Shojaku station… located in a residential area with nothing remarkable other than the Hankyu train depot, there is a famous Asahikawa Ramen restaurant that has been in business for almost 50 years now. There is a…

Tokkari Head Shop｜Asahikawa’s famous ramen store with a 50-year history has changed with the times…

The main restaurant, whose name means “seal” in Ainu, is a ramen restaurant with a long history, having opened its doors one week before the opening of the 1970 Osaka World’s Fair. At the time of this writing, it is 2019, so it is an amazing store that has been in business for nearly 50 years in the ramen industry, where trends are fast disappearing.

The front of the store says “Asahikawa Ramen Specialty Shop,” but there is no such thing as “Asahikawa Ramen” like Sapporo’s Miso Ramen, which is essentially Asahikawa Ramen! It just so happens that they sell soy sauce ramen. However, the fact that they happen to sell a lot of soy sauce ramen has created an image of Asahikawa ramen as soy sauce ramen.

Now, back to the main topic. In addition to shoyu ramen, which is the most representative Asahikawa ramen, shio ramen and miso ramen are also available at the main store in Tokkari. In addition to that, there is also a menu called Reprinted Version Ramen (Shoyu and Shio), which is a reminder of the history of the restaurant, which will soon celebrate its 50th anniversary.

Then, let’s compare the normal and reprinted versions! So, over the course of two days, I tasted the normal shoyu ramen and the reprinted shoyu ramen.

Comparing Normal Shoyu Ramen and Reprinted Shoyu Ramen at Tokkari Head Shop. What has changed over time is…

First, the normal version of soy sauce ramen…

As you can see from the image above, the soup is black with soy sauce. But when you put it in your mouth, you will find that it is not at all soy sauce spicy. It has a mild flavor that you would not expect from its color, and the soup is light and refreshing without being curdly hot.

The noodles that go well with the soup are homemade, medium-thick noodles. The noodles are firm and sticky, but do not absorb the soup too much, so the texture remains firm until the end.

On the other hand, the reissued shoyu ramen…

You may not be able to tell the difference between the two by comparing them in the image. In fact, when you look at it, you will get the impression that the reissue version has more fat floating in the soup.

Now, take a sip of the soup…it seems to be more oily than the normal version because of the fat content. It seems to be one of the characteristics of Asahikawa ramen to put lard in the soup, so I guess this fat content is lard. Other than that, the soup base, types of ingredients, and noodles are the same as the normal version.

In other words, the difference between the normal version and the reprinted version is “with or without lard. The “reissue” version contains lard and has more calories, while the “normal” version has less fat and is more light and refreshing.

I asked the owner about this. He said that the ingredients and preparation method are the same, except for the fat content of the soup.

When we were children, ramen was a man’s food. Old men working at construction sites would go into a ramen shop for a quick bite to eat and then return to work…I am sure that most stores were like that.

But times have changed. Nowadays, a book could easily be written on ramen alone. Each restaurant has come to emphasize its own specialties, and the number of ramen fanatics and female customers has also increased. As a result, on the one hand, there was a trend toward ramen with a gutsy, gutsy style, such as Jiro-style ramen, and on the other hand, light, low-calorie ramen favored by women.

If you call yourself a ramen connoisseur from the olden days, it might be nice to sip on both types of ramen while thinking about the trends of the times.

Branches are expanding in Ibaraki and other Hokusetsu areas! Tokkari Head Shop is a 1-minute walk from the Hankyu Kyoto Line’s Shojaku Station!

Now, here are the details of the restaurant. Restaurant data is below…

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

P.P.S. Near the Tokkari Head Shop, there is also this popular ramen store…