Hands down one of my favorite places to slurp in Japan is at Fuunji. It has everything a solid bowl requires, including a welcoming head chef. Though the shop is in Shinjuku, Miyake-san hails from a small industrial city in Shikoku. And I just so happened to be headed to Niihama.
I asked the master if there were any shops he recommended. He listed a couple, and Jun really stood out to me.
Jun specializes in a typical double soup tsukemen. A heavy pork soup blended with another heavy fish soup. This style is a dime a dozen these days, but even the average shop tends to be quite tasty.
Jun is certainly above average. The smoky fishiness from the katsuo stands out. Shikoku is very well known for their production of excellent katsuo, though that all happens on the opposite side of the island. Also of note in the bowl was the excellent seasoned menma. Great stuff.
For an extra 50 yen, get a spoonful of the shop's homemade rayu. It's not overly spicy in the least, and adds a solid punch to the already solid bowl.
I don't expect many of my readers to make it down here. Matsuyama to the west and Takamatsu to the east offer much more in terms of things to do. Niihama does, though, have some nice roads into the mountains that are worth it if you are on a motorcycle.
愛媛県新居浜市久保田町2-1-43
Ehime-ken, Niihama-shi, Kubotacho 2-1-43
Closest station: Niihama
Open 11:00-15:00, 17:00-21:00
Weekends 11:00-21:00
Closed Mondays
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