Kamigataya Goroemon

I got off work late, but was feeling like ramen.  I was lazy and didn't feel like walking far, and a search on ramendb revealed a tonkotsu tsukemen shop connected to Umeda station.  I walked on in, and ordered the standard tsukemen.

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つけ麺 上方屋 五郎ヱ門
Ōsaka-fu Ōsaka-shi Kita-ku Kakudachō ９
Kamigataya is located in Shin Umeda Shokudo Gai, a set of indoor alleys containing a number of restaurants.  It's across from JR Osaka station, and connected to subway and Hankyu Umeda stations.

The Bowl
Unlike most tsukemen I find myself eating, the broth was somewhat thin, very salty and murky with fat.  It was pork flavored; no fish essence in this one.  They served medium sized noodles that were a little hard.  The chashu was not that flavorfu, but tasted better when soaked in the soup.

Would I Go Again?
I wasn't blown away, and there are better places in the area.

Should You Go?
There's not a ton of reason to.

Mannen

It's October and no longer blazing hot in Osaka, so I've started walking home from work.  This has given me a chance to walk by all sorts of shops and restaurants I never knew about before.  One that caught my eye is a ramen shop with a big sign that features its curry tsukemen.  As I've always said, when life gives you curry, you eat it.

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まんねん
Ōsaka-fu Ōsaka-shi Kita-ku Dōyamachō ５−９
Mannen is on the east side of Shin-Midosuji, close to the Whity shopping mall.

The Bowl
The broth was a steaming hot, thin, sweet curry soup.  It had a little bit of spice; not so much that it hurt, but just enough to let you know it was there.  The noodles were thin and springy; they almost reminded me of rice noodles.  The sweetness of the broth was a little overwhelming at the end, but the wari-soup mixed with it was quite drinkable.

Would I Go Again?
This was very similar to the couple other times I've had curry ramen or tsukemen before, and I don't mean that in a bad way.  The other places I've been to aren't in Osaka, though, so if I have a craving for curry tsukemen again, here's where I'm going.

Should You Go?
Curry tsukemen is pretty uncommon, and while it's not a must-try style, it's worth checking out.

Chabuton

This has been a weekend of mediocre ramen.  Not all bad, but not amazing either.  After biking to Umeda today I met with a friend at Yodobashi, and after shopping we went to the roof restaurant floor to grab some food.  It's here where we found Chabuton.

They had an interesting looking limited-time torigara soup, but I went for the classic tonkotsu.

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ちゃぶとん
Ōsaka-fu Ōsaka-shi Kita-ku Ōfukachō １−１
Chabuton is on the restaurant floor of Umeda's Yodobashi Camera.

The Bowl
The broth glistened from the layer of oil covering it.  It was a fairly standard tonkotsu; nothing too special, but not bad either.  The noodles were thin and chewy.  The only part that really stood out was the sesame seeds that topped the ramen, which added flavor to the broth and chashu.

Would I Go Again?
It was pretty mediocre.  I don't see any reason to make a second trip.

Should You Go?
There's plenty of other tonkotsu in the city, and a ton of good places in Umeda, so you can skip this one.

Tenkaippin

Tenkaippin is a Kyoto-based ramen chain that has stores all over Japan.  I had always heard that it was supposed to be not bad, but since there are so many good ramen places out there, I never made time for this chain.  My friend had a random urge to give it a try, and on October 1st they were giving out coupons for free ramen; that was all the reason I needed to give it a go.

They offer kotteri (thick), assari (thin), or half-and-half soups, and I went for the kotteri with normal noodles.


Location
天下一品
Osaka-fu Ōsaka-shi Naniwa-ku Nanbanaka ２丁目８−９９
This branch of Tenkaippin is right next to the exit of Namba Parks by the post office.

The Bowl
Most chains I've been to before have thin soup, so I was surprised at how properly thick the soup at Tenkaippin was.  It's made with chicken and vegetables, but due to the thickness and saltiness it reminded me of Hidechan, where I had recently eaten.  The noodles were thin and very long, and there were lots of menma and onions added to the broth as well.

Would I Go Again?
I wasn't all that impressed, but it was decent for such a large chain.  I've now got this free coupon, so I may go here one more time and check out the assari version.

Should You Go?
If you're in a big city, there's probably enough options that you never have any reason to check out Tenkaippin.  Having said that, if you feel like getting some decent ramen without going very far, there's probably a Tenkaippin closer to you than anything else.

Kappa Ramen

I do my best to do a little bit of research before deciding on a place to go to.  Unfortunately, sometimes I'm not prepared.  I was out drinking with friends, having made the smart move of not eating dinner.  Late at night we wandered Minami, looking for something to eat.  After a brief search of the shops that were still open, we chose Kappa Ramen.

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河童ラーメン
Ōsaka-fu Ōsaka-shi Chūō-ku Sennichimae １丁目９−１２
Kappa Ramen is on the north side of Sennichimae Dori, right by the Shinsaibashi arcade.

The Bowl
The broth was an oily, fatty tonkotsu.  I don't mind a fatty bowl of tonkotsu, but this was a lot of fat for a pretty mediocre bowl.  If you look at the picture closely, you can see the small chunks of fat floating in the soup.  This was the kind of bowl I would expect to get if I walked into a completely random ramen shop; not very good, but edible, and decent while drunk.

Would I Go Again?
They can't all be winners.  Even if I was hankering for ramen again late at night in Minami, I'd pick one of the many other options.

Should You Go?
No reason to hit this one up.

Shodai Hidechan

A vacation's not over until it's over.  With a few hours remaining before my friend had to catch his shinkansen home, we decided to make one last attempt at a bowl of ramen.  We headed back to Canal City's Raumen Stadium, where we previously ate Toyama Black but this time went for a more classic Fukuoka-style tonkotsu.  As with the previous time, I was too full for a full bowl, but the mini ramen was the right size.


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初代秀ちゃん
Shodai Hidechan is inside Canal City's Ramen Stadium.

The Bowl
Yet another rich tonkotsu broth, but much thicker than Isshin Furan and the other Hakata bowls I had.  It was pretty heavy and reminiscent of Muttepo, the king of thick pork ramen.  There was a lot of oil, green onions and bean sprouts, which really came through in the flavor of the soup.  The chashu were thin, fatty strips that melted right in to the thick broth.

Would I Go Again?
It doesn't hold a candle to Muttepo back in Kansai, but it was still very good.  If I lived in Fukuoka I'd probably check it out again, but with Muttepo so close by I don't see a reason to.

Should You Go?
If you're in Fukuoka for a while, it's worth a stop, but if you're going to be in Kansai or Tokyo, there are better options.

Isshin Furan

It was my final day in Fukuoka, so I started to feel a bit sad about having to go back to work the next day.  That was temporarily relieved when my friend from Fukuoka, having discovered that I love ramen the day before, decided to bring us to her favorite ramen restaurant.

There were four different colors you could choose from: the standard black, a more mild white, a miso red, and a shio yellow.  Although I was tempted by the red, for my first time here I had to go with the black.  They also let you choose the hardness of the noodles and how rich (read: oily) the broth is; normal, rich, or super-rich.  I went with hard noodles and rich broth.


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一心不乱
Fukuoka-ken Fukuoka-shi Chūō-ku Daimyō ２丁目６−５

The Bowl
The broth was thin and oily, but full of a rich porky flavor.  It was the classic Hakata style I had been looking for; not as stinky as Taiho, but thicker than Hana.  It reminded me a lot of Ippudo, but just a bit more balanced.  I ordered an extra set of noodles midway through the meal, and while normally that would really slow me down, I found myself wanting more even after downing all the soup.  The noodles that came with the bowl were thin and straight, but the extra ones were curly.  They didn't taste all that different, but it was nice to have both.  The chashu was juicy and tender, and the kikurage were chewy and crunchy.

Would I Go Again?
This was quite possibly the best tonkotsu bowl I've ever had.  Next time I'm in Fukuoka I'll be sure to stop by.

Should You Go?
If you like Ippudo and that style of ramen, you should go here.  If you don't...you should still go.