Tangent: Excellent Ramen at Sakurajima, Sapporo Nishi-ku

mytest

Handbook for Newcomers, Migrants, and Immigrants to Japan\Foreign Residents and Naturalized Citizens Association forming NGO\「ジャパニーズ・オンリー 小樽入浴拒否問題と人種差別」(明石書店)JAPANESE ONLY:  The Otaru Hot Springs Case and Racial Discrimination in Japan

Hi Blog.  I don’t think I’ve ever done this before, but it’s a Sunday, I’m on the road, and stats show that this is the day when Debito.org blog gets the least hits (Monday is generally the most).  So let me indulge myself with an entry today about food (hey, food discussion sites are Legion in Japan, anyway).

Quite frankly, I’m not that much a foodie.  I know what I like and I generally eat that, especially since (I’m not much of a cook) if it’s just put in front of me, it’s fair game.  I take my time appreciating it, especially if it’s expensive (and if a restaurant is dedicated to slow food).  But I’m a person who indulges in habitual meals and comfort food (meaning lots of meat and potatoes; probably not a sustainable diet).  Because of the monotony, I know certain things well (such as apples — only eat Fuji, maybe mutsu or tsugaru in a pinch — also know my spuds, soup, yakitori…), the rest, well, I’ll enjoy it but not write home about it.

But I had some ramen the other day that is worth writing home, or, rather, my blog, about.  I know this is all the way up in Sapporo, but it’s really worth your time if you appreciate ramen enough to go out of your way for it.  People do — lines are prevalent at this joint, and when I went past and say empty seats for a change, I had a late lunch (yes, they have parking).  It was incredible.

Here’s what their main item, “Sakurajima Ramen”, looks like:

Yes, that’s chashuu at eight o’clock (more if you order Chashuu Sakurajima, not available that day), another piece of grilled pork at four o’clock, and TWO pieces of charbroiled buta no kakuni at two o’clock, with pickles and hanjuku tamago.  The broth is not overbearing, either.  Everything is carefully cooked and put in.  My only gripe:  the noodles are thin (I’m a thick noodle guy), so it’s standard passable noodle fare.

I also ordered gyouza, and here’s how it came out:

It’s PURPLE with the contents, and includes the burnt-bit excess crispy excess film (at left, on and off plate).  Full of spice, gorgeous.

All that together was only 1150 yen.  I spent at least 30 minutes eating it all slowly.  The restaurateurs seemed appreciative.

The storefront:

How to get there:
住所:〒063-0034 北海道札幌市西区西野4条3丁目1-38
電話:011-667-1321

http://www.sapporo-town.com/review/sp047345

Ramen gourmets, let us know your favorite local ramen shops (names, addresses, weblinks) in the Comments Section below, if you like!  Arudou Debito in Tokyo

4 comments on “Tangent: Excellent Ramen at Sakurajima, Sapporo Nishi-ku

  • Debito,

    Here’s a place that I’d wager my soul on….YES, that’s right…my damn soul!!! It’s called Ryu Shang Hai (龍上海)。The specialty here is Kara miso Chashu men (辛味噌叉焼麺)。 The website is under construction: http://www.ryushanhai.com/ The noodles are thick by the way….

    I’m going to e-mail you a pic of the Food of Gods straight away!!

    — Don’t torture us! Give us an address!! 🙂

    Reply
  • Hey Debito, ever thought of creating a forum? You wouldn’t need to manage it, since you can assign other people to do that. Or you can just let people say whatever they want. It would be nice to discuss issues, not just comment them. If you’re willing to go for it, use http://www.invisionfree.com.

    (Sorry if this looks like an ad, just a suggestion to the site)

    Reply
  • DECLAN REPLIES
    Hi Debito,
    I know it’s only a tangent on your blog, but you definitely need to check out the shop called Aji-Tsuke in Kakegawa, and its Samurai Ramen, attached.

    Also, related to your beard. I think you have an uncanny resemblance to Hasan Nasrulla, if you had the right attire. He’s the leader of Hezbollah, (Also attached.)


    Still read your blog almost every day. Keep up the great struggle.

    With best regards,
    Declan

    Reply
  • A Man In Japan says:

    If it’s one thing I loooove, it’s ramen…There is a ramen shop thats near Narita JR station. Heres a link for it http://ramen-jiro.seesaa.net/article/34679878.html

    We came to know of this place by our friend, who saw it on TV. So with us living not to far away, we headed on down to see what all the fuss was about. It was packed full of people and it was very, very tasty. It was so good that any time I was asked “so, where do you wanna eat out?” I would always wanna eat there.

    My new favourite ramen place is 八葉(やつば)This place used to be in katori city and has moved to Narita. Heres a link for it http://www.chibaraumen.com/report/yatsuba.html Before they changed places we only went there 4 or 5 times, and then when my taste for ramen got better I realised how good it was. I highly recommend this place. Any time we go and try out a new ramen shop, and did not taste good, we would only eat half, not have ANY soup, leave, then head straight to yatsuba!

    If theres one we hate; it’s bad ramen!

    I also know of a place where you can get “slow food” in Narita. It’s called るたんどーる and you can get a classy meal in a nice atmosphere for a good price. Heres a link to a map of where it’s at…http://r.gnavi.co.jp/a684600/map1.htm We went there for our first anniversary and we were both very glad that we did. Everything was perfect, and it was a bonus that we didn’t have to book to eat there or travel on the train.

    So if your in Narita, I recommend all these places very highly as I would rather support local businesses.

    Reply

Leave a Reply to James N Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>