Where Kyoto Locals Actually Eat Ramen — and Why They Skip the One With the Hour-Long Queue
京都人が本当に通うラーメン——観光客が並ぶ名店を地元が“パス”する理由
When a Kyoto channel posted nine ramen shops "tourists never find" out in the city's southern neighborhoods, the locals in the comments did what locals do — they argued. The single most-liked reply (23 likes) doesn't thank anyone; it snaps that the list forgot Ore no Ramen Appareya, and others pile on with the branches it missed, like Takabashi Daiichi-Asahi in Joyo. The consensus that shakes out is not the downtown queue spots at all: regulars are openly skeptical that one hour-long-line famous shop is worth the wait — "the dipping broth goes cold fast" — and what they rally around instead are neighborhood joints far from the temples. Above all Miyako Hanten in Yawata, whose Sichuan ramen one commenter calls flat-out No.1 and another calls the local "soul food." These are working-class shops off the tourist path, not a walkable downtown list — but they're the ramen Kyoto locals actually go out of their way for, in their own words, and a hint that the queue you were about to join might be the wrong one.
“I went to Takei about 15 years ago, and honestly it wasn't the kind of place worth queuing an hour for at lunch — that's my memory of it, at least.”
たけ井は15年ぐらい前に行きましたが、お昼時に1時間並んでまで食べる感じではなかった当時の記憶。
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What locals said (excerpted from 61)
- @piccarinyo👍 3
I thought the same. It may have changed since, but the dipping broth goes cold on you fast.
俺もそう思った。当時と変わっているかも知れんが、つけ汁がすぐ冷めてしまうんよ。
- @omamako👍 23
No 'Ore no Ramen Appareya' on this list.
「俺のラーメンあっぱれ屋」が無い。
- @ut5150👍 8
Wait — no Takabashi Daiichi-Asahi, the Joyo branch?…
え、たかばし第一旭城陽店ないやん、、
- @山有-z5y👍 8
Miyako Hanten has gotten pricey even by now — but back in my student days, it and the Sichuan ramen over in Kuzuha were a genuine godsend.
都飯店はこれでも高くなったのだから、くずはの四川ラーメン共に学生時代には本当にありがたい店だった
- @piccarinyo👍 6
At 'Yatai,' the real star isn't the mazesoba — it's the Taiwan ramen they showed afterward, and most regulars order it with skewers or oden on the side.
「屋台」は本来はまぜそばよりも、後から紹介された台湾ラーメンがメイン。 それに串とかおでんを注文する人が多い。
- @きらよしかげ-c8g👍 5
They all look delicious 😂 Personally, though, I'm crazy about Tajima Ramen in Ogura — I've eaten there since before it relocated. I can't get to Kyoto often, and when I do I always end up at Tajima over anywhere else, so I never branch out, lol. I used to go to 'Teppen' before it moved, too.
どこも美味しそう😂 個人的には小倉にある「但馬ラーメン」が大好きで、移転前からずっと食べています。 なかなか京都に行けなくて、京都に行くと他のお店よりも但馬ラーメンに行ってしまうから、新天地開拓出来ない😂 「てっぺん」も移転前に行ってました😊😊
Where locals go instead
- @19871129yuki👍 2
I've eaten ramen all over, and Miyako Hanten's Sichuan ramen is still the best.
いろんなラーメン食べてるけど、都飯店の四川ラーメンが1番やな
- @99999joeyjordison👍 3
For those of us in Otokoyama, Miyako Hanten is soul food, no question. Thank you for this.
男山民にとって都飯店は間違いなくソウルフードです ありがとうございます
Places named in this article
- Miyako Hanten都飯店Yawata, south of Kyoto
The thread's darling: “I've eaten ramen all over, and Miyako Hanten's Sichuan ramen is still the best” — locals from Otokoyama call it soul food.
- Ore no Ramen Appareya俺のラーメンあっぱれ屋Joyo
The most-liked comment (23) is pure indignation that the video's list left it out.
- Honke Daiichi-Asahi Takabashi (Joyo)本家第一旭たかばし 久津川店Joyo, near Kutsukawa Sta.
The branch locals insisted was missing from the list — relocated from Terada to Kutsukawa in 2021.
- Tajima Ramen但馬ラーメン 春日森店Ogura, Uji
One commuter's ride-or-die: “when I do get to Kyoto, I always end up at Tajima over anywhere else.”
Named in the source comments — hours, prices, and openings change, so check each map listing before you go.
FAQ
- Is the hour-long ramen queue in Kyoto worth it?
- The regulars in this thread say no, at least for the famous shop in question (Takei): “it wasn't the kind of place worth queuing an hour for at lunch,” and “the dipping broth goes cold on you fast.” Those are comment-time impressions — but nobody in the thread defends the queue.
- Where is Kyoto's best ramen, according to locals?
- Not downtown. The names locals rally around are out in the southern suburbs: Miyako Hanten's Sichuan ramen in Yawata (“still the best,” “soul food”), Appareya in Joyo — the most-liked comment protests its absence from the list — and Honke Daiichi-Asahi Takabashi in Joyo.
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