Menya Maeda is in Mikkabi. Most people probably won’t know where Mikkabi is, but there’s a big lake called Lake Hamana, and around it there are lots of good spots like cafes, and this ramen shop is one of the newer ones. I wondered why anyone would open a ramen shop in a place with such a nice view, but when I went, the owner turned out to be a bit of a character.

Decorations like this

There was Fist of the North Star and Hana no Keiji merch around, so I figured the shop name Maeda probably comes from Maeda Keiji. Maybe it’s that vibe, but the owner was making ramen in a black outfit like the hero of Hokuto Shinken, wearing sunglasses indoors. I couldn’t help thinking a guy like that probably spends his weekends riding around on a Harley-Davidson listening to Eikichi Yazawa.. Honestly, it wouldn’t surprise me if he drove trucks either..

Inside the kitchen

He runs the kitchen on his own, and it’s pretty big. He knocks out 5 or 6 bowls at a time all by himself, with no wasted movement at all, so you can really tell he’s a skilled cook, and watching him make ramen is a performance in itself. There was a bit of a narcissistic feel too.. and he seemed to only want to chat with the regulars. Actually, if you eat around Japan enough, you do run into owners like this who live in their own world every now and then. As long as the food is good I don’t mind, so it’s all fine by me, but I’m sure some people won’t like this kind of atmosphere.

Tables

Simple.

Ticket machine

Characters here too.. The ramen is on the pricey side. It came to around 1,400 yen.

Topping list

More options than I expected. I wonder what the “morning-harvested spinach” is like..

Warming the bowls.

A warm bowl keeps the ramen from cooling down too fast, so it’s good that they do this.

Vinegar

There’s a niboshi in it.

The chashu came out first

Really high quality.

Niboshi soba, shoyu

It comes with no chashu or anything, just noodles and broth, and it was seriously delicious. The noodles were cooked just right, and the broth was full of complex flavor. The kind of taste that makes the price make sense..

Niboshi soba, shio

Not much different from the shoyu, really.

Chuka soba, shoyu

This one’s a bit of a different style, but it was delicious too. It also had the spinach topping.

Anyway, the food was really good, so even with the high prices and that atmosphere, I enjoyed my meal. Would I go back? I’m not sure I’ll ever have a reason to.

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