There are plenty of famous ramen shops in Kyoto too, but while I was dithering over where to go I ended up picking one close to my hotel.

This place..

It’s a shop with quite a bit of history. Some say it’s the prototype of Jiro-style ramen. Anyway, while I was taking photos out front, I noticed that more people were heading into Daiichi Asahi, the ramen shop right next door. When I looked it up later, that was the one with the better reviews. Oh no..

The menu

I’d already had dinner, so I ordered a small chuka soba.

Tables like this

Inside

The atmosphere isn’t what you’d call friendly. It feels like a place where mostly middle-aged guys turn up.

The ramen

The look of it has real impact. The shoyu broth is dark and deep, and the chashu is tough too. It makes me wonder whether this was the kind of ramen people loved before Jiro-style came along.

The noodles

If you like strong flavors, it was a pretty good bowl of ramen.

The black fried rice

I got it to take away, and this one has character as well. Jiro-style fried rice, you might say.. It’s a taste worth making the trip for.

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