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Jidai Menbo Lion, a Ninja-Themed Ramen Shop in Hamamatsu

Jidai Menbo Lion is probably the most famous of Hamamatsu’s local ramen shops. The owner has some serious presence.

The place

Jidaimenbo lion.

Already packed with customers.

Inside

Jidaimenbo lion.

The concept is samurai-drama Japan. Very ninja, as you’d expect.

The vibe inside

Jidaimenbo lion.

They’ve done a really thorough job.

Yakiniku don

Jidaimenbo lion.

I’d meant to get the harami don, but it had already sold out, so I went with the yakiniku don. The harami don is popular enough that it seems you have to be there right at opening to get it. The yakiniku don was great too, the meat tender and sweet, the kind of bowl that makes you wonder why you’d bother going to a yakiniku restaurant at all.

Tokushima ramen

Jidaimenbo lion.

Tokushima ramen is ramen topped with gyudon beef and a raw egg yolk.. Honestly, mashing ramen and gyudon together doesn’t automatically make something delicious, but this place was different.. It nails the key flavors of both dishes, and the sweetness of the onions, the crunch of the bean sprouts, the tender meat and the rich, gooey yolk show B-grade gourmet at its finest.. Once ramen junkiness hits this level, it’s really no different from A-grade gourmet.. They use sweetness especially well, and that’s when it clicked why the line is so long.

The noodles

Jidaimenbo lion.

Cooked just right. I was so happy with this place that I wanted to work my way through the whole menu.

The ticket machine

Jidaimenbo lion.

Surprisingly, there’s a big menu, tsukemen included.

Inside

Jidaimenbo lion.

More samurai-drama props here too.

Inside

Jidaimenbo lion.

And more period props over here..

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