Kitakata Ramen (Fukushima Pref.)

2024-02-08 Local RamenTohoku Area

What is Kitakata Ramen(喜多方ラーメン)?

A local food that originated in Kitakata City, Fukushima Prefecture. Genraiken(源来軒), said to be the originator of Kitakata ramen, opened in 1925 and is one of the oldest ramen shops in the area.

The characteristics are the chewy, extra-thick, and wide flat noodles with a high water content, and the soup has a clear soy sauce flavor. Most of the soup stock is a blend of pork bones and dried sardines. The noodles and soup come alive because they use the famous water flowing from Iidesan mountain(飯豊山). For this reason, Kitakata ramen in Tokyo often transports noodles and soup from the local area. Chashu (Char siu) is often made with braised pork belly, and there are many restaurants that add four to five slices of pork belly for regular ramen. This is a good thing for people who like chashu. Moreover, some restaurants have nearly 20 pieces of chashu noodles (some restaurants call them “Niku Soba(肉そば)”= meat noodle), so be sure to check before ordering.

For some reason, Kitakata is unique in that many shops open early in the morning. This seems to be because they were eating ramen for breakfast. Additionally, many shops have the word “shokudo(食堂) = diner, dining hall, cafeteria, canteen” in their names. There is a theory that this is because tourists come to Kitakata, which is a rural area, to take pictures of warehouses, but there are few family restaurants, so they have to go to public cafeterias to eat, and the typical menu there is Kitakata ramen.

The chewy wide noodles and chashu are irresistible.

One of the most popular shops is “Bannai Shokudo(坂内食堂)”, which is the original branch of “Bannai(坂内)”, which has franchises all over the country. The basic menu here is salt ramen, which is rare even in Kitakata (though they also use a little soy sauce). “Bannai(坂内)” and “Koboshi(小法師)” (affiliated shops of “Bannai(坂内)”) use only soy sauce, so people who are used to soy sauce may be a little surprised when they eat at Bannai Shokudo(坂内食堂)”. Niku soba is popular at Bannai Shokudo, Bannai, and Koboshi. There is plenty of chashu pork belly on one side of the bowl. Ramen shops in Kitakata are known for their early mornings, but this one, Bannai Shokudo, opens at 7am. It is one of the fastest among Kitakata.

“Makoto Shokudo(まこと食堂)” is as popular as “Bannai Shokudo(坂内食堂)”. This is a tatami room with a large capacity, and tour buses sometimes stop by. The soup is pork bone soup and dried sardines. It has a traditional soy sauce flavor, but it is rich and many customers drink up the soup. Homemade chashu is 70% belly meat and 30% thigh meat. We also do mail order shipping nationwide. However, this long-established store will unfortunately close its 76-year history in the fall of 2023.

Taian Shokudo(大安食堂) became famous because it was part of the Shin-Yokohama Ramen Museum when it first opened. This was an unusual place where the first floor is a parking lot and the shop was on the second floor.But now shop had moved to land diagonally across the street and operated as a single shop.

“Shanghai(上海)”, which was ranked number one in Kitakata in a magazine survey, has a taste that has been passed down from the female founder to the female owner. You can feel the thoughtfulness of the female owner in the interior design and tableware. Among Kitakata, which originally has many wide noodles, “Shokudo Namae(食堂なまえ)” is considered to be the widest. The extra-thick handmade noodles and golden soup are popular.

There are many shops within walking distance from JR Kitakata Station, so you can enjoy sightseeing by train.

If you have some time, please visit the neighboring town of Aizu Sakashita and try the chilled ramen at Shokudo Ishiyama(食堂いしやま). This shop has been serving chilled ramen since 1952, when Sakaeya Honten(栄屋本店) in Yamagata Pref., which is said to be the originator of chilled ramen, started offering chilled ramen. Since both the manufacturing method and taste are completely different, it is likely that both are originals. “Shokudo Ishiyama” can also be said to be a little-known originator. There are also many popular and long-established ramen shops in Aizuwakamatsu.

Ramen-Japan / Examples of Ramen Shops

Examples of the long-established Kitakata ramen shops

Examples of the popular Kitakata ramen shops

Kitakata Ramen has an association called “Kitakata Ramenkai” which brings together around 100 ramen shops in the city. They have published guide maps, so please feel free to use them as a reference.