Nara Beyond the Deer: The Hometown Chains Locals Grew Up On — Tenri Ramen Rivalries and All

▶Scroll while you watch

What locals said (excerpted from 76)

• @はゆたはなは👍 13

  Most people only know Nara as a tourist image, but it's genuinely a great place to live.

  奈良は観光イメージしかない人がほとんどだと思うが 本当に住みやすい

• @堀口学-v9y👍 8

  I'm team Saika — but both chains have yatai (street-stall) locations, and stamina ramen eaten at the stall, where you can bring your own drinks, is on another level!

  私は彩華ラーメン派やけど 天スタもどちらも屋台在るし 屋台で持ち込んみオッケーなお酒を 飲みながら食べるスタミナラーメンが 格別に美味しい！

• @みなみ奈良👍 12

  I used to go to the Saika yatai by the Tenri pool all the time. Hard to believe now, but staff would come take your order at the car window and you'd slurp your ramen in the driver's seat. The car reeked the next day (lol). That's 40 years ago now.

  彩華は昔天理プールの屋台に良く行きました。今では考えられないんですが、店員が車に注文聞きに来て、車の中でラーメンすすってましたね。次の日車が臭い(笑)もう４０年前のお話です

• @kesikomitube1👍 4

  Forty years ago we'd put the kid to bed and my wife and I would dash to the Saika stall beside Tenri University. Big rugby- and judo-club students would scoop mountains of grated garlic into their bowls with the butt end of their chopsticks. I still drop by the yatai-style Saika on the Tenri highway now and then.

  40年前、子供を寝かしつけて女房と天理大学横の彩華屋台に走りました 大勢のラグビー部や柔道部のガタイの良い学生が割り箸の頭で おろしニンニクをごっそりすくいブチ込んでました 今でも時々 天理街道の屋台形式の彩華に行ってます

• @券太郎👍 15

  Hirasou kakinoha-zushi is the one I associate with Kintetsu station stands; Gojo's Tanaka I associate with the MBS radio jingle.

  柿の葉寿司の平宗は近鉄の駅で売っているイメージ　五條たなかはMBSラジオCMのイメージ

• @ごろ滝👍 3

  People call Tanaka and Yamato the twin peaks of kakinoha-zushi, but I am ride-or-die for Izasa.

  たなかとやまとが柿の葉寿司の双璧だと言われるが、 俺は断固としてゐざさ推し

• @ナオキナノ👍 18

  Whenever someone brought Dango-no-Sho as a gift, we'd fight over it.

  お土産にだんご庄を貰うと奪い合うように食ったもんです

• @葉月416👍 6

  I grew up on Dango-no-Sho — coins in my pocket, bike to the shop. Buy a couple of skewers and they'd hand them over in a little plastic bag, and I'd eat them on the swings at the park close by. The bookstore where I used to sneak-read is long gone now, but the Bojo area was like my backyard.

  だんご庄は小さい頃からよく食べてて、小銭ポケットに入れて自転車で買いに行ったもんです 2本くらいだとビニール袋に入れて渡してくれて、すぐ近くにあった公園のブランコで食べてたな もう跡形もないけど本屋とかあってちょろっと立ち読みしたり、坊城付近は庭のようなもんでした

• @flip-flop2426👍 7

  Dango-no-Sho only has shops at two stations, Yagi and Bojo — but Ogiya in Kashiba was opened by someone who trained there, so give that a try too.

  だんご庄のだんごは八木と坊城の２駅のみですが、このだんご庄で修行後独立した扇屋も香芝市にありますので是非

• @sakune1341jubeater👍 8

  Oh, they covered Marukatsu…!! The katsudon and curry are made with real care too, and there are seasonal limited menus to look forward to. The giant fried shrimp is great — and this time of year, the plump fried oysters are excellent!

  おお、まるかつさんを採りあげてくれている…！！ かつ丼やカレーもこだわって作っていらっしゃいます。あとは季節ごとに限定メニューも出るので、そちらも楽しみなんですよね。 大えびフライも美味しいですが、この時期は大粒のかきフライも美味しいです！

• @kyanmou6860👍 2

  Nobody came to Marukatsu at the start, seriously. And the location is genuinely awkward — a Mos Burger died there, then a ramen shop, then Marukatsu. A line-out-the-door shop in THAT spot. Respect.

  まるかつ最初のころマジで人来なかったからな というかあの場所微妙なんだよなぁモスバーガーがつぶれた後にラーメン屋でそのあとにまるかつ そんな場所で行列店だもんなぁ立派だよ

• @真島五十郎👍 8

  It brands itself with "Dotonbori" in hiragana, but Kamukura started in Nara — so isn't it really a Nara chain?

  平仮名でどうとんぼりアピールしてるけど神座奈良発祥なんで奈良のチェーン店じゃないのかな

• @rittoboymamomamo_1👍 5

  It genuinely did start as one tiny counter-only shop in Dotonbori, but when they expanded they built the factory in Nara, and it's been a Nara brand ever since…

  元は実際に、道頓堀の小さなカウンターだけの店舗だけだったが、店舗数を増やすのを機に、奈良県に工場作って以降、奈良ブランド化した模様…

• @バキューンの熊さん狂会長👍 12

  There used to be Pocket Sushi and Gattsuri-tei too. The Muteppo ramen group is originally from Nara. And Tsukushi, the udon shop from Nako Foods.

  昔は「ぽけっと寿司」や「がっつり亭」なんかも有りました。 「無鉄砲」グループももともとは奈良です。 ナコーフーズのうどんの「つくし」さんとかも有りました。

• @カナリア-o7m👍 14

  I had no idea Baby Face Planet's was from Nara.

  ベビーフェイスプラネッツが奈良からだったのは知らなかったわ

FAQ

What is Tenri ramen?

Nara's own ramen style, born in Tenri: a punchy soy broth loaded with napa cabbage stir-fried in doubanjiang. The two rival chains, Saika and Tenri Stamina Ramen, were founded by brothers (26 likes) — and locals say the definitive way to eat it is at the late-night yatai stalls both chains still run.

What food is Nara actually known for, besides feeding the deer?

The comment section's short list: Tenri stamina ramen, kakinoha-zushi (pressed sushi wrapped in persimmon leaf — locals argue over four brands: Tanaka, Yamato, Hirasou, Izasa), and kinako dango from the 140-year-old Dango-no-Sho, the souvenir one commenter's family "fought over" (18 likes).

Where can I try kakinoha-zushi near Kintetsu Nara Station?

Easily — per a commenter (15 likes), Hirasou is the brand sold at Kintetsu station stands, and the major brands all keep shops near the station: Tanaka at the entrance of the Higashimuki arcade, Hirasou in Naramachi, and Izasa by the Todaiji approach.

Is Kamukura ramen from Osaka or Nara?

Both, per the comments: it really did start as a tiny counter in Dotonbori, but when the chain expanded it built its factory in Nara and has been a Nara brand since — which is why Nara locals claim it despite the "Dotonbori" branding.