Bannai Shokudo Kitakata Honten

Bannai Shokudo Kitakata Main Store was founded in 1958 (Showa 33) in Kitakata and has been loved for more than 60 years by local customers and visitors from many regions. Kitakata ramen is known as one of Japan’s three major ramen styles alongside Sapporo and Hakata ramen, with roots said to trace back to the late Taisho era when a young man from China began selling ramen from a food cart in Kitakata. A hallmark of Kitakata ramen is its high-hydration noodles made using plentiful groundwater from the Iide mountain range. When the shop first opened, ramen cost 40 yen a bowl, and a hot bowl was considered the city’s greatest treat. Today, the signature "niku-soba" features a bowl covered with richly simmered chashu made with Kitakata soy sauce, paired with a pork-bone-based soup and thick, flat, curly noodles—an outstanding combination. The shop is also famous for "asa-ra" (morning ramen): despite many early-opening shops, Bannai Shokudo draws lines of people seeking a blissful bowl in the morning.