Asahikawa B-grade gourmet "Hormone Ramen". Recently featured on the TV show "Kenmin Show" and becoming somewhat of a boom, the original "Himawari" was rumored to have a 3-hour wait before the broadcast. The same shop has a total of 3 stores in Asahikawa city, with the main store. Also, due to its location in front of Hokkaido University of Education, they also engage in activities to support students, which is wonderful. This shop is soy sauce-focused in their Hormone Ramen. They also have miso. Orders are taken orally (usually through tablet order). The 2nd most popular is the "Asahikawa Soy Sauce Hormone Ramen (960 yen)" - the 1st most popular is the "Back Fat Shoyu Ramen (850 yen)". It takes about 5 minutes to serve. The soup is hot with an oil film (lard), but lacks richness and is somewhat bland. The noodles are the classic low-water content, medium-thin straight noodles of Asahikawa ramen. The curtain-raising noodles are provided by "Fujiwara Noodle". The ingredients include sautéed hormone, cabbage, salted bamboo shoots, shredded red pepper, and white sesame. The hormone is chewy and tender, quite delicious. Overall, the hormone is tasty, but I didn't find it to be a good match with this ramen (the bland soup). I feel like it would go better with miso. I won't be revisiting this place.

An acquaintance found a delicious ramen place a while ago and finally had the chance to visit it. However, when asked for the exact location, the acquaintance was vague. The restaurant is called Kitamon Honten Katoya, a popular ramen shop with several branches in Asahikawa city. This time, the reviewer visited the branch in Toyooka and found the ramen to be delicious. Wanting to try the supposedly even more delicious main branch, the reviewer invited the acquaintance who recommended it. After some confusion about which spicy ramen to order, they settled on the Spicy Shoyu Ramen with Pork Oil. The ramen turned out to be less spicy than expected, with a peppery heat rather than a chili heat. The reviewer enjoyed the ramen, especially the flavorful chashu and menma. Overall, the experience was good, although there was some uncertainty about the exact type of ramen that was recommended.

Deputy Secretary of State 4.5, Economic Association Representative Secretary 4.4, Policy Committee Chairman 1.3... which one is rude!! The opposition party 1.2 is underestimating the people. They think that spreading rumors will get them votes. "Ramen Kato-ya Kitamon Main Store" I chose stability. I came to Asahikawa alone. I came to Asahikawa because I wanted to eat delicious ramen. To eat delicious ramen, I had to go to Sapporo or Asahikawa. But these two cities are far away, and with the added distance due to COVID, I decided to go when things calmed down a bit. It's been a while since I visited Asahikawa. I can't afford to make a mistake, so I will choose a reliable restaurant. Kato-ya. It's surprising that it's located here, in a residential area. Maybe there's a school nearby? Possibly a high school? It doesn't seem to be a kindergarten at least. There is only one car in the parking lot, and there was only one customer before me. I sat at the counter, which has four seats. It's a cramped space with partitions. If you have claustrophobia, you might end up spitting out the ramen through your nose. I have an overactive imagination. There were three tables in the raised seating area, right? There's a TV. There's an old man and a young man. I was torn between them, but I ordered the "Salt Ramen". Oh, there's also a young lady. She might be a part-time worker, not a kindergarten student. It seemed fast, maybe three minutes? That made me a bit concerned. The noodles are from Kato, thin and low hydration. Delicious. The bamboo shoots are salted. I think they go well with this ramen. The green onions are also good. It's been a while since I had ramen. The naruto looks like soba. There's a thin layer of oil and a milky appearance. I don't want to use the word "milky" for ramen, but it sticks in my mind. It's mild for Asahikawa. The flavor is mild and gentle, yet it has enough umami and richness. I usually just taste the soup, but I ended up drinking a lot of it. The chashu is thick and chunky, my favorite, but it felt normal. Kato's ramen is delicious as always. They are consistently good. It's different from Yama. The girl is wearing a tracksuit, interesting. It's only 700 yen. I would rate it 4.5, but the aftertaste feels a bit chemical, maybe 4.4.

We were divided into two groups, but it's almost lunchtime! Someone messaged on LINE saying they wanted to eat delicious ramen. Around here... Hmm... Oh, there was one! Yes, the ramen and fried rice were delicious! Everyone ordered different things! Yay, we can take lots of pictures! Is it Asahikawa Shoyu Holmen? Holmen Ramen maybe? If Holmen Ramen smells bad, I don't want to eat it, so I'll only eat it at Sunflower. I'm curious about the salt ramen! It was good that we could see it. You were saying how delicious the Holmen Ramen was... Next time, I might try it. It might be delicious at Katoya... The salt ramen looks so clear and delicious. We can't do potluck at this time, so we shared the fried rice and dumplings, and they were a big hit. It was nice to see everyone enjoying their food. Thanks for the meal!

Ramen shop located in front of the main gate of Hokkaido University. I often go to "Raamen Kato-ya 4th Avenue Store" in the downtown area for a late-night ramen after drinking, but this shop is my first time. Among the ones I've tried at the 4th Avenue store, I like "Back Fat" or "Holmen"! There is a "Popular Ranking" posted in the store, and indeed "Back Fat" and "Holmen" are ranked high! I ordered the "Asahikawa Soy Sauce Holmen" (900 yen including tax). It arrived in about 6-7 minutes. Wow! The Holmen is filled with lots of ingredients and looks delicious! First, let's try the Holmen! The Holmen here is tender and stewed, really delicious!! It's irresistible!! (laughs) The noodles are low-water, medium-thin straight noodles from Fujiwara Seimen. The soup is based on pork bone, right? The soup has a rich flavor. It contains stir-fried cabbage, and you can also feel a bit of sweetness in the soup. Other ingredients include salt-free menma, naruto, and green onions. Since the Holmen is the main ingredient, simple ingredients like these are probably best... White sesame seeds and shredded red chili peppers are also sprinkled on top. White sesame seeds go well with the Holmen! Nowadays, there are also rice dishes using Holmen, such as "Holmen Fried Rice" and "Holmeshi". When I have a late-night ramen at the 4th Avenue store, I also order a beer and eat the Holmen, that's my way of eating? I can't have beer today because I'm driving, but that's how good the Holmen is!!

My companion wanted to eat "Asahikawa soy sauce ramen" so I accompanied them to the restaurant without being asked. The restaurant is small, but the spacious parking lot gives a sense of Hokkaido. Inside, the handcrafted menu surrounds you, giving off a truly local ramen shop vibe. The taste was nothing remarkable, but it might be a good option if it was near my home.

I ordered the Asahikawa soy sauce ramen and beef tendon curry. The curry arrived within 5 minutes, followed by the ramen shortly after. The ramen had Chinese cabbage as the vegetable, cut into easy-to-eat pieces. The soup had floating back fat and was piping hot. The soy sauce flavor was not too strong, but refreshing. The beef tendon was tender and easy to eat. The noodles were low-hydration medium-thin straight noodles, firm with a good chew and well coated in the soup. The bamboo shoots were salted. The curry had well-cooked beef tendon with a rich and deep flavor, making it a high-quality curry for a ramen shop.

In June 2020, I visited "Ra-a Men Kato-ya Hokumon Honten" in Asahikawa. It's actually pronounced Hokumon, not Kitamon. This time, I tried their popular Asahikawa Shoyu Hormone Ramen, which is a local specialty. The dish costs 900 yen and features straight noodles with a savory soy sauce broth and hormone topping. The combination of the noodles and broth was excellent, with the hormone adding a rich flavor to the dish. Overall, it was a satisfying meal, although I personally felt that the cabbage topping was unnecessary.

I had the Spicy Ramen with Soy Sauce for 800 yen set with a Mini Curry for 350 yen. I stopped by for lunch while I had errands nearby. I decided to try Ramen Kato-ya. There were no customers when I arrived, but by the time I left, the place was full. I went for the Spicy Ramen this time. The Miso Ramen seems to be popular, but I also wanted to try the Soy Sauce Ramen with a Mini Curry. The curry was delicious and the portion was surprisingly generous for a mini size. The ramen had a nice level of spiciness, but I felt like I couldn't fully taste the original soy sauce flavor, so next time I'll try the regular soy sauce ramen.

Visited the restaurant with a friend. I ordered the "Asahikawa soy sauce Holmen" that caught my eye, while my friend got the Negi Miso Ramen. We also ordered the classic gyoza since the monthly curry was only available until it ran out. This month's curry was beef tendon curry! The Holmen's hormone was cooked with soft pork tripe. There was also Hormeshi available, which seemed like a good choice! The soup was light and the noodles were thin. The flavors were well-balanced. The gyoza had a thin skin and a strong garlic flavor, so we enjoyed it without any additional seasoning. The beef tendon curry was cooked until it melted into the sauce, with a mild spiciness and a good amount of spices. This restaurant seemed popular as there were many people waiting. During lunchtime in Asahikawa, all ramen shops seemed to be crowded with cars. Thank you for the meal!

We went to Asahikawa and the kids wanted to eat ramen! I had the negi ramen with soy sauce, my son had soy sauce ramen, and my daughter had the kids' soy sauce ramen. The noodles were thin and straight, and the soup was light yet flavorful with a hint of sesame. It was delicious! My son kept saying "delicious, delicious" as he finished his whole bowl. He even ate the portion my daughter left, so he could have had a large serving too.

One day... I was wandering around an unfamiliar street... I had some errands in that direction, but my stomach started growling and I suddenly switched to "soy sauce ramen" mode! My only hope was the ramen mark on the car navigation system. As I passed by a few places, they were all familiar shops... When did I go there? I don't remember, haha. I saw a building for "Katoya" for the first time... The parking lot was conveniently empty, so I entered without hesitation. Is this the main store? If so, the other locations must be branch stores, right? I'm not sure, but it doesn't matter. The hot and transparent soup was so good that I could almost see through it. The narrow shop was almost filled with customers... Oh... it's popular, huh? I sat quietly at the counter since I was dining alone. There were many ramen options on the menu, but I quickly decided on the "ramen (soy sauce)" for 650 yen. I didn't hesitate for once... I immediately ordered the "half fried rice" when I saw someone else's being served. The ramen and the half fried rice seemed to be a set, costing 330 yen maybe? A ramen portion and a half fried rice... Can I finish it all? What does "half" mean? Well... I looked closely at the menu and found a "Mini Ramen Set" for 790 yen... Oh well... it was a good opportunity for reflection and learning. The rhythmic sound of a pan being stirred... Could that be my fried rice? The ramen arrived first. It looked delicious. Just what I wanted. The noodles were...? Good, they're not overcooked. The soup had that typical Asahikawa ramen taste. It wasn't too salty and had a rounded flavor, served piping hot. The chashu wasn't smelly. Even though it was pork belly, it was cooked well enough to easily tear apart with chopsticks without being too fatty. If it's this kind of chashu, I can eat the fatty parts too... haha, irrelevant information. Next, the freshly made fried rice. It was cooked quickly with a lot of oil and strong heat. It had that one-shot finish feel. It was also piping hot, with a nice mix of crunchy and moist textures, seasoned just the way I like it. It was delicious, so I managed to finish it all. When I peeked at the reviews later, there were mixed opinions! Well... it was delicious, right? Today was just a coincidence? Or was it because I was really hungry? haha I'll try other ramen dishes next time... Maybe the mini ramen set! haha Thank you for the meal.

Last week on my day off, I had ramen at "Raamen Kato-ya" in Kitamoncho, Asahikawa City. This was my fourth visit to the restaurant. The menu offers ramen starting from 650 yen. I had the Spicy Miso Oil Ramen (750 yen), which had a nice kick of black pepper. The straight noodles were cooked al dente, which was perfect. The soup, which is already delicious, is even better for those who enjoy the spiciness of black pepper. I enjoyed it very much. Thank you for the meal. Raamen Kato-ya is located in Kitamoncho 9-chome 2644-6 (right in front of the main gate of Asahikawa University). They are open from 11:00 to 15:00 and 17:00 to 21:00, closed on Tuesdays. There is a parking lot next to the restaurant, which should have plenty of space unless it's crowded. (Note: The reviewer has given a perfect score to the restaurant to avoid being disrespectful or interfering with their business.)

I had the special "seabura" miso ramen at the main branch for the first time in a while. I have visited a few times before, so I felt relieved with the familiar taste. As expected, Asahikawa ramen seems to agree with me. I forgot to order it firm, but I really like it firm! I will definitely go back!

Hormone soy sauce ramen ¥850. It has plenty of hormone meat and the noodles are thin and firm! Ramen is the best when it's cold outside!

Holmen delicious