My first try of Japanese ramen was at Mount Aso. Three of us shared two different kinds of ramen.


They did not make me want to go back for more.

But then, some time later a tutor brought us to this very famous ramen shop called Ichiran. There was a line waiting outside when we arrived.


And we could buy our food ticket using a food vending machine located just in the middle of the line. And what a surprised when I got in!


People sat at cubicles like these to eat! There was a shield between two seats, so you won't be able to see the person next to you while you are eating. And the seats were small.


This was how it looks like when you sat down at your own cubicle. You couldn't even see the person serving you because of the curtain in front. And when your noodle arrived, the server will put down the curtain, and so you are being seated at a place which are surrounded left, right, and front. That's the reason I did not like the store.

And this snake head like thing is a water pipe. When you want water you just push the button and water will fall to your cup. So you don't even have to ask for the server at all. Again, that is so sad.. You walk into a restaurant, and besides the waitress directing you to your seat, you have no interaction with other people. You just sit, and eat, and leave. You don't even have to wait for the bill because you already paid at the machine. What fun is that? A fast food restaurant is much better when the cashier wishes you good morning and smiles at you.

And here was the ramen served by someone from the back of the curtain:


We can choose the thickness/tenderness of our noodle, the thickness of the broth, whether we want scallions, how much we want it, whether we want meat, and whether we want the secret ingredient (which makes the soup spicy). There were 5 levels for each one of them. And so I chose standard for most of them, but skip the secret ingredient.

And it was nice. I quite enjoy the food. But I did not feel like returning to the shop again because of the settings.

Some time later we decided to try the yatai ramen in Tenjin. Yatai are stalls located just by the street sides. And they are a major attractions of Tenjin.


See the poor teddy bear sitting on top of the Yatai roof? I saw him while the owner of the stall was setting up the stall. The bear was lying on a table and I thought the owner love him so much until he had to bring his bear to work everyday. But no! He put the poor teddy on top of the roof! So evil...

After walking around for a while, we decided to go for this stall:


There was only one type of ramen. No choosing the thickness of noodle or soup or vege or meat. But this was the place where I finally get to see how they prepare the noodle. First the old lady scoop the soup into the bowl. Then she put in the noodles. And the other woman used a chopstick to scatter the noodle. After that a few slices of pork, a piece of seaweed. Then a handful of scallions. And finally a generous portion of sesame seeds. Then I saw her trying out the taste of the soup from one of the bowl, and threw in more sesame seeds. And finally!


This ramen, it made me wanna go back for more.