A quick bowl of ramen and gyoza at one of the makers’ local stops.
Vegetables and noodles at Hachiban Ramen’s Takefu branch.
01 / Lunch with the makers
A ramen stop in Takefu.
I know not everyone is up for formal dining, especially if raw fish and rice aren’t what you’re used to. Ramen and gyoza are an easier place to start. When we wanted a quick bite, Kurosaki-san brought us here, to Hachiban Ramen’s Takefu branch.
I had lunch with Kurosaki and Shibata-san on 10 June. This is somewhere the makers eat locally. My note calls it “Hokuriku style”: a bowl piled with vegetables, with gyoza alongside it.
The Takefu branch frontage on our June visit.Outside the entrance during our lunch stop.
02 / The lunch table
Gyoza alongside the bowl.
The dumplings are arranged browned-side up on an oval plate. In the ramen photographs, cabbage and other vegetables sit over the noodles, with a red spoon resting in the broth.
I photographed the bowl from above and again from the side. From the side you can see the mound of vegetables; from above, the noodles show through.
Gyoza alongside the ramen.
A view down into the noodle bowl.The takeaway board during the June visit. These are historical prices.
03 / A different kind of meal
Part of the same travel album.
A meal with the makers doesn’t have to be a formal dinner. Sometimes it’s just following Kurosaki-san to a local ramen shop for lunch.
For the practical side of a knife trip, the branch matters. The address below is the Takefu restaurant photographed here, rather than a general pin for the Hachiban chain.
