Kyoto’s Most Delicious Secret Ramen Shops
A short informational piece about a few amazing noodle eateries that fly under the radar.
Kyoto is well known for a handful of very famous local foods: yatsuhashi sweets, kyoyasai vegetables, and tsukemono pickles, just to name a few. But ramen never ranks high on most visitors' "must-eat in Kyoto" list.
Even before arriving in Japan, nowadays most visitors have tried ramen in their home countries. This simple noodle dish has become incredibly popular in the west over the past decade, so many tourists look forward to savoring the real thing when they visit Japan. Get your chopsticks ready, because here’s some info on the best ramen spots in Kyoto.
First, you’ll need to decide which kind of ramen you want to try. Ramen comes in a variety of styles, so you’re sure to find something to match your taste. The noodles are usually firm and thin, but can take on different textures depending on the restaurant. Beyond noodles, it's the broth that really sets one ramen apart from another. There are four main soup types:
Shio (salt) broth is lightest and clearest, and is thought to be the oldest style of ramen.
Shoyu soup is still a light broth, but is heavily flavored with soy sauce, resulting in a complex combination of tastes: salty and savory while still being surprisingly tangy.
Tonkotsu is the richest of all ramen soups, the result of boiling pork bones for hours to create a stock with a uniquely creamy, heavy flavor.
Finally, miso ramen from Hokkaido in the north offers a strong soup that pairs well with a variety of toppings, especially boiled eggs and fresh corn.
All of these types of ramen can be found in Kyoto, but there are two eateries that stand out above all the rest. Ask any local for the best ramen, and you'll hear the following two spots repeated over and over.
Nagahama Ramen Miyoshi
If you want classic tonkotsu ramen, Nagahama Ramen is the place to go. Located centrally in Sanjo, Kyoto's nightlife area, this is the perfect spot to grab some noodles at any point during your night out.
The first thing you'll notice when you enter Nagahama Ramen is that it's tiny. A counter with half a dozen tiny stools and and overflow area with a few more seats is all they have here. At peak times, you'll be waiting 15 or 20 minutes to grab a bowl. Don’t let this drive you away; the best ramen is always worth waiting for.
Nagahama Ramen's pork bone flavored broth is really excellent, and it offers the perfect base for the rest of the ingredients to build upon. The dish itself is served simple: a shallow bowl of rich broth, a handful of firm, straight noodles, a few slices of chashu pork sliced thin, and a small pile of negi green onions. Perfect balance without overload, and portions small enough that you'll be able to finish the whole bowl. A optional dash of spicy Korean kimchi on top adds just the right amount of kick, but it's not over yet. A line of tins at the counter allows you to scoop out your own additional ingredients. Add sesame seeds, crispy rice puffs, or extra onions to your soup to create your own flavor. This is a nice touch that encourages experimentation - as well as repeat visits.
I wasn't always a fan of tonkotsu ramen, but Nagahama Ramen converted me. This is the most unpretentious ramen you'll ever eat, complete with a cramped setting that would fit in on a rainy urban backstreet of Blade Runner. Nagahama Ramen manages to embody a classic taste while still doing things its own way.
Dai Ichi Asahi Ramen
My other choice for Kyoto's best ramen is a little more traditional. Dai Ichi Asahi Ramen is a chain of shops throughout the region, but the original location is only a 3 minute walk from Kyoto Station.
Dai Ichi Asahi serves only shoyu ramen, which is the closest thing to "Kyoto-style ramen" that you're going to find. The broth here is excellent. Very smooth and light, but still rich and filling. Dai Ichi Asahi's sliced chashu pork is also really great. Usually chashu is cut with a lot of fat still on it, and many westerners are used to a more lean cut for our meat. At Dai Ichi Asahi, there's usually not so much fat, so it matches the tastes of western visitors easily.
The only downside to Dai Ichi Asahi Ramen is that it's incredibly popular, which means it's also incredibly busy. At almost any time of day, there's a line a dozen people deep waiting to slurp down some noodles. The best time to show up seems to be mid afternoon between 2:00 and 4:00, but at lunch and dinner you'll be waiting 40 minutes or more. However, the line moves fast, and it's of course worth waiting for!
The menu here is simple, with ramen, ramen with extra pork or extra menma (bamboo slices), and gyoza (dumplings). The gyoza are really excellent here, and are considered the quintessential side dish to ramen, so be sure to try those as well. And don't be shy to ask the waiter for any special requests! I always request extra negi onions, and they always deliver a huge pile on top of my ramen at no extra charge.
Dai Ichi Asahi Ramen is my go-to spot when visitors ask where to eat ramen, and it should be at the top of your list as well. Cheap, close to the main station, and amazingly delicious, you can't ask for a better ramen shop to experience the best that Kyoto has to offer.
If you're still hungry after Dai Ichi Asahi and Nagahama Ramen, head up to the 10th floor of the Isetan Department Store attached to Kyoto Station. There is a whole area of almost a dozen ramen shops offering regional tastes from all over Japan.