Niko Tora in Hamamatsu is a ramen shop that only opens once in a while. Maybe once or twice a month? Apparently their main business is a yakiniku restaurant, and they do ramen as a special weekend thing. It feels a bit like a side gig, but the ramen itself is the real deal, so I decided to go.
Rupinasu no Hatake
I’m not really sure what this place is, but where Niko Tora sets up there’s a whole cluster of eateries and food stalls. It’s proper countryside, and yet there’s still something going on.
Food stalls
It was bigger than I expected. I got there before opening.
The menu
The tonkotsu is supposedly the one to get, but I was going to try the shoyu ramen.
Zaru tofu
There was even a truck selling tofu.. I did wonder whether it does much business.
A takoyaki stand
There’s not much around here, so it’s nice to have something like this at all.
Inside the stall
There’s a little space to grab a quick bite. They could probably do it up more, but maybe they’re going for that street-stall vibe on purpose.
Water is self-serve
If you’re thirsty, you go fetch the water yourself.
Harami don
A pretty good side dish. Seeing something like this come out made me wonder whether they have some connection to the ninja-style shops.
Shoyu ramen
This is definitely high-level ramen. Not a single off note, and the soy sauce is gentle and subtle. Pretty impressive that they sell ramen this good on weekends only.
The noodles
The cooking and the noodle-making are both spot on. There are so many skilled people out there.
Ajitama
The egg was nicely done too.
Ringo ame
There was a shop selling ringo ame (candy apples) next to the ramen place, so I stopped by.
Ringo ame
It tasted much more legit than it looks. At this level it wouldn’t be out of place in a department store. However rural the area, there’s always somewhere good to eat — that’s Japan for you.
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