Shanghai Souhonten is consistently in the top 10 when searching the various ramen rankings of Hiroshima City. Since it was so close to my hotel and because they open so early (gotta love Japan!), I knew I could squeeze a bowl in for a late breakfast. The first thing you notice when you walk in is a huge tub of oden sitting in a nasty-looking vat that appears like it hasn't been washed for years (see second-to-last slide). Apparently it is self serve at 100 yen/piece. I didn't try it because at first I wasn't sure if it was safe, but now I regret it. I bet it was good! Anyway, the ramen here is typical Hiroshima with that strong shoyu flavor that gives me goosebumps. This place, in particular, tasted like I was licking burnt shoyu from a pan. Awesome! The menma also retained that deep shoyu flavor without being mushy. The chashu was fairly dry but still tasted good and the starchy noodles stood up well to match the soup.
From Hiroshima station take the Hiroden Streetcar (#1, #2, or #6) to Hatchobori. Then it's about a 5-minute walk in the North direction. You can also take the #9 streetcar from Hatchobori to Jogakuinmae, but I found it better to walk. They are open from 10:30am to 9pm and closed on Sundays.
Other sites that mention Shanghai Souhonten:
Yeah, that oden looks good.
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