Nidaime Gozan

In a quiet residential area in Fushimi Ward, Kyoto City, there is a ramen shop named Nidaime Gozan. The place was originally located in a busy area along Route 1, but after a temporary closure in February 2020, it was relocated and reopened at its current location in May 2020. The reopening of the restaurant in a less conspicuous location has given the impression of being “known by those in the know” even more strongly.

One weekend night, I went to the restaurant to try the “Toroniku Ramen,” the specialty of the restaurant that made the name of Nidaime Gozan famous throughout Kyoto. Imagining the meat melting in my mouth, I walked toward the restaurant with the help of Google Maps…

The location of the restaurant is difficult to find, so if you are visiting for the first time, it is recommended to take the bus… Nidaime Gozan is a restaurant like this…

Well, it was a little difficult to find the restaurant. The new Nidaime Gozan is located a short 10-minute walk west of Tambabashi Station on the Keihan Electric Railway Line, but it blends in with the surrounding residential area, so if I had not looked at Google Maps, I would have easily passed by the restaurant. There is a bus stop very close to the restaurant, so it might be better to take a bus if you are going there for the first time. From the Kyoto Station bus stop, take the 81 Fushimi-ko city bus bound for Takeda Station or Chushojima and get off at the Nishitanbabashi bus stop, which is about 20 meters to the south.

It was around 6:30 p.m. when I visited Nidaime Gozan that day. The restaurant was quite quiet, probably because there were not many customers who had come for dinner. The restaurant has a total of 10 seats, including six counter seats and one table for four people. The couple seems to be running the restaurant alone, and perhaps they moved to a quieter location in search of more sales.

What was it like to actually try Modaime Gozan”s specialty, thick-cut seared toroniku ramen, which has gained a reputation among ramen lovers in Kyoto?

Let me introduce the specialty Toroniku Ramen that I ordered at Nidaime Gozan that day. This Toroniku Ramen comes in two versions, thick-sliced and thin-sliced pork, but this time I chose the thick-sliced version. The price is 950 yen including tax….

Less than 10 minutes after ordering, a bowl of thick-sliced toroniku ramen arrived in front of me. At a glance, the volume of the ramen itself seems small, but the toppings, such as the chopped green onion in the center of the bowl and the two slices of roasted pork underneath, seem to be rather large.

Let’s start with the soup… It is a white soup based on pork and chicken bones, and if looking closely, fine back fat can be seen floating in the soup. The moment I put it in my mouth, I felt a slight smell of pork bones, followed by a rush of rich animal flavor. In addition, the pork fat from the thickly sliced pork chashu (pork sausage) melts into the soup, giving it a particularly strong pork flavor. Even after the soup has gone down the throat, the impression of the umami remains in the mouth, so the aftertaste of the soup can be fully enjoyed.

The noodles are straight and thin, with a slight angle like Japanese buckwheat noodles. I wondered if the noodle would not have enough impact to go with such a rich soup. However, the wheatiness of the noodles is much more profound than it appears. Although the thickness of the noodle is different, the impression one gets while eating it is similar to that of Kondo Ramen noodles, which are well-known in Kyoto ramen. The impact of the wheat is not at all lost in the rich animal flavor of the soup.

Now, the specialty of Nidaime Gozan is their famous “Toroniku Chashu” pork, which is lightly seared on the surface until it is charred, releasing a savory smell from the ramen bowl even before you eat it. As the name suggests, the pork is tender and tender, but there is also a stringy part inside, which gives the pork a nice firm texture. Come to think of it, I can’t remember the last time I’ve had chashu pork made by boiling the stringy part very tender…

Nidaime Gozan‘s thickly sliced toroniku ramen like this is indeed well known among Kyoto’s ramen lovers…. Well, I would like to have a little more volume, but I guess that can’t be helped since they seem to be doing their best in these inflationary times without raising the price all the time. So, this is a cozy restaurant that I would like to support in the future. If you have a chance, please give Nidaime Gozan a try.

Examples of other ramen menu items from Nidaime Gozan (prices include tax)

• Lightly-sliced Toloniku Ramen 850 yen
• Shio ramen 900 yen
• Miso ramen 950 yen
• Red spicy pork ramen 1000 yen
• Rare chashu ramen X 1000 yen
• Torotto Ramen (limited quantity) 1000 yen
• Special Toroniku Ramen: Large portion special: 1,400 yen

Official SNS account available… Access to Nidaime Gozan is a 13-minute walk from the nearest station, Tambaguchi Station on the Keihan Electric Railway (Kintetsu Kyoto Line).

Nidaime Gozan operates official accounts on Instagram, LINE, X, etc., in which it provides the latest information. In particular, it seems that if you become friends on LINE, you can use discount coupons on a regular basis. I don’t use LINE, so unfortunately I’m not eligible, but this is a great chance to save money on ramen, gyoza, etc. If you use LINE, I strongly recommend you to check the official LINE account of the restaurant before visiting.

Now, here are the details of the restaurant…

P.S. If you are looking for good ramen in Kyoto, please stop by this article…