メンマ中華そば / Menma Chūka Soba / Konpirasō - Tsuruoka, Yamagata

Shoyu soup uses flying fish that are dried then grilled (tobiuo no yakiboshi), along with chicken carcasses. Noodles are house-made. Master Kakegami-san started cooking in the 1990's, when at the age of 20 he dropped out of college in Saitama to return home and start working at his father's robatayaki restaurant. Eventually he would go on to take over operations his family's ryokan (inn), which had been opened by his grandmother in the 1960's. In 2002, Kakegami-san decided to start serving ramen at the ryokan, but only during the cold months of November-March (the time most difficult to bring in customers). He is self taught, having never apprenticed at another ramen shop. One of the most famous destinations in Yamagata, ramen now served October-May. Less