Fukushima - Food & Drink
Kitakata City, known to be one of Japan’s “big 3 ramen cities,” wants to bring ramen lovers closer to their beloved broth. A comprehensive Ramen Chef Experience run by local masters looking to share their passion with the world aims to do just that. If you’ve ever wanted to make your own authentic Japanese ramen, there’s nowhere better than Kitakata!
The small city of Kitakata in Fukushima Prefecture is considered one of Japan’s most important ramen regions, along with Sapporo and Hakata. The inner-city area alone boasts around 100 ramen joints, which is said to be the highest resident-to-ramen ratio in Japan! Aside from ramen, it’s also famous for its numerous old-fashioned sake breweries and ancient warehouses.
Kitakata ramen is known for its light soup that is delicately extracted from pig bones and flavored with soy sauce. Thick and wavy handmade noodles are carefully placed in the resulting broth and topped off with roasted pork filets, spring onion, and bamboo shoots. Of course, different chefs have their own specialties, miso, sardine, and salt-flavored versions are also very popular.
Dive headfirst into Fukushima’s rich ramen culture by heading to Kitakata, about three hours from Tokyo by the Tohoku Shinkansen (bullet train) and local train. Cooking lessons are held at the Oguni Community Village, which is a 13-minute taxi ride from the station. The entire journey will take approximately 3 hours, but you’ll be rewarded with a unique culinary experience and a new set of skills to bring home with you.
Oguni Community Village
310-2 Azaoyachiotsu, Kumaguramachi Oguni, Kitakata, Fukushima 966-022
Please note that this program has been temporarily suspended due to Covid-19.
