istantaneo ora si diffonde il termine “ramen”.

〇Il nome del Ramen

La parola giapponese ramen è generalmente scritta “ramen”, ma a volte è scritta “raumen” e “raamen”. Raramente sono ancora usate le espressioni “soba cinese” e “shina soba”, ma si tratta dello stesso tipo di piatto chiamato con nomi diversi. Non si usa invece più il primo nome dato al ramen in Giappone, “Nankin soba” (tagliatelle di Nanchino).

〇I ramen a Kyoto

La preparazione del ramen è diversa nelle varie zone del Giappone, e i ramen mangiati in una particolare area sono chiamati ramen locali.

A Kyoto ci sono molti ristoranti di ramen famosi, in particolare nella zona di Ichijoji-Higashioji nel quartiere di Sakyo-ku. A csusa della competizione fra i vari ristoranti, questa zona è soprannominata “il campo di battaglia dei ramen”.

〇Men Bistro Nakano

Men Bistro Nakano

Vi presentiamo dunque un ristorante di ramen del “campo di battaglia dei ramen”, Men Bistro Nakano, che fa un ramen un po’ particolare. Ha aperto tre anni fa con il nome Shimafukuro (シマフクロウ), e dopo un anno hanno cambiato il nome in Men Bistro Nakano (麺ビストロ Nakano).

Il brodo di questo ristorante è un brodo alla francese, in quanto sono usate erbe aromatiche usate nella cucina francese per insaporirlo: alloro, bouquet garni ecc. Le erbe aromatiche attenuano il gusto forte della carne e del pesce e danno al brodo un sapore più delicato.

Naturalmente ci sono anche ingredienti tipici della cucina giapponese, per avvicinare il gusto al palato dei giapponesi.

Il ramen con salsa di soia nera (黒しょうゆめん) ￥750

Il ramen con la zuppa pomodoro alla trippa (トリッパ入りとまとめん) ￥900

Il ramen con brodo di pomodoro alla trippa (トリッパ入りとまとめん) ￥900

Molto particolare nel menu di Men Bistro Nakano è il ramen con il brodo pomodoro alla trippa, preparato in un brodo di pomodoro al sapore di basilico, e le tagliatelle sono elastiche come l’udon. La trippa è fresca, e il brodo di pomodoro ne attenua il gusto che per alcuni è un po’ sgradevole, quindi hanno un sapore abbastanza delicato. Anche se l’accostamento di ramen e trippa sembra strano a prima vista, mangiandolo non abbiamo avuto nessun problema.

Men Bistro Nakano

■Indirizzo

Nishinishikikojicho 269 Nakagyoku Kyotoshi

■Tel.

075-241-0907

■Orario

11:30~15:00 , 18:00~22:00

■Giorno di chiusura

Lunedì

■Sito web

http://menbistronakano.net/001.html

I ramen di Kyoto

Abbiamo fatto una ricerca sui ristoranti di ramen a Kyoto. I ramen sono uno dei piatti favoriti degli studenti giapponesi, e siccome Kyoto è una città universitaria ci sono molti ristoranti di ramen. Abbiamo dunque deciso di limitare la nostra indagine a tre zone, di cui vi presentiamo alcuni ristoranti buonissimi: l’area di Ichijoji, la più famosa a Kyoto per i ramen , Kawaramachi, il centro e cuore pulsante della città, Gion, il quartiere più tradizionale e più famoso, e la zona di Saiin, l’area vicini alla nostra università.

Gion

Muragi (ramen al limone)

La zuppa di tonkotsu (brodo di ossa di maiale) con fette di limone è rinfrescante e gradevole.

È consigliabile mangiarli senza perdere tempo, perché dopo un po’ il gusto diventa amarognolo.

Kawaramachi

Ichiran

La caratteristica principale di questo ristorante è il fatto che è possibilile scegliere non solo il grado di cottura e la durezza delle tagliatelle, come in molti altri locali, ma anche la quantità di grasso nella propria zuppa. Un’altra caratteristica postiva è il fatto che tutti i tavoli sono in stanze separate. Tuttavia va tenuto presente che non si può vedere il volto dei camerieri che servono.

Ichijioji

Gokkei (ramen alla zuppa di pollo)

È un locale notissimo a Kyoto perché è stato scelto molte volte nei sondaggi come ristorante di ramen migliore della città.che le persone che conoscono il ramen numero uno di Kyoto brillano molte volte. Probabilmente la ragione per cui piace tanto ai giovani giapponesi è che la zuppa è molto densa e sostanziosa.

Yuhi no kirameki (“Scintillio del sole al tramonto”)

L’abbinamento delle tagliatelle con la zuppa è fantastico. Il gusto di limoneli rende gradevoli, e sono molto adatti per chi vuole gustare diversi tipi di ramen in un pasto solo, visitando diversi ristoranti uno dopo l’altro. Questa pratica si chiama tabearuki in giapponese. Tabearuki significa letteralmente “camminare mangiando”, ma mentre in italiano, camminare mangiando significa mangiare mentre si passeggia, cosa che i giapponesi raramente fanno, in giapponese significa andare in diversi ristoranti durante lo stesso pasto per poter gustare cose diverse.

Saiin

Tsurumusha

Il brodo di pollo ha la consistenza giusta, né troppo denso né troppo acquoso, e il sapore è delicato. Colpisce la gentilezza del personale, e si nota l’impegno nel servire i clienti in modo sollecito, qualità molto apprezzata dai giapponesi.

Toritani (soba alla zuppa di pollo)

Si possono scegliere due tipi di zuppa, corposa o leggera, e le fettine di carne di maiale cotta al sangue servite sopra alle tagliatelle sono molto buone. Soba, in questo caso, ha lo stesso significato di ramen, e indica le tagliatelle cinesi di frumento, più precisamente chiamate chuka soba, ossia soba cinesi.

Risultati della ricerca

A seguto della nostra approfodita indagine scientifica, abbiamo scoperto che i ramen a Kyoto sono in genere assai corposi, e serivti con abbondante carne di maiale. Probabilmente la ragione sta nel fatto che i principali consumatori di ramen sono i numerosissimi studenti universitari che vivono a Kyoto, e gli studenti vogliono riempirsi la pancia spendendo poco. I ramen di Kyoto sono dunque un piatto ideale per gli studenti squattrinati. Naturalmente il gusto è diverso nei diversi locali, ma ogni ristorante ha le sue caratteristiche e la sua bontà particolare, e grazie alla nostra ricerca ci è venuta ancora più voglia di mangiare i ramen.

Ichijoji Ramen

On the north side of the intersection of Higashi Odori and Kitaoji Dori, there is an area where ramen shops are gathered so that this area is called ramen highway in the fierce ramen battlefield “ichijoji” in Kyoto.

This time we will introduce 3 popular noodle shops recommended especially among ramen shops in such “Ichijoji”street.

GOKKEI RAMEN

The first restaurant is “Gokkei”. Rich soup is a popular dish in this restaurant.

This ramen shop’s menu includes “tori daku”, “aka daku” and “kuro daku”. Some people add toppings such as chashu [grilled pork] Plus 100 yen to make noodles flourish.

Tori Daku

This ramen is chicken-based ramen, it features a rich thick soup. The impression is heavy, but there is no persistence, so you can eat it with a plate dish. This ramen becomes addictive once you eat it.

Aka Daku

This is ramen sprinkled with chilli on the whole bowl. Under the red peppers is a thick soup, so if you taste it with chili pepper it is not as hot as it looks. Rich in noodles, rich soup and chilli are mingled together.

Kuro Daku

“Kuro daku” is ramen served with oil in it. It is ramen with scorched garlic for flavor, the aroma stimulating the appetite before eating. After finishing the ramen noodles, we eat rice in the remaining soup. If you would like to eat soup without leaving even a drop, please eat this way.

Store information

■ Store name: Gokkei Ramen

■ Nearest station: 5 minutes on foot from “Ichijoji Temple” station[Eizan-honsen line]

■ Address: 29-7 Nishikigawarahara-cho, Sokyoku-ku, Kyoto-shi, Kyoto Prefecture

■ Phone number: 075-711-3133

■ Business hours: 11: 30 ~ 22: 00

* Business closes as soon as the soup runs out

■ Closed holiday: Monday

■ Smoking: Completely non-smoking

AKIHIDE

The next restaurant is “Akihide.” Informations about when this restaurant is opened is uploaded on Twitter about 30 minutes before opening. This means that the basic day is closed. You cannot go to a restaurant without watching Twitter information. There are always lined up in front of this restaurant on weekdays. In order not to bother the neighbors, please take care when lined up. In this restaurant, there are only 9 seats in the counter. The way to order ramen is only using vending machine.

This restaurant has regular size ramen(750 yen) and large size rmen(900 yen). You can also choose toppings such as seasoned eggs and garlic. Since rice is also prepared from 60 yen, rice is added to the ramen soup after eating up.

Store information

■ Store name: Ramen or Akihide (Akihide)

■ Nearest station: About 4 minutes on foot from the “Ichijoji Temple station”[Eizan-honsen line]

■ Address: 5-2 Kitakamaru-machi, Ikkyo-ji, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto-shi, Kyoto

■ Telephone number: None

■ Business Hours: Only during the time period posted on Twitter

■ Closed holiday: irregular holiday

■ Smoking: Completely non-smoking

TAKAYASU

“Takayasu” is 4 minutes on foot from the “Ichi-ji” station. The shopkeeper who opened in Takano-Tamaoka Town moved to Ichijoji in March of 2006. There are many female customers who have a fashionable appearance. It is always crowded. There are risks if you want to enjoy ramen without being lined up in row long time. The stock, which simmered for over 20 hours is made of pig bones and is creamy and rich in taste without any bad smell. You can also committed not to use vegetables to sweeten only with bones. Therefore, you can feel the taste of pork straight.

The noodles are tangled firmly in the soup. The whole balance of soup, noodles is well balanced. It is easy to try even those who do not like pig bones, and it is also attractive to enjoy a casual taste.

Store information

■ Store name: Chinese noodle Takayasu

■ Nearest station: 4 minutes on foot from “Ichijoji Temple”[Eizan-honsen line]

■ Address: 10 Kazuki-ku, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto-shi, Kyoto Prefecture 10

■ Phone number: 075-721-4878

■ Business hours: [Monday - Friday] 12: 00-16: 00, 18: 00-23: 00

[Saturday, Sunday and public holidays] 12: 00 ~ 23: 00

■ Closed holiday: irregular holiday

■ Smoking: Completely non-smoking

How did ramen come to be established at Ichijoji? It was a popular area and any shop could take a chance on starting a business there. When visiting Kyoto, please try ramen, as well as traditional Japanese food

I ramen di Gokkei

Akane Kaneta, Yuri Kamakura

Non è esagerato dire che Gokkei è il più popolare ristorante di ramen a Kyoto. In una città come Kyoto dove, per l’alto numero di studenti, la competizione è particolarmente feroce, a nostro parere Gokkei si distingue nettamente dagli altri ristoranti.

Nonostante il fatto che il brodo dei ramen di Gokkei sia preparato usando non solo le ossa, ma anche carne di pollo in gran quantità, sorprendentemente non è grasso e ha un profumo delicato. Nessun altro ristorante di ramen è riuscito a creare un brodo di così alta qualità, e Gokkei merita certamente il proprio nome, che significa letteralmente “eccellenza del pollo”!

Toridaku

La densità del brodo viene paragonata dagli avventori alla densità della carbonara o di una minestra.

Toridaku è il il brodo di pollo, e costituisce la base per gli altri tre tipi. Akadaku è ottenuto aggiungendo peperoncino, kurodaku aggiungendo mayu (olio di sesamo in cui è stato rosolato aglio), uodaku aggiungendo farina di pesce.

Akadaku

Kurodaku

Uodaku

Pagando un extra, si possono aggiungere fettine di maiale o un uovo insaporito.

Siccome nella zona di Ichijoji si trovano tanti ristoranti di ramen, la competizione è molto forte, e per questo tutti i ristoranti che riescono a sopravvivere sono molto buoni.

Se venite a Kyoto non mancate di venire a Ichijoji a mangiare i buonissimi ramen di Gokkei o degli altri ristoranti, tutti di qualità eccellente.

+Indilizzo+

Nishitojikawaracho 20-7, Ichijyoji, Sakyoku, Kyotoshi

+Tel+

075 711 3133

+Orario+

11:30〜22:00

+Giorno di chiusura+

lunedi

Ichijoji Ramen

by Mao Osako and Yuina Terasaki

Most people think of Kyoto as a place to see temples, shrines, and geisha. However, Kyoto is more than that. In this article, we will introduce a place that many tourists don’t know about: Ichijoji, a fierce battleground of delicious ramen restaurants.　After describing what ramen is, we will tell you more about this most famous ramen area of Kyoto and recommend some of the shops there. We hope that after reading about it, you will want to visit Ichijoji yourself.

What is Ramen?

Ramen is a Japanese noodle soup dish made with Chinese-style wheat noodles and served in a meat or fish based broth. One of the characteristic features of Japanese ramen is the different types of broth offered, such as soy sauce, miso (soybean paste), and salt. Mainly, the taste of soy sauce is typical of Kyoto. In addition to broth and noodles, there are various ingredients on top, such as slices of roast pork, green onion, and garlic. A typical bowl of ramen costs around 600 to 1,000 yen. Men like to eat ramen late at night, while most women tend to eat ramen during lunchtime. The calories are a little high, but you can get great boost of energy at the same time.

Ichijoji

Ichijoji is located in the north part of Kyoto near the Takano river. There are no famous temples or shrines there, but instead Ichijoji is mostly known for its large collection of ramen restaurants. There are about 22 ramen shops there, all competing with each other for business. That’s why this place is known as a fierce battleground of ramen. When you get off the train at Ichijoji station and walk a little to the west, just follow your nose to the many ramen shops on and around Higashioji Street.

The variety of ramen shops is fascinating. One of the ramen shops has been in business for over 40 years. On the other hand, another shop just opened its doors recently. Each shop has its own unique characteristics. While some shops change their ways to meet their customers’ needs better, other shops stay true to their ways regardless of the desires of customers. For shops open to change, they tend to alter their interior decoration for families, or make a special menu by referring to surveys given to customers. Other shops are against this approach. The purposely don’t keep up with the trends. Instead, they maintain their own way from one generation to the next, building a tradition. That’s why although there are many Ramen shops, there are also popular and unpopular shops.

Perhaps one of the reasons why Ichijoji became such a hotspot for ramen is that there are many schools around this area. And since ramen is cheaper than many other restaurants, it saves students money.

Tentenyuu Ramen Shop

One of the ramen shops we recommend is called Tentenyuu, also known as the ‘Faith of Ichijoji’. According to the Japanese gourmet website, Tabelog, Tentenyuu won the award for Best Ramen 2011. When you visit Ichjoji for the first time, you should definitely go to this ramen shop. It has a signature broth made with 100% chicken stock and vegetables. The chicken stock is boiled for more then 11 hours, so if we drink the broth, we can get a lot of collagen, which is good for us. Also, this shop offers different tastes between day and night. So will you try going twice in one day?

When we went to Tentenyuu, it was nighttime. We ordered a bowl of chashumen for 830 yen. ‘Chashu’ means baked pork, while ‘men’ means noodles. When our order arrive, we were surprised at how many pieces of chashu there were. We couldn’t even see the noodles due to the seven tasty looking pieces of chashu on top. And because the pork had a light taste, we were able to eat it easily and still have room for the noodles, which were slim and a bit firm. The salty-simmered bamboo shoots had a pleasantly strong taste. It was our first time to experience that taste. We came to know the real taste of salty-simmered bamboo shoots. Delicious!

When you order ramen at Tentenyuu, you have to call shop staff over and tell them what you want to eat. After we placed our order, we only waited about 5 minutes for the food to come. The shop’s space is fairly large, with three Japanese style small private rooms and 10 stools at the counter. When we went there, most of the seats were full. The staff are very kind, so we recommend that you sit at the counter so you can interact with them.

A bowl of chashumen for 830 yen

The salty-simmered bamboo shoots

Yumewokatare Ramen Shop

Yumewokatare is the name of the second Ichijoji ramen shop we recommend. This shop is popular with students. This is because some customers say the ramen here is quite filling, while other say that eating it releases stress. One family we spoke with said they came from all the way from Osaka, and had come to this shop three times in the past. They said the last time they came, they weren’t able to eat there because the ramen was completely sold out. They claim to feel charmed by stamina when eating the ramen at Yumewokatare.

When we went to Yumewokatare, we ate pork double ramen for 980 yen. Customers are able to choose from different sizes, so the cost is related to the portion size. Some customers advised us that the 980 yen size is too much for a woman. But we tried it anyway! When we first saw the bowl of ramen, we were amazed by its size. It contained a lot of bean sprouts and thick chashu. The noodle were thick, too. So if you eat the normal size ramen, maybe you will feel it is still too much to eat. There is no doubt that we can consume a large amount of vegetables, meat, and noodles from the ramen at this shop.

pork double ramen for 980 yen

Noodles

When we walked into Yumewokatare, we noticed a strong garlic smell. In fact, the ramen comes with a lot of garlic in it. However, we can order our ramen without garlic at all, so don’t worry if you are not a big fan of garlic.

One of the things we loved about Yumewotakare is that when you go to order the ramen, you have to buy a ticket from a vending machine, containing all the menu items. Then you must hand in the ticket to shop staff. This is one of the unique points of this shop. After handing over our tickets, we only had to wait about 5 minutes. It was just right for us. All the seats in this shop are at the counter, so we were able to watch the shop staff prepare the ramen and interact with them. This is another charming point of Yumewotakare.

Ticket Vending Machine

In addition, these two shops are literally right next to each other!

So please try two shops a day?

Access

Tentenyuu (天天有)

By train: Get off at Ichijoji station of Eizandentetu.
By bus: Get off at Ichijoji Kitadaimaruchyo.
By subway: Get off at Matugasaki station of Karasuma line.

Operating hours:
Mon-Sat: 18:00~02:30
Sun & public holidays: 18:00~01:30
Shop holidays: Wednesday
Signboard color: Yellow

Tentenyuu

Ramensou Yumewokatare（夢を語れ）

By train: Get off at Ichijoji station of Eizandentetu.
By bus: Get off at Ichijoji Kitadaimaruchyo.
By subway: Get off at Matugasaki station of Karasuma line.

Operating hours:
Tue-Sat: 11:30~14:30, 18:00~24:00
Sun: 11:30~14:30, 18:00~22:00
Shop holidays: Monday
Signboard color: Light blue

Ramensou Yumewokatare

Two shops are literally right next to each other.