青木さざえ店 (Aoki Sazae in Izu)

海鮮食楽 青木さざえ店食堂部

I had a 2 week gig working for a children's summer camp down in Izu. Even though Izu is only about 3 hours from Tokyo, you wouldn't know it with the blue skies and white sand beaches. Another difference is the lack of ramen, especially at the hotel up in the mountains where I was living for my time there.

So on the way home, a few fellow camp counselors and I adventured to nearby Yumegahama beach for some Ise Ebi ramen. Ise Ebi is also known as Japanese spiny lobster.

This was recommended in my motorcycle touring book, which almost always steers me to some great food.

Sure does look good!

But, like the last time I ate Ise Ebi ramen in Izu, it was just so so. The one compliment I can make is that the simple miso was buttery and went well with the lobster.

This time made me realize that I don't really like Ise Ebi all that much. The amount of meat you get in one go is about as much as a couple tiger prawns. How does the old saying go? Fool me once, shame on you? A fool and his money are soon parted? Anyways, 1500 yen is what it will cost you.

5 hours of motorcycle touring later....

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鬼金棒 (Kikanbou in Kanda)

カラシビ味噌らー麺 鬼金棒

Ramenate and I headed out to Kanda on what would be one of our last ramen adventures together for the near future. We've got to make every bowl count!

With a friendly looking oni (Japanese demon) above the door, this place is pretty inviting. By the way, the name of the shop refers to the metal club that the oni bashes you senseless with.

What, in the world of ramen ingredients, could bash your head in with a giant metal rod?

How about not just one crazy spice, but two. Choose your level of kara, the regular hot, and your level of shibi, the shop's special sanshou mix. Sanshou is also known as numbing pepper. It's illegal in some states in America. It's really good.

More oni.

They are watching you.

Amazing. This bowl is regular spice, extra numbing. Good choice for someone who can handle a little heat, but still wants to taste the soup.

Nate went with oni-level of both spices. Reader beware. The numbing spice actually kills a lot of the initial heat, which creeps up a few minutes later. This is dangerous (and delicious) stuff.

Kikanbou gets a high rating in my book. I'll even say that if you are a fan of miso and/or spice, it's a must visit.

Check out my video review here!

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満来 (Manrai in Shinjuku)

満来

A friend from Fukuoka was in town and had a ramen adventure plan of her own. Manrai boasts massive amounts of chashu pork, she said. Her friend raves about it, she said. Let's go, she said. Here we go!

At 1400 yen, this is a really expensive bowl.

With a ton of pork.

No, seriously, this was a lot of pork. The piece in back was almost an inch thick.

I don't get the appeal. It's very hard to eat. Sure, if this was some ultra tender, melt in your mouth pork I could go with it, but it was fairly normal. Some other people ordered one of these for 2. Smart move.

Also, the noodles are very flat, and will become soggy before you finish the first piece of meat.

Mottainai, as we say.

You can also order natto ramen. With a side of butter. If you want.

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