Ramen Happiness: 万太郎: Bowl #9

Since we are running out of local shops it is time to start the traveling phase of this challenge, so tonight we set off for 十日町 (Tokamachi). Thankfully, there is a two day pass for our prefecture that lets you ride the trains as much as you want for Saturday and Sunday. Because we plan to go to Niigata City on Sunday, we figured it would be a good idea to use it as well on Saturday and get the most out of the two days. Tokamachi is a small city about an hour away from Joetsu and has three participating shops in the Ramen Rally. We arrived just as the dark had crept in and our first thought was that the small map provided for this particular city might not be the easiest to navigate with no daylight. This assumption was correct.

After wandering in what was thought to be the right direction, we decided to veer off in search of a main street to take us the rest of the way to the larger shopping area where two of the three Ramen shops were located. Taunting us in the distance were the lights of the stores and restaurants as we walked parallel to the street we needed, separated by a neighborhood of dark streets. Finally, thinking we would just end up cutting through to the main road, we dove into the neighborhood and headed in the necessary direction. Instead of a shortcut through to the other side, we ended up emerging into a giant rice field. Following the small farmer paths we eventually blazed our way through to the opposite edge and into the busy shopping area, all the while trying to not to think of how many snakes or other creatures we had just passed over.

With all that hassle behind us, the first participating Ramen shop we encountered ended up being where we had dinner, and we are so pleased with this result. Nestled in among a book store and an arcade was the Ramen shop, 万太郎 (Mantaro). Figuring out what to order from their many options took a little longer than usual, followed by locating the correct button out of the many on the ticket machine. There was hope we would have time to try out two different shops in Tokamachi, so two “mini” sized bowls of the regular shoyu Ramen were selected. Mini pretty much means normal sized at this shop. Some customers near us had the standard size and that was a lot of soup.

The Ramen arrived with a single piece of nori lying across the contents of the bowl, hiding the goods from first view. After peeling it away and immersing the sheet in the broth, the sight of the rest of the toppings was mouthwatering. Green onions, menma, steamed greens and delicious-looking slices of chashu were a welcome sight sitting atop a pile of delectable noodles. The wonderfully meaty aroma of the broth wafted to the nose, and after a sampling it was confirmed that the soup packed a strong pork flavor. A scoop of noodles proved them to be the thick, chewy style that we favor. The chashu was juicy and had great flavor that was enhanced by the heartiness of the soup. All in all, it was a perfectly well-rounded bowl of Ramen.

Once every last drop of broth was consumed we realized that, since we had such a glorious adventure trying to find our way to the right area, we unfortunately did not have enough time to make it to another restaurant. Another visit will have to be made to the town of Tokamachi as there are two more shops there that offer tasty looking Ramen, as well as stamps for the book. Sticking to the main roads offered a much nicer return trip to the station where we had just enough time for an overpriced beer before hopping the train back home.