Tsuzumi-soba & ramen — Restaurant in Takayama

NHK World is such a helpful streaming channel when it comes to the specifics of traveling and eating in Japan. That's how I learned Takayama is the home of chuka soba, a traditional soy-based ramen made with thin Chinese-style noodles. Although I'm not a ramen fanatic, I knew my husband and I needed to try it, and this family-run business came up as a highly popular spot. Indeed it was, especially with local families who occupied all the tables. Fortunately there was plenty of counter seating.

The menu wasn't complicated, just four bowls, two of which feature 'wanton', and eggs and rice on the side. My husband went for the Basic Ramen, ¥1100 for the large bowl with bamboo shoots, green onion, and one slice of pork. I couldn't help myself and went for the ¥1700 Large Chashu-men with four slabs of tender, fatty pork. What our bowls had in common was the surprisingly light soy broth steeped in pork bones and seafood and of course, the thin, curly noodles that identifies their chuka origins.

FOOD - 4 stars...satisfying ramen bowls, meatiness at your discretion, and BYOB...because they only serve water AMBIANCE - 4 stars...clean shop, just spacious enough SERVICE - 4.5 stars...pretty quick about it TOTAL - 4 stars...chuka soba...

We came here for an early dinner and were warmly greeted by the people working here. A nice man handed us an English menu and directed us to a table. The menu is quite simple – we settled on the large ramen with an egg and the wonton soup with an egg. The broth isn’t super complex, but is flavorsome enough and I did enjoy the soy sauce taste of it. The pork was pretty good. The ramen noodles were excellent and the eggs were cooked perfectly. The wonton soup was lighter and I didn’t really taste the meat inside. I also liked that we were given an entire pitcher of water.

The place is simple and sometimes that is exactly...

Visited here with a friend, we appreciated the warm welcome and service, menu was in both Japanese and English. We ordered the pork, and also wonton dish. The broth was light soy flavour, I really enjoyed that subtle taste. The egg was exactly how I like it and pork was thinly sliced with some fat on. My friend enjoyed the wontons. Could you get cheaper ramen, yes, but this was a filling meal that we were happy to pay ¥1100 for. We'll be back next...