Used a local festival holiday to renew my driver's license and headed to Asahikawa. After renewing my license, I went to "Umekouken" around 11:30 with my wife. We sat at a 4-person table and ordered the "Shoyu Vegetable Chashu Ramen" for ¥1,500. It arrived in about 7 minutes. The visual presentation was amazing, with a mountain of vegetables topped with chashu. The vegetables included cabbage, bean sprouts, onions, carrots, and bell peppers. The thick menma was soft and delicious. You have to eat a good amount of toppings before reaching the noodles. The thick chashu was tender and tasty. With such a generous amount of vegetables, ¥1,500 seemed reasonable. It had the basic taste of Asahikawa ramen. It was delicious! Thank you for the meal!

My favorite ramen shop that I sometimes crave. When I enter the store, I am greeted by the cheerful voices of the husband and wife owners, which gets me excited. Today, I ordered the miso ramen (950 yen) with an extra topping of thick menma (100 yen). The miso ramen soup is light but has a rich flavor, making it perfectly "umami". The noodles are Asahikawa's number one firm noodles, bringing out the deliciousness of the wheat. These noodles are also a specialty of Umekouken. Another specialty of Umekouken is their extremely thick menma! It is very soft and well-prepared, and it tastes amazing. Umekouken is the only place in Asahikawa that offers such thick menma. If you ever come to Asahikawa, I highly recommend trying the ramen at Umekouken.

Umekouken is a ramen restaurant in Asahikawa. It seems like they have a few branches, but this was my first time at this particular location. I ordered the Char Siu Ramen based on a friend's recommendation, as Umekouken is known for their soy sauce ramen. The thick menma caught my eye. It was so delicious that I wanted to have it as a side dish.

I was taken to this ramen restaurant not far from my relatives' house during my stay, as it seemed child-friendly. I have only been to the main store or airport store of Umegahata in Asahikawa, so this was my first time here. Although the basics are not supposed to be much different, according to my relatives, Umegahata's taste can vary depending on the store, but this one is known for being consistent. I usually go for shoyu ramen, but today I tried it with buttered corn. As expected, the shoyu here, when not too heavy, is one of my top choices. I think it's run by a couple, and they were very meticulous about disinfecting between customer turnovers, which was very reassuring.

Ramen shop "Umekoken Kamiibin" in Asahikawa City, Kami 2-jo 1-chome. Map here: https://goo.gl/maps/zNA8eLtomi9ERGFDA. Open from 11:00 to 20:00, closed on Wednesdays. Parking available. Please contact the store for current opening hours, closures, takeout availability, etc. This place is right near my workplace. If someone who reads my blog regularly noticed, they might have realized, but I don't eat out for ramen that often. I actually really like ramen, but other types of cuisine tend to take priority. Also, the range of ramen flavors is incredibly wide. Even at popular places that everyone raves about, it can sometimes not match my taste. So, if I do go, it's usually to revisit a few ramen shops that I know I'll enjoy. That's why I don't usually pay much attention to ramen shops, and I only found out about "Umekoken" this year. I went during the "manbou" period, and the sign at the entrance really built up my expectations for the ramen. I went a little past 12:00 on a weekday during my lunch break, and it was full. I waited for about 10 minutes. The staff handled the waiting customers smoothly. The menu is unique with "Chashu..." written on it. They have kake ramen, but no miso. I ordered the miso ramen for 850 yen including tax. The toppings were substantial and interesting. The soup had a strong miso flavor without being too sweet. It tasted rich to me. The fat content was moderate, so it wasn't too heavy. There were plenty of vegetables, which I enjoyed. Thanks to that, I was completely full. The staff's service was brisk and efficient, which was nice. At first, the owner looked serious and intimidating while cooking, but by the time I left, they had a big smile and said "Thank you very much!" It was a lovely interaction. (From Tabelog)

The restaurant is like a traditional Japanese curtain partition establishment, and it seems more promising than a franchise. The miso ramen costs 850 yen, salt ramen costs 800 yen, and soy sauce ramen costs 600 yen. It's a hit with kids! They don't want half portions, they want the full serving. The soy sauce has a fragrant sweetness, and at first I wanted the broth to be stronger or the soy sauce to have more kick, but in the end, I thought it was just right. The salt ramen has an exquisite clear broth. The default for the miso ramen is a bit spicy, maybe spicier than the main branch in front of the station (although I thought the station branch used to be the main branch?). Hmm, could this be the most delicious branch of Umekouken? As for the Sapporo branch, it's out of the question, not even on my radar. I used to eat at several Umekouken branches in Asahikawa when I was a student, but I hadn't tried this one. Just like the udon at Sugi, this place is in a good location for a trip to Asahikawa, so I feel like I'll come back again.

I visited the famous Asahikawa ramen restaurant, Umegahikken, for lunch after a long time. The place was crowded as usual, with a line extending outside the store. I ordered the soy sauce vegetable ramen, which was filled with plenty of crunchy vegetables, providing a satisfying meal. The noodles were homemade curly noodles that paired well with the rich soup. It was delicious! Thank you for the meal~

Returned to Asahikawa from Sapporo for a family visit. Had dinner with my wife at Umekouken, a favorite spot of ours. We debated whether to add vegetables, but this time we opted for soy sauce chashu. The restaurant was taking COVID-19 precautions, with fewer chairs, but it was almost full. The staff, who I think are a couple, were very friendly and created a welcoming atmosphere. The place was clean and well-maintained. The soy sauce ramen, a long-awaited treat, had delicious soup. The soy sauce flavor was just right, blending perfectly with the broth. The soup wasn't as piping hot as usual, which was a bit disappointing, but the soup and noodles were a perfect match. While their shina-chiku (bamboo shoots) is tasty, the chashu is the star. It had minimal fat, with tender lean meat that was flavorful. It had a nice texture with just the right amount of chewiness. My wife had the soy sauce ramen and was satisfied with the ample chashu. The quality is consistently high and delicious, although the slightly lukewarm soup this time was a minor letdown. Next time, I want to try the vegetable ramen since this place is known for its tasty vegetable toppings. Thank you for the meal!

I didn't know there was a Umekoken here...? I wonder if there are other places I haven't been to yet...? It's lunchtime and I'm in ramen mode, so I didn't hesitate to enter as the parking lot was empty. The inside of the restaurant smells like Umekoken. Today, it seems like it's this type of ramen. [Shoyu Ramen] for 800 yen. A bowl of ramen for 800 yen... I feel like I'm finally keeping up with the fast pace of the times. There is a lively owner behind the counter, I wonder who he reminds me of...? The serving is quick. The noodles are cooked just right. The base may be the same as usual, but this Umekoken at Kamiio is my favorite among all Umekoken I've been to.

Today is Disaster Prevention and Volunteer Day, Low-Salt Day, and Hillmoryta Day. There will be a live broadcast starting at 12 o'clock!! Be sure to listen to FM Riberu from the app. Now, there is Umekoken in Kamiinai. This place has been popular for a long time and is always crowded. However, Umekoken has two types of signs, a yellow sign, and a red sign. Upon investigation, it seems that they are separate businesses with different flavors. The red Umekoken has even expanded overseas to places like Hawaii and Taiwan. Amazing, from Asahikawa to the world!! What is the real meaning of having separate businesses under the same name? Today, what will the ranking be? If it looks delicious, please click the "↓" button!! ⇒ Please click once The menu is extensive. What about the Umekoken in the Asahiyama Park, which I haven't been to for a long time? So, I don't remember the menu there. But, looking closely... the basics are about this much. Basically, there are soy sauce, salt, and miso. Then, vegetables, chashu, and buttered corn. That's the combination. So, even though it seems like a lot to write everything, it's not actually that much. Salted buttered corn!! When you order salt ramen with corn topping, butter is included. So, corn and butter as toppings are not listed separately. Well, when you add butter, the taste really changes. If you add it every time, it might be tough on your body, though. Soy sauce vegetable buttered corn!!! It turned out unbelievable. Normally... or rather, in my mind, vegetables mean stir-fried bean sprouts on top. That was the image I had but... it turned out to be an unbelievable ramen. Then, with the buttered corn as a topping, it became an incredible bowl!! By the way, Umekoken is known for its thick menma. This is the same here. From the front, you can see menma, buttered corn, and green onions... but from the other side. The carrots are huge!! Like a rabbit!! A really thick carrot. I don't particularly dislike it, but some people might be surprised for a moment. So, where should I start eating from? I dug in. Here!! I dug through the noodles from a point and lifted them up. But I couldn't lift them straight up. I had to lift them at an angle and took a bite. The noodles are Asahikawa's low-water, low-hydration curly noodles. I think... the original Umekoken was like this too. The soy sauce flavor comes through strongly. Boiled cabbage appears. Like the cabbage in soup curry, boiled cabbage appears. I never expected something like this to come out from the bottom. Honestly, it was quite difficult to eat haha. But, it was probably calculated, and the noodles were boiled firm. As I progressed through the meal, the richness of the soy sauce and the flavor of the butter started to come through, and it was delicious. However, it took me twice as long to eat as a normal ramen haha. Oh, and when I went to the restroom, the owner was extremely unfriendly. He didn't even look up and stared at me as if he was annoyed. I thought, who is this old man. But when he brought the ramen, he was very friendly and seemed very polite. I wonder which one is the real him haha. Thank you for the meal. ⇒ ◇I mistakenly thought that vegetables were the main dish◇Announcement accepted, eating Chinese food in anticipation◇

I had to work outside from the evening near here. I decided to visit this shop that I had been curious about for a while. The name of the shop is the same as a famous shop... When I asked the owner, he told me it's a branch shop. I was quite tired from a busy day at work, so I wanted to eat a lot of chashu (roasted pork)... I thought the ramen that costs over 1,000 yen was a bit much, but I ordered the "Chashu Men (soy sauce)" (1,100 yen including tax). Since it was close to closing time and there were few customers, the ramen was served in about 5 minutes. The chashu was 6 large slices. The menma (bamboo shoots) were thick and delicious. This menma is definitely from Umekouken! I took a sip of the soup. It had a strong pork bone and chicken broth flavor, but I could also taste the seafood in the double soup. The noodles were medium-thin, low-water content noodles. Even though it's a branch shop, both the taste and appearance were exactly like Umekouken's ramen! The chashu was delicious! The "thigh meat" was very tender. It was so tender that it fell apart as I ate it. I'm glad I ordered the Chashu Men! The thick menma had a great texture. I thought the same when I ate it at the main shop, but it makes me want to drink beer with it (laughs). I was tired from work, but I was satisfied with the delicious ramen and went back home!!

Today's lunch was at "Umekouken Kamiide Store." Umekouken is a ramen shop that I like, but for some reason, I had been avoiding the Kamiide store because it seemed different from the Umekouken I knew. Today, I was invited by a colleague to visit. Of course, I ordered the soy sauce ramen because there are no other options here. My colleagues ordered salt and miso, which made me realize they are no longer true Asahikawa locals (laughs). The ramen arrived after about a 10-minute wait. It was surprisingly delicious this time. The double soup with a strong seafood flavor and saltiness is a characteristic of Asahikawa ramen. It paired perfectly with the Asahikawa noodles. I finished it all in one go! Thanks for the delicious meal. I'll adjust my rating on Tabelog upwards (laughs).

The double soup has a rich flavor that I enjoy, and the noodles complement the soup well, making it delicious. The chashu is average, and the menma is thick and soft but lacks seasoning, so it's not the best. I think it would be better if it had a slightly sweeter and spicier flavor to add some contrast.

I had miso chashu ramen. It started off slightly sweet miso flavor, but as I kept eating, it became more punchy and intense. It paired perfectly with the noodles and vegetables. I finished it in no time.