Kyoto Kitashirakawa Ramen Kairikiya Head Shop

It had been a while since I wanted to try Kyoto’s local ramen, so I went to the Kyoto Kitashirakawa Ramen Kairikiya Head Shop in Kyoto. As of January 2025, Kairikiya is the headquarter of a large chain of ramen stores with 161 outlets nationwide, but it may come as a surprise to you that this store has a legitimate lineage originating from the original back fat ramen store, Chinese Noodle Mastanini.

Along with Tenka Ippin, Kairikiya has grown to become a major ramen chain from Kyoto…what kind of ramen is available at their main store? Of course, I had been curious about it for a while, and decided to visit the restaurant just in time for a day when I had something to do near the restaurant…

Kyoto Kitashirakawa Ramen Kairikiya Head Shop has been in business for 20 years in the nationally famous ramen battleground of Ichijyoji…

Kyoto Kitashirakawa Ramen Kairikiya Head Shop is located on the right side of Shirakawa Dori, going north from the Ginkakuji side. The store was founded in June 2005, so it will celebrate its 20th anniversary this June. Although the name of the store is “Kitashirakawa, Kyoto,” the main store is actually located in Ichijyoji, further north from Kitashirakawa. In other words, this ramen restaurant is one of the competitors in the nationally famous ramen battleground of Ichijoji.

I arrived at the main shop of Kairikiya at around 6:30 p.m. on a holiday. Fortunately, at that time of the day, there were some seats available at the counter, so I entered the restaurant without any wait time. The restaurant has a total of 43 seats (13 counter seats and 5 tables for 6 people). The layout makes it easy for families with children to use, and although it is a ramen restaurant, it also has a family restaurant-like atmosphere, the same as the other branches across Japan.

I personally think this is what “Kairikiya” is all about… Special soy sauce ramen with kujo green onion from the limited menu at the Kyoto Kitashirakawa Ramen Kairikiya Head Shop.

This time I ordered the special soy sauce ramen with kujo green onion from the limited menu at the Kyoto Kitashirakawa Ramen Kairikiya Head Shop. Both the hardness of the noodles and the amount of back fat were customized to “normal,” and the toppings were left unchanged…

After about 10 minutes of waiting, the special soy sauce ramen with kujo green onion arrived in front of me. Personally, when I think of “Kairikiya”, I think of “Kujo green onion”. In fact, this ramen has a heap of green kujo green onion in the center of the bowl.

I customized the amount of back fat to “normal,” and my impression is that the amount of back fat is considerably less than in other back fat ramen. When I put the soup in my mouth, I found that the soy sauce was relatively light, and the chicken broth base gave off a delicious flavor.

The noodles are thin and straight with low water content compared to other restaurants. The noodles are “normal” in terms of boiling degree, but my impression is that they are a little soft and sticky when chewed. The soup was lighter than expected, so this thin type of noodle might be more suitable for the soup. The noodles also slid well down my throat, and it was nice to feel the brothiness of the soup wafting into my nose backward after passing down my throat.

And the main topping, kujo green onion, came not in round slices but in julienne. It is a very firm green onion and quite chewy. They are very crispy and have a wonderful aroma. When I dip it into the soup and eat it, the texture of the green onions and the broth of the soup stimulate my mouth and nose at the same time, and I cannot resist…

The special soy sauce ramen with kujo green onion of Kyoto Kitashirakawa Ramen Kairikiya Head Shop was a light ramen among the traditional back fatty ramen of Kyoto. As one would expect from a popular restaurant with a nationwide chain, there is no such thing as a “bad” ramen. Unlike the ramen at Chinese Noodle Masutani, this ramen does not contain chili peppers, so even children can eat it… When I see Kairikiya, I think, “After all, we need ramen shops like this…”.

Other menu items at Kyoto Kitashirakawa Ramen Kairikiya (excluding tax)

• Special soy sauce ramen with meat and egg: 980 yen
• Special soy sauce ramen with meat: 920 yen
• Special soy sauce ramen with flavored egg: 840 yen
• Special soy sauce ramen: 720 yen
• Koku-uma ramen 790 yen
• Miso ramen 790 yen
• Kyoto black soy sauce ramen 790 yen

A 100 yen discount coupon is being distributed at the time of billing…Access to the Kyoto Kitashirakawa Ramen Kairikiya Head Shop is an 8-minute walk from the nearest station, Shugakuin Station on the Eizan Electric Railway line.

At Kyoto Kitashirakawa Ramen Kairikiya, a 100 yen discount coupon for your favorite ramen noodles is distributed at the time of checkout, which can be used at the next visit. This discount coupon can be used not only at the restaurant you visited, but also at all Kairikiya restaurants in Japan. If you keep it in your wallet, you may find a Kairikiya somewhere in Japan and save a bundle. The expiration date is only one month, but I hope you’ll make the most of it, especially if you’re a repeat customer.

Now, here are the details of the store…

P.S. If you are looking for delicious ramens in Kyoto, please stop by this article below…