A 30 minute bicycle ride north of my apartment in Tokyo is Akabane. It was a simple enough adventure; have a couple drinks, chat with a friend, and head home. Until I got punked!
パンクする, pankusuru, doesn't mean that Ashton Kutcher switched my shoyu tare with habanero chili oil. It means I got a punctured tire on my bicycle. So there I was, 7km from home, in a bind. But the June weather is fantastic at night, and I didn't have to be up early the next day. So I walked.
If I have the time, and I see a random ramen shop with a huge line, I stop. Fujimaru had over 20 people in line. On a Thursday night. Way in the countryside. And of those 20, 4 were ladies. I'll be honest, I don't go for the fat heavy manly ramen that attracts a 99.99% male customer base. Jiro, I'm looking at you.
To make a long story about a long line short, after a 45 minute wait I found out that this chain is directly related to Jiro. Go figure.
I should have known it when I spied from my bench outside the foot high pile of bean sprouts being served.
But I needed fuel for the long walk ahead. And the sign boasting fresh, homemade noodles was inviting.
I got the ramen with an extra hard boiled egg. For anything even remotely related to Jiro, tread lightly.
Speaking of noodles... wow.
And speaking of ramen... wow!
This was intense. Do you see how the bowl is brimming with soup? I actually had to sip it down before taking it from the counter and putting it on my table. Trust me, you will too. You don't want to spill this. In fact, everyone sitting at the counter went through the same routine. Stand, sip, sit, eat.
The pork was phenomenal. Tender and so salty from the shops secret soy sauce blend.
And these were some of the best noodles I've slurped. Robust.
The soup is so rich that I could only finish a bit of it. But, like the original bowl, I was brimming with pork and noodles and about 3 cloves of garlic by this point.
Go here, fans of extreme ramen. There are 5 branches scattered around the extremities of Tokyo. And come hungry.
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