Tampopo didn't let me down

For those unfamiliar with the movie Tampopo, it's a Japanese "noodle western" about a woman (named, quite appropriately, Tampopo) who is trying to run her own ramen noodle shop. It's also the movie that gave me a massive craving to go to one of these ramen noodle shops and it's also partly responsible for my decision to go to Japan. Now, i can finally say that i've been to one of these shops. And it was totally worth the trip. Holy crap. So tasty, so good.

(Kazu took this nice pic of the noodle shop)

This is the shop we went to. Not entirely sure what the sign means, but the little dragon sitting on a cloud slurping ramen noodles was enough to get the idea. We entered through the sliding door on the right. The actual part where you sit down is kinda further off to the right of the picture. I tried to get a picture of it, but it was too dark outside and the windows were so steamed up, you couldn't see inside.

Once inside, we ordered our food off of this menu. Well, Ray did. Generally since ramen shops have a very limited menu (only 6 items at this one and two add rice options) and a specialty, people already know what they want before they come in. Ray and his two sons explained the options to me as we drove. I picked the kim chee ramen which on the menu is the one with 750 under it.

Then the cook got to work. This guy made a pretty good show of it. Splashing water and sauce over the pan as he threw ingredients in. Fire flaring up. He was fast too. About 4 minutes after we ordered, all four of us had our food. This is the Japanese traditional equivalent to our fast food joints or greasy spoon restaurants. This ramen shop was locally owned so the kitchen was a little messier than a chain shop would be which only added to the whole ambiance and overall appeal of the experience.

Watching our food being prepared. That's Ray on the far left with his sons, Yohe and Kazu. There was a bookshelf on one wall of the shop that was filled with Japanese comic books that you could read while you wait. If you know your kanji, that is. I know the kanji for "book" and "tree". That's about it. So, now i can tell if a building is a bookstore.

Finally! It arrives in all it's fat glistening glory. Just looking at this picture makes me want more. Good god was it ever good. Probably not so good for the body, but definitely good for the soul. You may not be able to tell from this picture, but this is a big bowl of soup. I could probably fit my face in the bowl. I couldn't finish all of it, but i wanted to. I remember eating the last little bit of broth i could muster and watching another patron getting their food and i was jealous that they get to experience this from the beginning. Fresh sprouts and green onions piled on top of their slice of pork...

Mmmm....