Kyoto Ramen Beyond the Tourist Lists: What Japanese Ramen Fans Say — 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
By Rakutaro · Tokyo, Japan
When a Kyoto channel posted nine ramen shops "tourists never find" out in the city's southern neighborhoods, the 61-comment thread argued back. The most-liked reply (23 likes) doesn't thank anyone; it snaps that the list forgot Ore no Ramen Appareya, and others pile on with missing branches like Takabashi Daiichi-Asahi in Joyo. What the thread rallies around is not the downtown queue spots: commenters are openly skeptical that the famous hour-long-line shop is worth the wait ("the dipping broth goes cold on you fast"), and the names they push instead are working-class joints far from the temples. Above all Miyako Hanten in Yawata, whose Sichuan ramen one commenter calls "still the best" and a commenter from Otokoyama calls "soul food, no question."
“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。
Where Japanese visitors go instead
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
— @19871129yuki2 likesFor 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
— @99999joeyjordison3 likes
Places named in this article
- Miyako HantenYawata, south of Kyoto
The thread's darling: “I've eaten ramen all over, and Miyako Hanten's Sichuan ramen is still the best” — and a commenter from Otokoyama calls it “soul food, no question.”
- Ore no Ramen AppareyaJoyo
The most-liked comment (23) is pure indignation that the video's list left it out.
- Honke Daiichi-Asahi Takabashi (Joyo)Joyo, near Kutsukawa Sta.
The branch a commenter insisted was missing from the list: “Wait — no Takabashi Daiichi-Asahi, the Joyo branch?” (8 likes).
- Tajima RamenOgura, 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. Where a note gives a price, opening status or rule, we checked it against the linked source on the date shown — everything else is what the comments said. All of it can change; check the map listing before you go.
FAQ
- Is the hour-long ramen queue in Kyoto worth it?
- The commenters 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 Japanese ramen fans?
- Not downtown. Japanese ramen fans here rally around the southern suburbs: Miyako Hanten's Sichuan ramen in Yawata (“still the best,” “soul food”), Appareya in Joyo — the most-liked reply protests its absence from the list — and Honke Daiichi-Asahi Takabashi in Joyo.
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What Japanese visitors said — picked from the top 30 of 61 comments
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。
No 'Ore no Ramen Appareya' on this list.
「俺のラーメンあっぱれ屋」が無い。
Wait — no Takabashi Daiichi-Asahi, the Joyo branch?…
え、たかばし第一旭城陽店ないやん、、
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
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。
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😊😊