One of the most important “mission possible” is – finding your favorite ramen in Japan.
You might secretly take pride in being ramen authority- who has wide range of Japanse ramens’ knowledge. Japanese ramens have a variety of tastes, for example, soup, noodle, seasoning, texture, seasonal special, temperature, qualities, blah blah…don’t showing off your stock of knowledge about ramens before visiting Japan. Furthermore, I promise you are able to boost your ramen knowledge if you stop by tons of ramen shops in Japan. Which flavor of ramen do you like? 醤油Soy source ? 味噌Miso？塩Salt? 豚骨Pork bone broth? 煮干しFish broth? 坦々Spicy bean curd ? Noodles with seasoning混ぜそば?? Cold ramen 冷やし中華?
Basically, we have many regional ramens – like very famous Hakata Tonkotsu ramen (from Fukuoka Prefecture), Sapporo Miso ramen (from Hokkaido), Tokyo shoyu ramen (from Tokyo), Kitakata ramen (from Fukushima Prefecture), Okinawa So-ki soba (Okinawa Prefecture), Hida Takaya ramen (Gifu Prefecture), Onomichi ramen (Hiroshima Prefecture), Nagasaki Champon (Nagasaki Prefecture) ,Yokohama Ie-kei ramen (Kanagawa prefecture) and more. And new ramen tastes and styles are always been created day by day in Japan.
Actually Japanese ramen shops are very competitive. According to Japanese Restaurant Associates 飲食店.com indicates – 40 % of ramen shops are going to close within one year. 70 % ramen shops will also be close their businesses within 3 years. I learned that the reason why I am always at a loss I can’t find the ramen shop that I have been wanting to visit for a long time- It was gone – already out of business before I visit there.
However, we have last ray of hope. There is the Ramen Museum @Shin-yokohama. Yokohama is the suburb area of Tokyo where is located in next to Tokyo 23 wards – only 10 minutes ride will take you Yokohama area. Shin-yokohama station is only one stop from Shinagawa station by Nozomi bullet train (Shinkansen). Local trains are also available from Tokyo station to Yokohama station.
Ramen museum’s concept is Showa-era 1926-1989 revival. After experienced World War Ⅱ, Showa-era of japan is the symbol of post-war reconstruction. It has been said, Japan’s most vibrant era in everything– economy, culture, sports events like Olympics and World Exposition – until Japanese economic collapse (it’s been called “バブル崩壊“bubble burst in 1989).
Ramen museum is featuring, legendary ramen shop which is already physically closed due to owner’s retire, no successor, many reasons – trying to restore the receipt of old style – as it were, nostalgic authentic flavor ramen.
Meanwhile, an up-and-coming ramen shef’s shop is still on the list. We are so lucky we could taste a variety of tasty ramens from North to South area of Japan.
They are also serving half-size ramen, so that we are likely to eat every ramen in the display board! Also ramen shops are roughly rotating every 4 months, you may taste different ramens if you came back 4 months later!!
As of June,2024, the line-ups of Ramen Museum are below the link.
https://www.raumen.co.jp/english/
The museum is fully covered with Japanese old movie theaters’ signboards and old-style taverns, shops, stores in everywhere. It is very fun to see around the alleys of the town after you ate many bowls of ramens!
This museum’s atmosphere is also popular among Japanese young generation – because they’ve never seen Japanese Showa scenes like this. It is really new vibes for young people, they must feel “エモい“being emotional while they are in the museum, and must be reminded of something they had forgotton. Perhaps, it has very nostalgic “ナツい”懐かしい“mood for the middle age of Japaneses.
Anyway, you never be disappointed with this museum, and enjoy Yokohama. Chances are you visit famous Yokohama China Town -it is very close to Shin-Yokohama station. Please leave behind your weight-conscious mindset while visiting the gourmet spot!!