Hokkaido Official Tourism Site HOKKAIDO LOVE!

Ramen is ubiquitous throughout Japan, but there are few places in the world where you can enjoy as many different types of ramen as in Hokkaido. Hokkaido's ramen is so much a part of the daily life of Hokkaido residents that it has been registered as a Hokkaido Heritage Site.

Most ramen stores offer three flavors of ramen: miso, shio (salt), and shoyu (soy sauce), a trend that is rare in Japan. Hokkaido is a flourishing wheat-producing region with many noodle mills, and the noodle shop owner can enjoy tasting the differences between the noodles made at different mills. In Hokkaido, it is customary for noodle makers to present a curtain with their company name on it when a ramen store opens, so check the curtain at the front of the store.

In addition to specialty stores, you should also check out restaurants such as diners and soba noodle stores where ramen is a popular menu item! You can enjoy ramen with a regional flavor that is different from that of specialty stores. It is fun to travel around the large island of Hokkaido in search of your favorite bowl of ramen.

Sapporo miso ramen is one of the most well-known Hokkaido ramen in Japan. Today's mainstream ramen is made with firm, medium-thick, wavy noodles, a thick broth made from pork or chicken bones, and topped with more nutritious stir-fried vegetables......, but such Sapporo ramen has its roots in salt-flavored Chinese soba noodles. Takeya Shokudo, a Chinese restaurant established in the Taisho era (1912-1926), is said to be the originator of Sapporo ramen. Later, miso-flavored ramen developed by “Aji no Sanpei” became a nationwide boom and became the foundation of Sapporo miso ramen.

The “Miso Butter Corn Ramen” popular among tourists is an exquisite dish in which the sweetness of the corn melds with the mild soup mellowed by the butter. If you order miso ramen, skip the butter and corn, which is the key to pretending to be a ramen connoisseur in Sapporo.

Hakodate salt ramen is so beloved by Hakodate residents that if you simply order “ramen” at a ramen restaurant in Hakodate, you will be served salt ramen. ...... Hakodate Shio Ramen is so beloved by Hakodate residents that they say, “If you just order ‘ramen’ at a ramen restaurant in Hakodate, you will get ‘shio ramen’. The soup is refreshing yet has a deep flavor, and many people end up drinking the entire bowl.

Such Hakodate salt ramen has one of the longest histories in Japan: a newspaper advertisement from 1884 mentions "Nankin-soba". Perhaps the oldest ramen in Japan was eaten in Hakodate.

Asahikawa Shoyu Ramen is one of the three major types of ramen in Hokkaido, along with Sapporo Shoyu and Hakodate Shio. The standard soup is a combination of pork and seafood. In the past, when Asahikawa was a prosperous pig farming area, pork bones were used, but it is said that dried sardines and kelp were added to remove the smell of the pork bones and add flavor.

In Asahikawa, it is customary to cover the surface of the soup with hot lard to keep it from getting cold. This is unique to Asahikawa, where temperatures drop below freezing in the winter. The ingredients are simple and basic: green onions, bamboo shoots, and chashu pork. Asahikawa ramen uses low-moisture, medium-thick noodles. The noodles are easily stretched and absorb the soup as soon as they are boiled, making it easy for the noodles to become entangled in the soup.

In addition to the three major types of ramen in Hokkaido, there are many other local ramen in the large island of Hokkaido. Some are made with local specialties, others have been adapted to the local climate, and many of them can only be found in that particular region. We hope you will take the time to taste the ramen of the north, which is well worth the trip!

If you want to try a variety of ramen but don't have time to visit all the stores ......” or ‘I don't know which store is good ......,’ we recommend this spot where several ramen stores are combined in one place. I recommend this spot where several ramen shops are combined in one place. It is fun to go out with an empty stomach and compare ramen from famous restaurants!

In recent years, the number of ramen stores in Hokkaido has been increasing, and ramen that defies the stereotypes of “Sapporo = miso,” “Hakodate = soy sauce,” and “Asahikawa = soy sauce” has emerged one after another. There are a wide variety of genres, such as shrimp soup, dried sardine soup, and “numbing” soup with a hint of sansho (a Japanese pepper). You will find a different ramen every time you visit.

In addition, each region of Hokkaido has ramen that is strongly influenced by the history and culture of the region. Visiting each area to try its unique ramen and experience a part of its history and culture is one of the best parts of a trip to Hokkaido.