Recommended bowl: OG Toyama black roots

The master here originally worked at the first Toyama black ramen shop, Nishichō Taiki, before it closed down in 2000. At that time it was purchased by a larger company, but the master here decided to open his own shop, Kihachi, which is now one of the highest ranked ramen shops serving the Toyama black style. Only open for lunch, the soup is chicken based, with simple toppings of pork chashu, menma and negi. The tare making process goes like this: first the pork chashu is simmered in sake and then removed, followed by four varieties of shoyu being added to the sake. This liquid is then aged in the refrigerator for two months before becoming ready to use as the shoyu tare, which goes into each bowl. Noodles are supplied by Niimura Seimen. Open since 2000.