Ramen capital

Japan's city of noodles fights to keep its crown

- Justin McCurry

The road to ramen paradise ends in the unlikeliest of places.

At Men Endo, located in a suburban street, next to a school and a low-rise block of flats, bowls of noodles disappear in a flurry of slurps, gulps and hurried but heartfelt exchanges of appreciation between customer and chef.

On a cold afternoon in Yamagata, a city in Japan's northeast, the wait for a seat at Men Endo's counter is mercifully short. Inside the door, a ticket dispenser lists myriad options, from regular shoyu (soy sauce) ramen - in small, medium or large portions - to maji soba, a soupless symphony of toppings, sauce and noodles that diners are invited to mix together with their chopsticks, along with a spoonful of spicy miso.

That Men Endo - men is from menrui, the Japanese word for noodles, and Endo is a family name - has managed to secure a loyal clientele, which today includes construction workers, couples and a solo diner from the Guardian, is no mean feat.

In Yamagata, about 200 miles north of Tokyo, noodle fiends have about 230 establishments to choose from, with several opening early for those craving comfort food.

"People here don't ask each other where they want to go for dinner, but which ramen restaurant to go to," says Osamu Higuchi, assistant manager in Yamagata's brand strategy section.

It is that level of dedication to eating at restaurants - as opposed to making ramen at home or grabbing a lunchtime cup of the instant variety - that has earned Yamagata, a modestly sized city of 240,000, the title of Japan's ramen capital.