I had some business to take care of, so I made a quick trip to Japan. Since I had already been in May, this time I flew with a low-cost carrier. There are a few restrictions, but it really is cheap. At this price I could see myself going quite often.

When I landed at the airport I had thirty minutes until the next express train, so I ran to Kukai for a bowl of ramen as fast as I could. But there were more people waiting than I expected. Ten minutes is plenty from the moment the ramen arrives until you finish it, but the wait made it a close call. If you need to get into the city early, you are better off giving up on the ramen.

Shio ramen

The chashu was better than most of the pork I have eaten in Korea. The clean, refreshing broth is top-notch, the noodles are springy, and the soft-boiled egg is delicious too. This is what real ramen is. Of course, once you get into central Tokyo you can get ramen at this level at a chain, so I did wonder whether there was any need to eat it at the airport. But this trip was so busy that in the end I had no time to drop by any other ramen shop, so I am glad I squeezed this one in.

The noodles

My courage to eat ramen in Korea vanished in an instant.

The view from the plane

Landing at Narita feels very peaceful. It has a completely different mood from Tokyo. If Haneda is urban, Narita has a charm all its own. That is why I often fly into Narita when I go to Tokyo. It takes a while longer to get into the city, but there is something there that Haneda does not have. Of course, to enjoy a trip through Narita you need to have some time to spare.

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