Ajino Sapporo Oonishi — Restaurant in Aomori

Ajino Sapporo Onishi is arguably one of the most famous ramen restaurants in Aomori with their Miso Curry Milk Ramen for a very reasonable 830￥. It seems unique enough to draw a crowd fairly late on a weekday evening, apparently even being featured on local TV. So I braved the hour-long line and ordered the large size for only 100￥ more.

The bowl, soup, and ramen portion was definitely great for the price. The miso and curry was certainly distinct, nice, and flavorful. Yet, it had a medium-light broth with distinctly rich miso and the aftertaste of a creamy curry, giving it a uniquely smooth feel that I really enjoyed. The thick noodles complemented the ramen with soft flavors and textures all around.

However, I expected a clearer “milk” taste given the name, but it wasn’t quite as milky or creamy as I hoped. They certainly earned their popularity with this uniquely delicious ramen at a great price. If you’re ever up in Aomori eating their famous apples, check out this famous local...

We came here on a Sunday night. There were 5 people ahead of us at around 10 to 7pm, and the line got longer from there. However, it moves quickly as Ramen in Japan is a quick (and tasty affair). It looks to be a family operation with mom running front of the shop and a younger man manning the counter, preparing the noodles.

They did not speak English, but did have an English menu. Unlike in the US, there's no customization (adding toppings and things like that). You order one of the options off the menu. We had the butter miso ramen that the shop is famous for. It came in a big, steaming bowl with lots of sprouts and pork goodness. I enjoyed adding some freshly ground sesame (available on the table) to it. It was very tasty!

Def a nice place to get a hot bowl of tasty noodle if you're ever looking for a casual...

Came here at 4pm on a Thursday, not a lot of people, we were asked to sit down and wait at the front and place an order per person, we ordered the plum, butter curry milk miso, and kids noodles which is miso based. All was well until we were seated and received the Salt ramen instead of the plum, no water cups were provided. I felt a bit of bias towards tourists as the locals were seated quickly, understanding that we have a toddler which needed some setting up for baby seats. The curry butter miso milk is unique wouldn’t say it’s a home run but I can see why people may like it. The salt and kids noodle is stock standard where you can get anywhere in Japan. One point I do have to mention is the amount of bean shoots they provide is through the roof, mountains of it. Would recommend the curry miso milk butter ramen...