I tucked into a pint of Guiness at the local Matsue gaijin bar, St. Jame's Gate. As always, the Tokyo traveler is expected to explain himself. Why am I in Matsue? To eat ramen, of course!
Though no one believed my white lie (I was actually here for other work), a well-dressed gentleman with a gorgeous Leica camera spoke up. Chikutei is his go-to ramen in town.
This was at about 12:30, and Chikutei closes at 1am. Perfect.
Though the noren banner was down, indicating that they were done with service for the day, the lights were on and the master let me in for the last bowl of the day.
Strictly standard, though I could see this being a local's favorite ramen joint. The shop had just enough counter seating for the quick diner, and a tatami dinning room for long-stay drinkers or families. The bowl itself was a chickeny Chinese style that went down smooth.
Random autographs on the wall featured a plate written in English from 2006 from a famous octopus researcher.
How about more recommendations from locals? If you only have an hour to spare, take the boat around the castle moat. We had exactly two hours before our airport bus was due. An elderly boat driver was happy to drop us off near a local soba house.
Soba noodles in a light duck broth.
Tempura bamboo shoots, picked the day before in the restaurants backyard forest. If I were to rank non-ramen food, this would be in the top three of 2014.
Soup-less soba with all the fixings.
Although I wasn't too impressed with the ramen scene here in Matsue, the town itself should be on anyone's list if they plan on hitting the northern coast of Shimane and Tottori. These prefectures are definitely just footnotes in your average guidebook, but have a lot to offer.
島根県松江市東本町3-14
Shimane-ken, Matsue-shi, Higashihonmachicho 3-14
Closest station: Matsue
Open 19:00-1:00am
Closed Sundays
2 comments:
Not much of a ramen scene in Matsue, I guess. I've been there a couple of times and most of the ramen are standard ones. I'm not sure if I got the name right, but I think one of the local faves is the Teiheiraku shop. Only open during lunch hours, for 350 you get some really good shoyu ramen. Not special, but really tasty. With my inevitable transfer to Matsue though, I need to round up some of the shops you have here in your blog before I leave Tokyo. Can you recommend shops that aren't that much of a hike from major Tokyo stations? Is Matador too far from someone from Yokohama? Should I go to Tomita? Will Gonokamiseisakujo satiate my shrimp cravings?
Oh, the thought of no great ramen for a long time, I guess I should learn how to boil them pig bones and make tare. I'll try this shop the next time I'm in Matsue.
Matador and Tomita are a trek from Yokohama, but both are worth it in my opinion. Gonokamiseisakujo is definitely closer!
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