Sunday, December 27, 2020

ふる川 (Furukawa in Mito, Ibaraki Prefecture)

ふる川


Furukawa! This shop isn't so easy to get to. There aren't any train stations nearby, though it looks like a 30-minute bus ride from Mito Station will get you there. Mito is a nice city with some nice ramen shops, so you might be out here for some noodles as it is, but these accessible-by-bus shops are rough. I rode my motorcycle.


The master takes inspiration from French cooking. You might even call the ramen here consome-style. A light soup made from mussels, scallops, and shrimp. The menu is large, with shio, shoyu, and tantanmen as some appealing choices.


But the kakesoba (かけそば) is something special. Just soup and noodles. No toppings to distract from that pure soup.


A simple bowl, perfect for a day of riding the motorcycle around to different shops in Ibaraki and Tochigi. 


Really beautiful stuff. Soup full of ocean umami and homemade noodles. The master worked in the world of French dining before opening his ramen shop.


I should note that since 2020 Fukukawa seems to be dismissing any offers from media to be featured in their magazine pages. They are constantly given top-level status on popular websites and in ramen magazines. I should also note that is a lunch-only spot that opens at either nine or ten in the morning. Though I was early, there was no one waiting, though this was in the weeks following the semi-shutdown in Tokyo for the COVID-19 pandemic and I think most people were avoiding travel.


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