The Type of Ramen
Ramen is the Japanese eating culture that is very well known to the world but most people might not know that it originated from China during the end of Edo era which is when Japan opened their ports (Yokohama, Gobe, Nagasaki, Hagodate,) and started doing business with Mainland China.
So this leads to Chinese people begin to open Ramen shops and Gyoza shops that spread across the country and is still popular until today.
Now there are a few different flavour which is Shoyu Ramen(Japanese soy-sauce), Tonkutsu Ramen(Pork bone broth), Shio Ramen(Salted), Miso Ramen(fermented beans), and Tantan-men(spicy minced pork) to name a few but I believe that Ramen enthusiast out there would have already tried it all.
The Reason Why I Recommended This Place
Truth be told at the beginning of my days in Japan I’m not a huge fan of Ramen. There was one time I went to tried Ramen around Akihabara area. This place is famous for their abundant amount of noodle and vegetable in their ramen. At the time I have no clue what I ordered but they were true to their words about the amount of noodle and vegetable they manage to fit in the bowl.
To leave food unfinished is considered rude in Japanese culture and being the man of manners that I am finish the bowl(Yokohama style Ramen) and was sick of Ramen for quite a while. After that experience I tried the famous ‘Ippudo’ a Ramen shop that has lots of franchise from Fukuoka in Kyushu.
Japanese call this Ramen ‘Hakata-Ramen’ which will leave you craving for more and is not greasy due to the signature thin strand noodle. Fortunately there is also this ‘Hakata-Ramen’ near the place I work named ‘Hakata-Ramen Center’. It is a rather small shop near Iidabashi station.
So I would like to recommend this place since it is also near Yasukuni shrine and Tokyo daijingu shrine if you are looking to visit those places.
![](https://content.fun-japan.jp/renewal-prod/cms/articles/content/Mpf/Articles/2017/06/17/20170617-15-01-Hakata-Ramen.jpg)
Let’s start here from Iidabashi station
![](https://content.fun-japan.jp/renewal-prod/cms/articles/content/Mpf/Articles/2017/06/17/20170617-15-02-Hakata-Ramen.jpg)
Take the East exit and there will be and sign and follow the arrow
![](https://content.fun-japan.jp/renewal-prod/cms/articles/content/Mpf/Articles/2017/06/17/20170617-15-03-Hakata-Ramen.jpg)
Be careful of this corner not to get lost
![](https://content.fun-japan.jp/renewal-prod/cms/articles/content/Mpf/Articles/2017/06/17/20170617-15-04-Hakata-Ramen.jpg)
You will see this red lantern which is the shop’s sign
![](https://content.fun-japan.jp/renewal-prod/cms/articles/content/Mpf/Articles/2017/06/17/20170617-15-05-Hakata-Ramen.jpg)
This is the store front
![](https://content.fun-japan.jp/renewal-prod/cms/articles/content/Mpf/Articles/2017/06/17/20170617-15-07-Hakata-Ramen.jpg)
The menu is easy to follow and not overwhelming
Menu
- Neki-Ramen(Japanese spring onion
- Toguzei-Ramen(special)
- Ramen(Normal)
- Shashu-men(sliced pork)
- Nekishashu-men(Spring onion and sliced pork)
![](https://content.fun-japan.jp/renewal-prod/cms/articles/content/Mpf/Articles/2017/06/17/20170617-15-08-Hakata-Ramen.jpg)
The Vending Machine
This is the store’s vending machine more toppings means higher price insert cash, note or coin both works, then choose your menu after the red light lights up
![](https://content.fun-japan.jp/renewal-prod/cms/articles/content/Mpf/Articles/2017/06/17/20170617-15-09-Hakata-Ramen.jpg)
Water is self-service to the side
![](https://content.fun-japan.jp/renewal-prod/cms/articles/content/Mpf/Articles/2017/06/17/20170617-15-10-Hakata-Ramen.jpg)
I choose the normal Ramen which is only 650yen
On weekdays rice is free of charge, small, medium, or large up to your liking until 5pm after that or on weekends you need to order it from the vending machine. I ordered large rice.
![](https://content.fun-japan.jp/renewal-prod/cms/articles/content/Mpf/Articles/2017/06/17/20170617-15-11-Hakata-Ramen.jpg)
Looks like this
![](https://content.fun-japan.jp/renewal-prod/cms/articles/content/Mpf/Articles/2017/06/17/20170617-15-12-Hakata-Ramen.jpg)
The seats in the store is only counter style the is no table so it might be a little inconvenient if you comes in large group.
![](https://content.fun-japan.jp/renewal-prod/cms/articles/content/Mpf/Articles/2017/06/17/20170617-15-13-Hakata-Ramen.jpg)
On the counter there are seasonings as usual the difference is that there are spicy pickled cabbage and Mentaiko furikake(Fish roe rice seasoning). Me personally I like this feature a lot because this 2 things is very famous in Fukuoka.
![](https://content.fun-japan.jp/renewal-prod/cms/articles/content/Mpf/Articles/2017/06/17/20170617-15-14-Hakata-Ramen.jpg)
Pickled ginger
![](https://content.fun-japan.jp/renewal-prod/cms/articles/content/Mpf/Articles/2017/06/17/20170617-15-15-Hakata-Ramen.jpg)
This is the Fish roe rice seasoning
![](https://content.fun-japan.jp/renewal-prod/cms/articles/content/Mpf/Articles/2017/06/17/20170617-15-16-Hakata-Ramen.jpg)
Spicy pickled cabbage
![](https://content.fun-japan.jp/renewal-prod/cms/articles/content/Mpf/Articles/2017/06/17/20170617-15-17-Hakata-Ramen.jpg)
Eat with the rich pork bone broth which goes along great with hot Japanese rice.One-two punch of rice seasoning and spicy pickled cabbage.
![](https://content.fun-japan.jp/renewal-prod/cms/articles/content/Mpf/Articles/2017/06/17/20170617-15-18-Hakata-Ramen.jpg)
There are a lot of ways to enjoy so get creative
![](https://content.fun-japan.jp/renewal-prod/cms/articles/content/Mpf/Articles/2017/06/17/20170617-15-19-Hakata-Ramen.jpg)
Words are not yet created for something that looks this good
If you happen to be around Iidabashi area Don’t forget to try out ‘Hakata-Ramen Center’ I highly recommend this if you are Ramen enthusiast !
[Information]
- Name : Hakata-Ramen Center
- Address : 1-8-7 Iidabashi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-0072
- Contact : 03-3263-1023
- Business hours : Weekday 11:00〜23:00
cccc :Weekend and holidays11:00〜20:00 - Open : everyday
Website : http://www.hakatarc.com/index.html
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