Hachioji's Soul Food: Ramen
We visited Hachioji--about one hour west by train from Tokyo Station--to sample the city's famous soul food: ramen.
Though not well-known in Japan, Hachioiji ramen has a long history dating back to the 1950s, and is popular among Tokyo residents for its distinguishing features. Each bowl of sumptuous noodles and steaming broth is piled high with slices of fresh onion and drizzled lightly with flavor-packed oil.
There are more than 20 ramen joints across the city, including a host of mom and pop shops whose staff have been in the business for generations. We chose three eateries offering different kinds of Hachioji ramen to give you an idea of what is on offer.
Minmin
Located on the side of Akikawa-Kaido Road, with parking spaces, Minmin is easily accessible and popular with families. For the owner-cook, ramen is a labor of love that she started with her late husband decades ago. Over the years, the pair tweaked the shop's base paste, broth and toppings to result in the current delicious ramen, which starts at 550 yen per bowl.
Noodles of medium thickness are served with two pieces of roasted pork fillet, seaweed, menma (bamboo shoots that are boiled, fermented or dried and then soaked in hot water and sea salt) and fresh, slightly sweet onion in a simple soy sauce-based soup.
Though the soup's ingredients remain a closely guarded secret, the cook did let us in on how she makes the menma so soft. After drying each bamboo shoot, they are boiled for two days, before flavoring is added and left for two hours.
The menma as well as the combination of roughly and finely chopped onions gave the ramen a great punch of flavor as we emptied our bowls.
Chitose
For meat lovers, Chitose's black ramen is ideal. The fermented soy sauce forms the base of the soup, giving it a rich, meaty flavor that is complemented by the chicken and pork, which are used to make the broth.
The ramen, from 430 yen a bowl, is a sight for the eyes. In addition to roasted pork fillet, seaweed and finely chopped fresh onion, a single sugar snap pea and a quail's egg stand out in the bowl of black soup and curly noodles.
The mother and son team here have spent years polishing to perfection their soy sauce fermentation in order to deliver a great, tasty ramen.
Goemon
The owner-cook at Goemon decided to set up his own shop selling ramen made from his recipe. The result is a simple yet satisfying broth and fine noodles that draw the crowds.
The idea was to create a ramen that everyone could enjoy, from children to old people, so a delicate combination of fish and pork is used to create the consommé-style soup. The balance of broth and soup is a key selling point of this store, according to the cook.
Roasted pork fillet, seaweed, menma and a sprinkling of fresh finely chopped onion are served on top of soft, thin noodles, all of which are sourced and made in Japan. Named chuka soba (Chinese-style noodles), the ramen starts at 550 yen a bowl.
Go explore
These shops are great places at which to try Hachioji ramen but they are only a starting point. A quick stroll around the city will uncover a host of other fantastic options where you can enjoy great-tasting ramen -- perfect for lunch, dinner or even as a late-night snack.
If you are a fan of both raw onion and ramen, Hachioji is one of the best areas to explore, but only on an empty stomach!
This article was written by Louise Lawson
*This article was posted on the Life in Tokyo website operated by the Tokyo International Communication Committee on January 9, 2018.