Nagoya Ramen Festival 2023

Jan 22, 2023

Nagoya Ramen Festival 2023

Ramen is a classic Japanese food. If you ask a random person, foreign or Japanese, male or female, what their favorite food is, you are highly likely to get “ramen” as your answer. Ramen is a noodle soup of wheat noodles served in a meat-based broth. Standard flavors include:

• Shio or “salt.”
• Tonkotsu or “pork bone”
• Shōyu  or “soy sauce”
• Miso

While you can always find these flavors in some of the many great ramen-ya [ramen shops] around Nagoya, you will also find numerous regional and local varieties that make for the truly enamored a love of ramen a lifelong pursuit.

However, for those of us who may not immediately know where some of the more unusual and flavorsome noodles can be found, the best chance locally to find and try some of these varieties without traversing the country is the Nagoya Ramen Matsuri.

Taking place over three ‘acts,’ the 2023 Nagoya Ramen Matsuri at Hisaya Odori Park in Sakae is an excellent opportunity to try out some phenomenal noodle dishes. The festival brings together some of the best ramen-ya from around Japan and puts them all in one place for your very own delight, with each event featuring ten different restaurants. Unfortunately, by the time you read this, the first act (January 24-29) will have been completed, but fear not, for there are two other events to come.

Event 2: Tuesday, January 31 – Sunday, February 5

Highlights include:

• Sapporo Miso – pork belly, black pepper, and medium thick, curly noodles in a miso broth with a 130-year-old recipe.
• Ramen Dining An – The thin noodles balance perfectly with the flavorsome 100 percent red sea bream soup.
• Mamatengu – Straight out of Takayama, this soy-based ramen comes with Hida pork and curly noodles that are exclusive to the festival.
• Kyoto Jukusei Hosomen Ramen Kyo – Bringing a distinct Yakiniku flavor to the ramen, the richly roasted char siu pork matches sumptuously with the high-grade chicken soup.

Event 3: Tuesday, February 7 – Sunday, February 12

Highlights include:

• Ebisoku – The first prize winner at the Toyama Ramen Festa, the Toyama Black soup is a unique mixture of black soy and pepper, topped with chashu pork.
• Osaka Beef Ramen Wada – With chives, kimchi, beef, and egg, this is a spicy offering to get pulses racing.
• Naberabo by Watanabe – The rich pork bone broth meshes with aromatic garlic to make this ramen from Tamana in Kumamoto Prefecture somewhat addictive.
• Kanazawa Noku Chuka Soba Shinsen – Seared pork belly and miso broth combined with a luxurious Kaga Miso, a recipe passed down since Japan’s Feudal Warring era.

How to Take part in Nagoya Ramen Festival 2023

Admission to the event is free, but tickets to eat your choice of ramen from a vendor cost 950 JPY each. To order, purchase a ticket from the onsite vending machine before lining up at your designated store.

If you wish to order early for fear of sell outs, you can do so via Ticket Pia by clicking the link here, or at a Seven-Eleven ticket machine using P-code: 994-026.

Nagoya Ramen Festival 2023

Website
Hisayaodori Park (map)
10:00 – 20:30 (last order 20:15)
Sundays 10:30 – 18:00 (last order 17:45)

 

Image via https://nagoya-ramen.com/