All over Japan and around the world, there are many shops serving the age-old noodle dish, ramen. However, every culinary trend has to start somewhere, and for Japanese ramen restaurants, the starting point is Rairaiken.
Rairaiken, opened in 1910 in Tokyo's Asakusa neighborhood, was Japan's first ramen restaurant. It was founded by Kanichi Ozaki and a team of 12 professional chefs from Yokohama's Chinatown. Rairaiken quickly became popular and quickly became a success, serving around 3,000 customers a day.
Rairaiken noodle shop opened in 1910 Tokyo
Rairaiken established its brand in the Asakusa area for more than 30 years. Around 1944, due to the impact of the war, the restaurant closed for the first time. 10 years later, in 1954, the shop reopened to serve customers but moved to a new location in the Yaesu district, near today's Tokyo Station. However, by 1976, there was no one left to continue the family business, Rairaiken was forced to close again. Now, after 44 years of hiatus, Rairaiken is surprisingly back, continuing to serve ramen lovers.
The Yokohama Ramen Museum has researched and restored the Rairaiken noodle shop.
It is known that this is part of the mission to preserve and share the history of traditional Japanese noodles. The Yokohama Ramen Museum has collaborated with Mr. Kanichi's grandson Kunio Takahashi and great-grandson Yusaku Takahashi to research and restore the shop.
The new Rairaiken noodle shop is located in Yokohama city, about 25 minutes south of Tokyo.
The restoration began with an effort to identify the original recipe that Kanicho used for his noodles. His grandson, Kunio, and experts determined the ingredients of the flour based on his first experience eating ramen at the old shop. For the broth that has captivated thousands of diners, Kanichi mainly uses eastern Japanese-style shoyu soy sauce, adjusting the recipe according to the quality of the ingredients and the taste of his customers. All of this will appear in the restored shop located in Yokohama, about 25 minutes south of Tokyo.
Rairaiken's traditional ramen bowl
While it remains unclear whether Rairaiken will be able to return to its glory days and operate for a long time, it is certain that the restaurant will open and welcome customers this fall in the Ramen Museum area in Yokohama.
