いらっしゃいませ!

Welcome to my ramen dream... Currently being interpreted in Ramen Burger Land... Looking for a good slurp? Email me ! - Keizo

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Ramen Kagetsu 嵐 - Narita Airport (Day 13)

The sound of airport ramen may make you cringe, but not in Japan! Even though there's hundreds of Ramen Kagetsu's located all over Tokyo in which I'll never step foot in, trying one at the airport is a different story. It's a great way to say sayonara to an awesome trip!


Genkotsu Ramen: This shoyu-tonkotsu soup was surprisingly good and had a nice, rich flavor that doesn't weigh you down. The toppings (chashu, egg, menma, negi, nori) were about what I would expect from a chain--full of preservatives. The curly noodles were also pretty decent for fast-food food-court ramen.


I can't believe this trip has already come to an end. I've been averaging some record hits in the past couple of weeks so thank you all for joining me on this little journey. I hope I was able to give you some good ideas for your next trip. If you're the adventurous type, I highly recommend the Fujisan climb...but make sure to go prepared!

By the way, I did end up going to Bassanova again (for the 3rd time) last night. I'll miss that place the most.

16 comments:

  1. hah i totally went here on the way back from japan on one of my last trips. better than hamada at LAX that's for sure. looks like you had a great trip man!

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  2. Thx rameniac! Yeah it was one of my better trips for sure. Can't wait to do it again!

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  3. Hi Keizo,

    I forgot to say earlier, but:

    Okaeri~ :) Welcome back to the States!

    (side note: There's a couple Japanese restaurants you might be interested in - Ichimian and Kagura - that I wrote about while you were gone / just got back. :)

    I'll have to try the Foo Foo Tei in HH that you were talking about yesterday. :)

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  4. Thx Exile Kiss! I already miss Japan so much.

    I'll definitely try to check out Ichimian and Kagura. You make them look so good.

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  5. I am so jealous! Even of airport ramen! ^_^ I totally want to go to Japan. My sis and I were going to lay over while going to Taiwan, but family emergencies have come up and we can't go anymore or at least not in good conscience. =*( If I do go to Japan, I'll be sure to check out the places you named!

    I am feeling really under the weather and all the ramen from Japan look so good. I wish I could get a nice steaming bowl of ramen to warm my tummy! *sobs*

    Still, I will pull through for Lobsters tomorrow! ^_-

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  6. Hi Kat, sorry about your family emergencies. I hope you still get to Japan someday...I'm sure you'll love it there.

    I couldn't make it out to Lobsters but I'm looking forward to reading all about it on your blog...

    And if I could've, I would've sent you some good ramen to make you feel better!

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  7. Aww thanks that is so sweet of you! I still need to get myself some nice warm soup.

    One day I will make it to Japan. Of course I will have to save up because I will go crazy in spending! I'd be eating sushi every meal, picking up a custom made kimono, going to all the shrines and onsens... and more... the list just goes on! ^_^ I will also be POOR after my visit to Japan.

    That's too bad you couldn't make it =*( It was fun and full of good food. I just posted it up. http://www.kats9lives.com/2008/09/lobsters-beware.html

    Us foodies should all go on a dining exploration! ^_^

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  8. You gave a lot of good recommendations. I'll hit them all up (as soon as it stops raining). Bosanova looks especially good.

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  9. Thx Brian, I tried to hit up the more well-known shops on this trip with Bassanova being the exception but it turned out that it was the best. Just to let you know, it's a cafe during the day so make sure you go at night.

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  10. Taipei City actually has several locations of Kagetsu Arashi Ramen! They even have the limited edition offerings like aka oni (spicy aka miso) and "black" ramen (kuro mayu shoyu tonkotsu with hella garlic). I can attest that Kagetsu Arashi is indeed VERY sexcellent.

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  11. Thanks for the good info KK! I'll keep that in mind if I ever get out to Taipei City.

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  12. OH MAN! I ate here on my back from Japan aswell! I had the shoyu. It wasn't bad but not as good as the black miso ramen I had in Hikone.

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  13. Hey Chris! Dude, fill me in on the black miso from Hikone. I've never been to Shiga.

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  14. Hey Keizo!
    I'm interrupting Chris's conversation because I'm really excited that somebody is interested in Hikone food! Chris is a much bigger ramen buff than I am, so he can probably fill you in on the details, but man-oh-man, Shiga is the place for ramen. Kansai people do pork, and they do it well. I lived in Hikone for awhile, and I had a lot of noodles across Shiga and the surrounding prefecture. Ramen was really big, especially black miso ramen. Black Miso is a special type of Japanese miso made really frequently in the Kansai region-- it draws some inspiration from black bean sauces used in Chinese cuisine. Also, it's briny and, to me, tastes a little more fermented than red or white miso. I remember the broth being not only deeper in flavor, but also richer and color and, surprisingly, mustardy compared to other ramen I had eaten. In short, it was really, really good. Chris can probably elaborate more, as he had more of the actual dish than I did.

    Anyways, if you ever make it to Hikone, check out the ramen bar right next to the central train station. It's open pretty much twenty four hours-- I would argue that the man's ramen were pretty much some of the best in Japan. It's a very unassuming hole-on-the-wall, which makes the ramen all the better. The noodles are perfectly chewy; the broth is rich and heady; the pork, served alongside slivers of green onions and wakame, is tender and layered with different levels of sweet and salty. Being a Kansai fangirl and lover of my home-abroad-sweet-home Hikone, I would posit that it's one of the yummiest bowls of ramen I had whilst in Japan. Good stuff.
    (Also, if you ever make it to Hikone, check out the takoyaki stand located near the JCMU campus-- the guy who runs it is awesome, if a little eccentric. I went there so frequently that he finally taught me how to make takoyaki and ikayaki, Shiga-style.)

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  15. No, I don't believe I have the linguistic ability to expound upon that. :p

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  16. Wow. Thanks for all the great info. Hikone here I come! Someday...

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