Yokohama is the second largest city in Japan and is famous for its seaport, chinatown area, romantic harbor and Yokohama style ramen. Combining soy sauce style ramen with tonkatsu or pork bone style ramen, in 1974 a unique hybrid ramen called Iekei was born. Along with the unique broth mix, Iekei ramen uses thick flat noodles, nori or seaweed, spinach and tender pork slices. The creamy pork broth and savoury taste combination started a nation-wide love for Iekei style ramen and reputation for Yokohama style ramen. The first and probably most famous shop to serve Iekei style ramen is located near Yokohama station and is called Yoshimuraya.

The ramen is simple and so is the shop but as Brian from Ramen Adventures and Charley from 2minJapan found out in their video while visiting Yoshimuraya the lineup to get in can sometimes take hours. But it is well worth the wait to enter, order from the vending machine and sit and eat the tasty house style ramen. Of course other toppings and spices are available but trying the original Iekei style while customizing noodle tenderness, oil level and soy sauce taste is recommended.

A simple but filling ramen but as Charley pointed out the broth is quite fatty so you might not want to drink it all. Especially if you are on a diet. Although this ramen is unique and distinct to Yokohama, the recipe is no secret at the owner Mr. Yoshimura freely shared the cooking method which led to many offshoots of Yokohama style ramen.

But if you are looking for the original King of Yokohama style ramen then your first and only stop should be Yoshimuraya. Check out Yoshimuraya website (Japanese)for location and more information.