kyo-chabana

i was ready for bed since husband said he was tired and didn't want to go anywhere. i thought i would save some energy since the next we were planning to go to arashiyama. but then as i was ready for bed, husband said he was hungry. so he strolled tripadvisor looking for place that was still open that time. it was around 8 pm so most places were about to close and probably wouldn't take any order soon. and he found one. so we went there. but i was craving for ice cream, so we stopped at baskin robbins near yodobashi and then looking for the shop. there were two branches, and luckily one of them was closer to our hotel. but it was a small shop so we had to rely on google maps to find it.  if you wanted to read it on tripadvisor, you can read it here.

so it was a small shop but it was on the side of the road, so it was not that hard to find. there were only small banner to indicate that we arrived on the right spot. there were 2 floors, but we didn't know how the second floor looked like since we got space in the first floor. but i guessed it was meant for group of people. when we arrived there, we came head to head with a group of japanese, about 6 or 7 of them. since they could speak japanese, they talked to the head chef and he told the waiter about it. then they were allowed to go inside and headed straight to the second floor. the first floor was pretty small. basically it was a big counter with all the seats surrounding it. there was a big cooking space behind the counter and there were only two people did the cooking, the head chef and a female waiter. then there was a long heating plates where the chef would serve our order. the heating plate was long and surrounding the counter as well. and it was hot. the seats were small round seats and quite high as well, so i didn't think it was suitable for children.

the chef and waiter couldn't speak english, but they could understand simple english. there was an english menu as well. basically, their menu was quite simple. there were okonomiyaki and variations of okonomiyaki, yakisoba (fried noodle) and yakimeshi (fried rice). there were some side dishes as well, but i couldn't remember any. the drink however was limited. it only served orange juice, soda and liquor beverage. we didn't try to ask for water, so we're not sure whether or not they would serve water for free. i picked okonomiyaki with squid topping and husband picked yakisoba.

what we didn't prepare for is the waiting time. the cooking time was quite long, and it was hot in there since there were no proper ventilation (there were windows but it remained closed). the door was also closed most of the time. all the cooking added more smoke and heat inside, and the heating plate in front of us was also on most of the time, so you would feel your face got hot due to all that reasons. there were no mini size, so another surprising fact was the portion size. everything came in big size. we were not sure whether or not we could share so both of us ordered one dish each. and we had trouble finishing it.

the okonomiyaki had thick batter and it had lots of veggies in it. compared to the one we had at mizuno later on, this one had lots of cabbage and batter, and the topping was not enough compared to the amount of batter. there were lots of green onions as well. then they would pour the okonomiyaki sauce all over at the top, put the flying bonito and then it was up to us whether or not we want some mayonnaise. they didn't offer mustard unlike mizuno. the taste was okay, but the sauce was quite strong and bit tangy since there was a lot of them. more than the one we had at mizuno, so it was a bit too much sauce for me.

okonomiyaki
(sorry but i forgot to take picture of the yakisoba)

the yakisoba however, was okay. it tasted okay, and it was cooked faster than my okonomiyaki, so i ended up eating some of it first. they also put a lot of veggies in it. the sauce was quite thick and pretty strong but it was the one that make it tasty. i just wish it had less veggie and more topping. but it was delicious though the portion could be eaten by 2 people.

i think their specialty was the white-sauce okonomiyaki. it is said to be a bechamel sauce, but looking at the size of the okonomiyaki, i didn't think i could eat that. it might be too creamy for me, so fortunately we just ordered the ordinary okonomiyaki. it was rude not to finish the meal, so since i couldn't finish mine, husband ended up eating the rest so he was too full by the end we went back to our hotel. i also took a step outside quicker since i couldn't stand the heat. i just hoped it didn't insult the chef since i went outside even before my husband was finish with the meal. i just needed a fresh air. price wise, i think it was very affordable for a fulfilling meal.

overall, if you're looking for a nice and fulfilling meal without breaking the bank, then you should try it. later on, i found out that it had several branches all over japan (i found one in osaka), so made sure you find out if there was one near you. but if you're looking for a family friendly restaurant, i didn't think this one was family friendly. perhaps if your kids were almost teenager (around 10-12 years) might be okay, but little kids were not safe in that environment. it was a nice meal, but i wish for more ventilation so i could stand the heat.

pontocho alley and kamogawa riverside

we were full from eating at ikinari steak, so we decided to take a little walk. the original idea was walking along pontocho alley and then moved to across kamogawa river toward gion area, and probably rest in a cafe and waited for dinner time. husband could work in the cafe, and i could rest and probably sample a cake or drink. but it was probably about 5 pm, which i knew probably too early for pontocho, but we walked there anyway since it was close by from ikinari steak.

pontocho alley

the kawayuka

we found the alley easily, and as i've predicted, most of the shops were still closed. the alley was pretty narrow, and on both sides, you could see various restaurants or clubs offering various dining options, from snacks, quick bites, western food even traditional kyoto cuisine which was quite expensive. all the buildings definitely gave you old-japan style vibe. everything seems traditional. the buildings have wood wall and short roof, with lots of japan's decoration, like lanterns. some restaurants have english menu but i can't say for all of them. anyway, 5 pm pretty quiet for pontocho, so probably you would need to go there later than 5 pm. though at that time i've seen several people getting ready to open their shop. if you want to get a bit description about pontocho, you can read it here.

view on the riverside

facing the bridge
(can you see how clear is the water?)

anyway, on the website it's said that in summer, some restaurants would offer dining outside, which was called kawayuka. they would build temporary platform that faced kamogawa river so people could dine outside to avoid summer heat. we were there in early autumn, so the kawayuka was still there. but you should make reservation to eat there especially on weekends. i thought it would be a good experience eating in the open, but we couldn't try it this time.

another take on the riverside

then at the end of the alley, you should turn left and after a few steps, you could see the kamogawa river. there was this long bump alongside the river, so people could sit and rest at the riverside and enjoy the view. by the time we were there, the weather was nice. it was cloudy, and bit windy, so it wasn't that hot unlike earlier that day. it was nice to sit there and enjoy the view, you could even have some drink and snacks there. as long as you cleaned up afterward. it was really close to the kawayuka, so if there were people dining there, you could see it from the riverside. anyway, at the end, we decided to go back to hotel because my husband laptop was out of battery, so he needed to charge it back at the hotel so we didn't get the chance to see gion. anyway, gion and pontocho were known for places where you could sometimes spot geisha. i guess we were unlucky this time, but it was another reason to go back there, wasn't it?

view from the bridge

if you were tired and just wanted to eat and enjoy the view, pontocho might be a good option, especially if you wanted to also stroll around gion area afterward. but if you brought along any kids, i don't think pontocho was a good place to bring kids. there were clubs there and booze sold there, so probably it was not kids friendly. but i bet they would love to play on the riverside. i can't say anything about gion since we didn't go there. so hopefully someday we could go there and update you on that subject.

ikinari steak (kyoto)

we were just about to leave nishiki market and decided to stroll around to find a cafe so my husband could work a little bit and then found dinner. but we only walked short distance when i noticed that we were in kawaramachi area. then i saw ikinari steak's sign. so husband decided why not have an early dinner. after all he didn't eat any proper lunch, so he had to eat proper dinner. so we jumped in. luckily, we were there at weird time. it was almost the end of lunch time, but too early for dinner. so there were only two other people beside us. anyway, if you're curious about ikinari steak, you could check their website here.

lunch menu

the place was right on the side of the busy road. it's easily seen if you're in kawaramachi area. it was a small shop, with transparent glass at front so you can see how busy the restaurant. since at time there was no queue, we just waited the waiter to seat us in. but if there was a queue, you should write down your name and phone number and made sure you were around or had your phone in your hand so they wouldn't skip your queue number. the place was small, but not too crowded. all seats were high chairs facing a table. it was either two chairs facing each other with small table in between, or two chairs at one side each with a bit longer table in between. the seats were pretty high, so i didn't think little kids could eat here. moreover, they used hot plates to serve the steak, so another danger for young kids.

ain't that a cute paper apron?

they put everything on the table. the eating utensils, tissue paper, salad dressing and even additional steak sauce. they handed us the lunch menu, we both picked the rib eye steak. husband picked the top middle menu, and i picked the middle rib eye steak only 200 g. i guessed my husband picked the 300 g one, but i couldn't be sure. but a lot of people came and ordered the lunch combo, which was the CAB steak and hamburg. we didn't know what CAB was in the first place, so we didn't order that one. they didn't offer you water at first, but they will give you free water if you asked them. they also gave you paper apron so your clothes wouldn't get splashed with steak sauce or any oil.

his

i think this was mine

at first, they would serve the salad and a bowl of soup. the salad was tiny and it wasn't as fresh as the one i had here, but the bowl of soup was hot and comfortable. it tasted good, like it was made of beef stock, but the soup was clear. it had tiny bits of meat inside too. so i ate the salad together with the soup, made it like vegetable soup instead of salad and soup. then they would serve you the steak on hot plates. they would also gave you the sauce. there were some corn and onions together with the steak. basically there were two sauce, the salty and the sweet one. my husband like the sweet one, but i like to combine them both.

the salad and soup

the meat was pretty thick and juicy. we both ordered medium and it was okay. they also put fried garlic on top of the steak. my husband's steak had quite big chunk of fat and some tendon, but i guessed he ate it all. mine didn't have as much fat as his, but it was still more fat than the one we had at home. i totally forgot whether we got rice or not, but you could get one if you want. there are other side dishes as well. i have to say, we had a nice and fulfilling dinner that night. the steak was juicy and tender but i just wish it had less fat. but it was still nice. price wise, it was the cheapest steak that we tried during our japan trip. if you wouldn't mind the standing or almost standing option, and you got limited budget, you should try ikinari steak. it has several branches all over japan, so it might not that hard to try at one of their branches.

nishiki market

we didn't take long time in tofukuji so it was almost lunch time when we decided to go somewhere else. husband was really tired so he decided to just take taxi to nishiki market. so we were in nishiki market in just short time. since we were too full from yesterday's ramen fiesta, we decided to just eat here and there at nishiki market. if you wanted to know what to get in nishiki, you could check paolo from tokyo's youtube (here). it's been awhile since i watched the video, so i only remembered some of them. and some we're not interested in trying, so let me tell you which one we decided to try. oh and before we get there, i had to tell you that nishiki was one long road full of food or fresh food sellers, and the other road was full of shops and several cafes. compared to tsukiji, nishiki was way cleaner. it had floor covered with tiles and it wasn't as wet as tsukiji and not that smelly either.

nishiki market

- first we tried the grilled oyster. the oyster was medium size, and it was way bigger than the ones in my home. it was delicious. i just wished i could eat more and it was cheaper. the sauce was okay, not too salty not too sweet. i didn't remember which stall, but there were lots of other store selling the same thing, so probably you would have some luck. the stall didn't just sell oyster, but they would grilled them all.

grilled oyster

- the octopus with quail: this time i remembered the stall name. it was kai. the one that's mentioned by paolo. there were several sizes of this octopus, from small to XL, and it had different prices as well. they sold those in a bunch too. since husband didn't want to try it, i got the small one myself. and it was delicious! basically it was an octopus, the head had boiled quail egg inside it. and the red color on the skin was probably the sauce and it was sweet. combined with a bit savory taste from the egg, it was delicious! definitely recommending this.

octopus with quail

- fish cake: the pouch said A2A2, so hopefully it gave you a hint about the stall. all i can remember was that the stall was on the corner. they had one side for selling the food and the other side with several empty seats so people could sit and eat before moving on. yep.. i forgot to mention that it was forbidden to eat and walk, so most stalls would have several seats in front of or inside their stores so their customers could sit and eat. this stall basically sold anything with fishcake. they sold the original one and others had added ingredients, like mine. i picked the one with added sweet potato. there was also another menu, which was the fishball with takoyaki sauce, definitely looked a lot like takoyaki. husband tried that one. mine was delicious. somehow i never thought about combining fishcake and sweet potato, but it tasted good together, though not mind-blowingly good. the fishball, however, was something that i definitely would recommend. it was tasty and somehow takoyaki sauce tasted good with the fishball. it also came on rice cracker plate, so you basically could eat the whole thing together. the seating arrangement, however, the outside seats were okay, but the inside seats were too narrow. even i got my knees scraped the wall in front of me. so i bet people bigger than me would have difficulties eating there. if you found the stall, definitely tried the fishball.

the pouch

fish ball with sweet potato

fishball with takoyaki sauce

- actually we ate wagyu beef skewer but it was chewy and a bit hard, even though we asked for medium doneness. the sauce was just so-so, and it wasn't cheap at all for a skewer, so definitely didn't recommend this one. the stall was near a cafe, so make sure don't try that one.
then we split. my husband bought takoyaki and it was cheap, he said. but i didn't try it since i was at sashimi/sushi stall. so i can't say anything about it.
- salmon and salmon roe rice bowl. i've been wanted to eat another one since i bought one at tsukiji. let me tell you though, all seafood were pricey even in japan. especially high-demanded items, like uni and salmon roe. it was about 1300 yen for a bowl of salmon and salmon roe. it was more expensive for a bowl of salmon roe itself. but if you liked sashimi, then you should try one. the salmon was sweet and fresh and the salmon roe was also fresh. but the portion was smaller than the one sold at tsukiji. they also served miso soup as side dish and free flow of water. i really appreciated the water since most stall didn't offer water. but they sold other bottled beverage though. the miso soup had this tiny clams in it, made it salty than the one we used to have here. but the miso soup was tastier, perhaps because they added seafood in it.

salmon and salmon roe bowl

then husband had a rest at some cafe, we didn't eat anything there, but we had to order separate drink. the waiter made sure to tell us that. so after that we walked for awhile and found a karaage stall that paolo also recommended. it was a bit far than the other stall, almost near the shrine. the karaage stall had various flavors to choose from but since this was our first order, we decided to try the original one. there were small, medium and large sizes too. i think we ordered the small one since we were still full. the chicken was tender and juicy, and it was super hot! they deep fried it once more upon ordering. but it was a bit salty for our preference. but we've been trying to eat more healthy food back at home, so probably everything tasted a bit saltier than it used to be. anyway, it was a good karaage, definitely tried it if you could.

chicken karaage

there was this taiyaki stall next to the karaage stall (back when paolo made the video, the taiyaki stall wasn't there yet). usually taiyaki would have red bean paste as its filling, but this stall had various filling choice, including chocolate. since it was rare to find chocolate filling in japan, i decided to give it a try. honestly, i didn't know how taiyaki should taste like, so for me the batter felt a bit thin. if it was supposed to be fluffy and soft like cake, then it fell short. but if it was supposed to be thin and bit crunchy, then it also came short since it was thin but not crunchy at all. anyway, it was okay, but if you're looking for more authentic taiyaki, then skip this one.

taiyaki with chocolate filling

that was all that we ate at nishiki market. there were a lot more food to enjoy. there were some chicken skewer that we didn't try, the shishamo fish (the one that's paolo recommended, we found the stall, but we didn't try it simply because i couldn't eat the whole fish.. i couldn't imagine swallowing the head and tail), the tamago, and many more. if you wanted to try lots of food, you'd better came here with empty stomach. don't forget to bring lots of cash since most stalls didn't accept credit card.

tofukuji temple

honestly, i didn't know what to see in tofukuji. when i made my itinerary, i only wanted to see fushimi inari and arashiyama since we couldn't see them last time we were in kyoto. but i also wanted to maximize our vacation since we didn't bring our kids along. so when i read that you could visit fushimi inari and tofukuji at the same time since they're very close, i intended to do so without knowing anything about tofukuji. so when we arrived there, i barely knew anything. i didn't know where to go once we were there. there were no english sign whatsoever, so we were walking around the outer ground for some time to figure out where to go next. husband also wanted to rest for a bit and did some work since work was calling from home. hahaha.. so i walked around trying to figure out where to go and what to see. if you wanted to do a bit research, you can go to their website (here) but i think this one gives more thorough explanation (here).

the side of the hondo

the hondo

okay, after reading those two websites, i thought i didn't get in from the front. probably i got in from the side, that's why i had difficulty finding the sanmon gate (you could see in my pictures that i didn't have the sanmon gate's picture). i did see the hondo which was the first big building that i saw when i entered the temple site. then after walking around, there were two admission offices on that area, the one was a bit front of the hondo, and that was the entrance for tsutenkyo bridge and kaisendo hall. while the other was a little bit on the back and that was the entrance of hojo. we didn't enter the hojo because after observing for a bit, the hojo was quite small and the gardens that surround the hojo was only rocks and grass, so husband thought it didn't worth it. but if you wanted to see what zen garden is, you should check it out since the zen garden surrounding the hojo was the famous zen garden. and you had to take off your shoes when entering hojo. both hojo and kaisendo admission fee were 400 yen (adult) and it was one time entry.

the view from tsukenkyo bridge

looking east toward hojo (looks like the one in the website, right?)

kaisendo hall (on the left was the construction)

we decided to see the tsutenkyo and kaisendo hall. it was very quiet when we go there, but during autumn peak, it might be crowded since the leaves will be very red and pretty and lots of people wanted to see that. the best time to visit this temple probably around spring and autumn as it will give you lots of flower (in spring) and red maple leaves (in autumn). we were there early in autumn, so there were some leaves already turning red, but not all of them. mostly they were still green. but anyway, it was a good way of cooling down after that climbing at fushimi inari.

after we paid at the admission office, there was this walk toward tsutenkyo bridge. from the bridge you could see all the trees that will turn red when it's autumn peak. after crossing the bridge, if you turn right, you could see kaisando hall. unfortunately, when we were there, garden in front of kaisando was under construction, but you could still see the other half of the garden. the entire garden was not that big, but there were some stairs, short stairs here and there. i have to say this one suitable for older people since the scenery was very calm and serene, it was really quiet so i guess older people will like that. there were benches all over the park, you could sit down and take some rest and enjoy the scenery, but you couldn't eat while in the park. kids will also like it, since it wasn't tiring, but perhaps make sure your kids didn't make noise while in there. you could bring stroller in here, but if it were crowded, you might want to use baby carrier instead. i didn't go to fushimi inari's toilet, so i couldn't say anything about it, but i went to tofukuji toilet. it was small and old so there were no fancy bidet button and seat heater, but it was clean. it was like regular toilet in any other places (seems like wasn't in japan, since japan is associated with their fancy toilet with that seat heater, sound, bidet and flush button). and there was no changing table or kids seat in the toilet. so if you had baby and you had to change their diaper, you might face some difficulty especially if your baby is really small. okay.. that's from me, definitely a good way to end the morning trip. i would suggest this combo if you wanted to see lots of places in your vacation.

fushimi inari

the first menu on our second day but first day in kyoto was fushimi inari. last time we were in kyoto, we only managed to go to kiyomizu-dera, while my in-laws and her colleague went to fushimi inari. this time i decided to go to fushimi inari. i wanted to visit as many temples or attractions as we could since we didn't bring any kids along with us. i honestly didn't know fushimi inari ground whatsoever. i just thought it would be numerous red gate (or torii). then i found out that fushimi inari was really close to tofukuji temple. even some people suggested to do both at the same time. i asked my husband if he wanted to do that and he said we could try. so i saved a hiking trail from the website that i found. actually there were two website, but the first one didn't give the complete guide from fushimi inari to tofukuji. it only covered fushimi inari (check it here) so we decided to follow the second one that gave direction to make turn to tofukuji (check it here). but first let's start from the start.

the entrance

since we were using the kansai area pass, we had to use JR line to maximize the use of the pass (because it offered unlimited rides) so we took the train to inari station. once we arrived at inari station, it was easy to find fushimi inari. it only took a super short walk to the entrance gate. fyi, fushimi inari was free of admission and it opened 24 hours. we arrived there quite early as we couldn't sure that we could manage the hike to tofukuji, so better start early. when we arrived, there were already crowded but not too crowded. we could still walk without brushing with other people. if you're interested in visiting fushimi inari, i would suggest you wear proper attire, such as comfortable clothes (maybe just shirt and pants of jeans work best) and walking shoes (perhaps sandal works too, but some stairs might be slippery, so shoes works better in my opinion). i've seen people stopping because their feet hurt.

you see me

now you don't

there were only stairs and gates at fushimi inari. at first, the stairs were short and there were some flat surfaces here and there, so you didn't feel catching your breath at all. there were lots of other people stopping and taking pictures, so you'd totally think you could make it. but once you saw a bunch of torii gates in front of you, you'd see numerous stairs going up. and it didn't stop for awhile. my husband totally lost his breath doing all those walk up the stairs. not all the stairs were wide enough, but you could stand aside to catch your breath while other people passed you, but you had to be careful. in some spots, the other side was bamboo forest and maybe the land was far away from the stairs, so be careful.

now, let me tell you the difficulty we faced. we saw the instruction and looked for the same sign that the instruction told us to see to go to tofukuji. but unfortunately, all the signs we found was different, and it was in japanese so we had no idea. we didn't know whether we followed the right path or not. but we managed to go almost up to the top of mt. inari. there was this flat surface and there was a small shop where people stopped and drank and took some rest. and it was quite crowded. at that point, you could see the city view, but not too clearly since there were some trees covering the view. but it was worth the hike. anyway, at that stop point, there was this shop owner giving people directions about tofukuji. i overheard them and i asked him after the other people moved on, and he pointed the directions to tofukuji. so we followed his directions and it was very different from the guide that we planned to follow.

the walk to tofukuji was relatively easy, but we had to be careful, because it was downward. and there were no steps. it was just normal road so we had to walk diagonally so we wouldn't fall down. then we arrived in the residential area, and it was no sign to point which way to tofukuji, so we turned to google maps to guide us. but apparently, if you're not zooming close enough, you could make the wrong turn. so make sure you zoom all the way till you can see all the crossroads. anyway, we made it to tofukuji. it took us about 1 hours (or less) to go almost to the top, then arrived at tofukuji. but we took a lot of resting, since my husband lost a lot of breath going up all that stairs. but if you're fit enough, you could make it faster than us.

okay, so i saw some parents brought along their kids, from babies in their strollers to young kids roughly 4-6 years. but let me tell you, bringing kids might be okay, but bringing strollers might be a mistake. there were lots of steps, so you basically had to carry your baby and folded your stroller. so it was twice the job if you're bringing your stroller. i had to say if you wanted to bring your baby, better do it with baby carriers. then travel light. perhaps store the heavy bags at the station and just brought some changing clothes and water bottle. there were some vending machine selling water and various drinks, so you shouldn't worry much when you ran out of water. now, if your kids were big enough, and they could walk, then make sure that they were fit enough to climb numerous stairs. or you were fit enough to carry them when they're tired. my advice, maybe wait until they're teenager to go with you. but it's up to you. same goes to elder people. if they had no problem walking and climbing up the stairs, and no health issue, especially cardiac issue, then they could go. but if they had knee problems, walking problems, and some cardiac issue, perhaps they shouldn't climb all the way to mt.inari and just wandered around the main hall. or just wait at tofukuji if you're planning to do both of them at once. tofukuji was better option for kids and elder people. and probably don't go there in the summer. we went there in early autumn so it was still sunny but it wasn't that hot and humid, so perhaps spring or autumn were better option. anyway... this was a good start in the morning, a bit exercise in a fun way.

kyoto ramen koji

we were just arrived at kyoto so we didn't want to go too far just for finding dinner, so we decided to find some good food at the station. the station has JR isetan department store in it, and it has fresh food or takeaway food at the basement and restaurant from 9F to 11 F, and there are two other dining place at the station, the cube and porta. so i imagined there must be something to eat. and husband was craving for another ramen, so we decided to go to kyoto ramen koji.

basically, kyoto ramen koji is a floor for several ramen shops from all over japan. there are 9 ramen shops and 1 desert cafe. you can check all available ramen in their website (here). i didn't think to check their website beforehand, but luckily, in front of the elevator there's this big lightboard that explained a bit about each ramen shops. it explained the area where it came from (from sapporo to tokyo) and the type of the ramen used and the soup, even the flavor characteristics, so you could pick the one that suits you best. at first, i thought it would be like food court setting, where you could buy from several stall and then sit in a large area. turned out i was wrong.

it was basically a bunch of restaurants on the entire floor. so you have to pick one and then go inside the restaurant and ordered. i think different restaurant has different seating arrangement, but i can't say for sure since we only went there once. i wanted to try the kyoto misutani or toyama todai one, but husband wanted to try hakata ikkousha (we used to had hakkata store in our home city, but they have closed their stores, leaving only one stall in one mall that we rarely go to) so since we both had to be in the same restaurant, i decided to just go with him instead of going separately. it wasn't any queue at hakata, but there was short queue in front of misutani later after we finished, so husband was curious whether it's really good or because the store is the first one at front after you came out of the elevator.

this is the description from the website about hakata ikkousha: the creamy pork bone soup is impressive! this is the ultimate pork bone soup. really creamy! come to a heaven woven from thinly sliced flat noodles. it has flat, fine noodles, and more toward rich flavor.

anyway, when you arrived at the store, there was a vending machine outside that actually had english menu but we couldn't find it at first. there was a waiter so we asked her about it, and she wasn't that fluent at english, but she understood what we were asking about and chose the english option and the menu changed into english but for a minutes or two. there were not much to choose from. basically everything was tonkotsu ramen (pork bone soup) with thinly sliced pork surrounding the bowl and there was the spicy version of it. there were several set, so you could get the ramen with karaage chicken or mentai rice. i picked the ramen and karaage set and husband picked the spicy one. after picking the menu that we wanted, we paid for it and gave the ticket to the waiter and then went inside and waited in our seats. price wise, i think it's similar to other ramen shops.

the vending machine
notice the green box on top left, it was the button that the waiter chose to change the language

the restaurant only had, i think about 3 long tables with small chairs facing it like counter model but without wall separator (no booth like ichiran). even though they said child are welcome, if you had small kids, i don't think they can sit on round chair without backing like that. and the place was really small, the alley was narrow. basically if the place were full, you could brush your elbow with other people elbow. anyway, they had several spices and condiments on the table and chopsticks, spoons, and even free water. you just have to grab it yourself. yay for free water! hahaha..

when the ramen bowl came, it looked like the one in the picture. but the size.. oh my.. it was big! and i immediately regret ordering a karaage chicken because the karaage chicken was also a big chunk! i thought it would be like bite size karaage like the one i had at home, but this one was really big. anyway... i didn't taste my husband's because i can't eat spicy food so i can't say anything about his ramen bowl. but mine.. the pork slices were generous. even though it's thin, but it was enough to finish the whole bowl without running out of pork slices. however, they put sprouts and lots of scallions on top, which i didn't like. so i had to put them aside to get the ramen underneath.

notice how the table was really crowded. it was the end of the table behind the brown jar that contained ginger and pickles.
the karaage was on the small plate, but trust me it was big.
you can see my overflowing ramen bowl

the ramen was thin and not soft enough for my taste. perhaps if compared to pasta, it would be just al dente. i wished it were softer. the soup was quite thick. it was definitely rich, had strong pork bone taste. they served it really hot. so i had difficulty eating a big bowl of it because it was so hot but since the soup was quite thick and rich, i had to finish it quickly or it would taste bad. perhaps i burned my tongue a bit having to finish it quickly. it also tasted a bit salty to my taste so i had to drink a lot to ease the saltiness. i completely forgot how it tasted back here because it's been so long since i had their tonkotsu ramen. the one sold in the shopping mall was chicken broth ramen, which was rich but it was not as rich as pork bone broth. but the karaage was totally similar to the one we had here! but they were smaller here. it had crispy skin and had lots of spices, i could even taste the hint of ginger in it. even the chicken meat was full of tasty spices. it was great, unfortunately i was full so i couldn't finish it. luckily we only bought one so husband finished the rest. i looked at other people beside us and one of them ordered the set with mentai rice. i couldn't imagine how she could manage to finish all of it since the ramen was quite big and the mentai rice was normal size portion, unlike the one we had at yazawa which came in smaller bowl.

anyway... we end the night really full and satisfy with ramen that we decided no more ramen for couple days. i definitely recommend this for those who like rich and thick pork bone broth soup. if you didn't like thick soup, you should skip it and try something else. i would definitely come back here but perhaps trying other shops, maybe the misutani one. i hope the queue wasn't lying..