Eat your way around Ube, Yamaguchi! Excellent time-efficient gourmet food that you can only get here

Hatsumi Ito
A gourmet blogger who eats and drinks at more than 400 restaurants a year. She posts gourmet information on various SNS accounts, mainly X (@hatsu823).
Host of the online salon "Tokyo Gourmet Salon" limited to 140 people. "Gourmet is communication" is her life theme.

*Prices include tax.

"Ikkyu Shinkawa Branch" - a long-established restaurant representing Ube ramen

This long-established ramen shop continues to be loved by locals for its secret soup and carefully selected noodles. While preserving the local flavor, the ramen is constantly evolving and is a masterpiece that symbolizes Ube's food culture.

"Ikkyu", a representative ramen restaurant of Ube, is a long-established ramen restaurant with a history of 50 years since its establishment and has 8 branches in Yamaguchi Prefecture. While adhering to the motto of being "cheap, fast and tasty", they continue to provide delicious ramen under the motto of being the best in the area.

The bright interior has counter seats where even solo diners can casually stop by and enjoy a meal.

There are also tables where you can relax and unwind even if you come with your family or a group.

The most popular menu item, "Ramen (750 yen)," is the classic Ube ramen. The combination of the rich, carefully simmered pork bone soup and the smooth, medium-thin straight noodles is exquisite. The ingredients are carefully selected to best match the noodles and soup, and are made in-house.

The rich soup is made using only pork bones, using the "Yobimodoshi method" that has been maintained for 50 years since the restaurant was founded. It has a creamy, rich flavor, but is also odorless and refreshing.

The carefully kneaded thin, straight noodles have a smooth mouthfeel, a supple texture, and a firm bite, making for an exceptional bowl of ramen.

The limited menu item "Fried Chicken (3 pieces for 450 yen)" that can only be enjoyed at the Shinkawa store is a highly skilled dish that won the gold medal at the staff meal championship. It is crispy and fragrant on the outside and juicy on the inside, and is delicious even when cooled.

The deep-fried chicken is perfect as a side dish to go with ramen or as a snack, so be sure to try it when you visit the Shinkawa store.

The bite-sized "Gyoza (500 yen)" has crispy, fragrant wings that are grilled to perfection, and the delicious flavor that spreads the moment you put it in your mouth is irresistible. The perfect size makes it so delicious that you'll want to eat as many as you can.

This rich Ube ramen is made with great care from the noodles to the soup and even the ingredients. Its unique flavor is something you can only get at Ikkyu Ramen and can't find at other stores. Please enjoy this specially made bowl.

Ikkyu Shinkawa store

Enjoy yakitori made with carefully selected ingredients and local sake at Yakitori Kantaro

There is a bar where you can enjoy locally sourced ingredients and local sake at reasonable prices, with a focus on carefully selected yakitori and carefully prepared sea bream broth oden.

Yakitori Kantaro, located about a five-minute walk from Ube-Shinkawa Station, is a popular bar where you can enjoy a variety of izakaya menu items, including yakitori made with Yamaguchi Prefecture's famous Choshu chicken.

The stylish interior, equipped with 16 counter seats and 19 table seats, can be used by anyone, from individuals to groups, and the spacious design allows you to spend your time relaxing.

They also have a wide selection of sake. "Taka", which represents Yamaguchi Prefecture, is a brand brewed by the nationally acclaimed brewery, Nagayama Honke Sake Brewery. It has an exquisite balance of sweetness, sourness, umami and bitterness that are unique to sake, making it a versatile drink that can be easily paired with a wide variety of dishes.

The "Boiled Tongue (549 yen)" is simmered slowly in sea bream broth until it is extremely tender. With one bite, the soft, melting texture and the refined flavor of the sea bream broth fill your mouth.

The yakitori is made with Choshu chicken from Yamaguchi Prefecture. The "Choshu Chicken Thigh (249 yen)" is delicately handcrafted by removing the skin and then wrapping it again to bring out the best flavor from the chicken thigh. The contrast between the crispy, fragrant skin and the juicy meat, with the perfect amount of salt, is irresistible.

The "Pork Belly (269 yen)" has an excellent balance of sweetness from the fat and umami from the lean meat. By slowly grilling it, the outside is crispy and fragrant, and the inside is juicy.

The "Yamatoimo Tororo Lettuce (549 yen)" is a dish that overturns the common sense of oden. The crisp lettuce is infused with the flavor of sea bream broth, and the mellowness of the grated yam is intertwined with it.

The "Tsukimi Tsukune (299 yen)" is a must-try, with a soft texture made from Yamato yam and a delicious chicken flavor. This luxurious skewer is mixed with egg yolk to create a mellow and rich flavor.

This is a bar where you can enjoy the pairing of local sake and ingredients and spend a luxurious time immersed in Yamaguchi's food culture, so be sure to visit.

Yakitori Kantaro