Try Aoshima Shokudo’s Shoga Shoyu Ramen in Akihabara

Niigata is a prefecture located about 300 km northwest of Tokyo, and a city in the prefecture, “Nagaoka (長岡)” currently has the second largest population, approximately 2.7 hundred thousand, after the city of Niigata.

The city, Nagaoka is nationally famous for its fireworks festival annually held on August 2 and 3 where many people come to see the splendid fireworks display from around the country.

In Nagaoka, there is a flavor of ramen known as one of Niigata’s 5 major local ramen, to eat which I visited the city the other day.

Nagaoka Shoga Shoyu Ramen (長岡 しょうが醤油ラーメン)

The regional specialty of Nagaoka, called “Shoga Shoyu Ramen (しょうが醤油ラーメン)”, is also available in instant noodle versions, one of which I actually enjoyed just now.

“Shoga (しょうが)” means ginger in Japanese, while “Shoyu (醤油)” is the Japanese word for soy sauce, and Shoga Shoyu Ramen is a bowl of soy sauce-based ramen with a hint of ginger flavor.

Aoshima Shokudo (青島食堂)

In Nagaoka, there are several ramen restaurants popular for their Shoga Shoyu Ramen, and among them, “Aoshima Shokudo (青島食堂)” is the most famous, known as the originator of Nagaoka Shoga Shoyu Ramen.

Aoshima Shokudo has 3 branches in Nagaoka and the other day I went to the Miyauchi-Ekimae main shop located in front of JR Miyauchi Station.

As you can see in the photo above, the shop might be hard to find because the signboard denoting the place is old and small.

Nonetheless, in the shop, there are always a lot of people slurping the noodles.

Aoshima Shokudo’s Shoga Shoyu Ramen is characterized by its deep taste of soy sauce and its subtle ginger-flavor gives the noodle soup a refreshing note, which is why I can’t get enough of it.

Would you like to give it a try?

Akihabara Branch in Tokyo

Fortunately, Aoshima Shokudo has a branch in Akihabara, Tokyo (Google Map), so if you have a plan to visit Tokyo and are curious about the taste of the Nagaoka’s unique ginger ramen, why not drop in at the place?

• Address: 3-20-1 Kanda Sakuma-Cho, Chiyoda-Ku, Tokyo
• Open: 11:00 to 18:00
• Closed: Tuesdays