YAMAGATA RAMEN - RAMEN JAPAN

Ramen Japan, this time in the city of Yamagata. They eat more ramen than anywhere else in Japan. Key to the amazing local ramen are soba, cattle, and ice? We unravel the mysteries of Yamagata ramen. Welcome to Japan, the land of ramen. Capital of Yamagata prefecture, Yamagata city with a population of 240,000. The average household here spends 13,196 yen, around 100 US dollars, annually on ramen. That's more than anywhere else in Japan. The ramen shops here are also a little bit different. The signboard reads soba. In fact, this isn't a ramen shop, but a soba shop. Unlike ramen, soba noodles aren't made from wheat, but from buckwheat flour, a classic Japanese noodle dish. It's eaten with hot soup, or chilled and eaten with a cold dipping sauce. All over Japan, soba shops sell soba. But here in Yamagata, many also feature ramen on their menus. Visiting another local soba shop. There's ramen here too. And at lunchtime, most of the customers order ramen. According to the owner. So what's the ramen like at a soba shop? The soup is the same dashi used for soba. At this shop, it's made with mackerel, dried bonito and kombu. The unique recipe of each soba establishment is key to the soup's flavor. Beef bone broth is also added to the dashi. At my relative's wedding, my father also added beef bone broth to the dashi. Then he cooled it down and put it in the fridge. Soy sauce also goes well with it. Local soy sauce goes well with it. So while keeping the image of soba broth, the beef bone broth also has a distinct flavor. It's not uncommon for Yamagata soba shops to sell more ramen than soba on a given day. The dashi is different. I think it's based on soba broth. There's a distinct flavor that you can't find at a ramen shop. Soba ramen is delicious here. But why did ramen become a soba shop staple in Yamagata? The origins date back to 1923. The year a massive earthquake struck the Tokyo area. Yokohama's Chinatown also suffered major damage. And many of the residents were evacuated to other areas of Japan. One of them, Yamagata. There were only soba shops in Yamagata. The soba shop was the only place where Chinese artisans could work. The soba shop taught me how to make soba. So even in a soba shop, Chinese soba is a staple. Beef bone soup has a long history in Yamagata, since the area is a center for cattle production. In the 1870s, a British teacher named Charles Henry Dallas helped popularize the delicious beef of Yamagata, where he worked, in the capital. This monument recognizes his contribution to wagyu production. The combination of soba, beef and Chinese cuisine led to the creation of Yamagata's distinctive ramen. A Yamagata ramen essential, soy sauce. Founded in 1908, this soy sauce brewer supplies many of the city's soba shops. The standard ingredients for soy sauce are soy, wheat and salt. But in Yamagata, sugar is also added. But why did sweet soy sauce become the local preference? According to Seino Yoshio, who studied soy sauce in Yamagata for some 40 years. Slow simmered taro and beef, a Yamagata speciality. In Yamagata, it's seasoned with soy sauce and extra sugar. The dipping sauce for soba is also made with sugar. The sweet soy sauce already used for soba, added to ramen, made it all the more delicious. Yamagata in summer. At this soba shop, a certain type of ramen sells over 500 bowls a day. Chilled ramen topped with ice. Abe Toru inherited this chilled ramen tradition from the original owner. Just like soba, the soup features bonito and kombu dashi. In addition, beef infused soy sauce is added. The water is also key. The ice to chill the ramen is made with this water. And the same water is used to dilute the soup base. It's also used to chill the noodles. The toppings are perfect for summer. The meat isn't chashu pork, but beef. When I made chilled ramen, people around me called it chadomu ramen. When I tried it, I thought maybe I should call it that. Toru's grandfather, Abe Senshiro. About 70 years ago, he first created chilled ramen. Yamagata city lies in a basin surrounded by mountains. In 1933, the highest ever temperature in Japan, 40.8 degrees centigrade, was recorded here. A record that stood for 74 years. The key feature is how the chilled soup is made. Just cooling it down would cause the beef fat to congeal. So instead of cooling the beef bone broth, he came up with a sauce that added beef flavor. Made by simmering the meat in soy sauce. Additionally, soy and sesame oil, which also help to prevent congealing, are used to create a rich cold soup. What are you going to do with all this delicious food? I want the next generation to eat it too. But as you may have guessed, many people actually order ramen. Eating ramen at home is also Yamagata style. Is it good? When my family and relatives get together, we order ramen together. I think 99% of people order ramen. Delivery service is an ancient soba shop tradition. It's even depicted in this illustration from 1771. Yamagata households order ramen for every occasion. The ramen was ordered by the homeowner for these two guests, who are here to discuss doing some home renovations. We're going to have a meeting while eating ramen for lunch. It doesn't have to be anything, but Yamagata style ramen is a tradition. Is it sushi? If it's sushi, you'd think it's going to be a feast. But here, you can order ramen without hesitation. Yamagata's love of ramen is clear. Yamagata city's mayor made an announcement to the whole nation. I hereby declare that Yamagata is the birthplace of ramen. In order to stimulate the local economy, the proclamation was meant to promote sales of Yamagata's beloved ramen. With its ancient soba culture and flourishing cattle industry, this city gave birth to a unique form of ramen found nowhere else. Ramen. Essential to daily life here. Something they're so proud of that they declared their home ramen's sacred ground. Wouldn't you like some yourself? Come pay a visit for the best bowl of ramen you've ever had.