Event Report: Tsuchiura Ramen World Expo

Tsuchiura is well known for a few events. The first is the Tsuchiura Fireworks Competition, which was unfortunately canceled this year. The second is the Illumination event at Suigo Park, which is currently happening. The third is the curry festival, which occurred last month. I would like to put one more event in that category of famous events in Tsuchiura. It is only the second time this event has been held here in Tsuchiura but I think this event was a rounding success the first year it happened and this year was an even bigger success. I would even argue that this event is better than a certain curry event that is well-known here. Today, I am going to be giving you my event report on the month-long event called the Ramen World Expo in Tsuchiura.

Ramen World Expo in Tsuchiura

The Ramen World Expo in Tsuchiura was a month-long ramen festival that took place at Tsuchiura's Suigo Park's Gymnasium area. It started on November 15th and ended last Sunday, December 8th. This festival is all thanks to the owner of Ryuusuke, a famous chicken ramen restaurant in Tsuchiura. If you want to know more about Ryuusuke, check out the post I did on his new location:
https://ibarakieats.com/kombu-noodles-tsukemen

Last year, the owner of Ryuusuke brought together a bunch of different ramen restaurants from all around Japan and made this amazing festival. It was open for one weekend and did extremely well. This year, that same man had an incredible idea of having this festival every weekend for a month. When the Ibaraki Eats Duo heard this, we decided that we were going to go at least once or twice. My wife went about three times. I went for a grand total of ten times. My closest friends will read that and probably think "Yeah, that sounds about right." I loved every second of being at the ramen festival. I loved the loud announcer yelling about ramen restaurants like they were sports players, I loved how the staff would be enticing you to come to their ramen booth, and I loved how we had so many different options of ramen to try. Instead of getting into the festival itself, I want to give you my ramen ranking on at least seven ramen I had. From bad to great, here are the seven ramen I am going to be talking about.

Number 7
Hirataishu

Unless you have an iron stomach, I do not recommend this ramen. I have rarely had a ramen destroy my stomach before, but this Tokyo ramen did that and more. You see all the white spots on the ramen and around it, that is oil. Yup. These guys just sprinkle oil all around the ramen and bowl. When I picked up the bowl, I needed a napkin to wipe my hands. This was more of a maze soba than a ramen but it was purely oil. The chashu was oily, the negi, and the noodles. Even though the noodles were pretty good, it still felt like I was eating something that was going to make me pay bathroom wise, and it did. My stomach was in a dire state a few hours late. I can say with great conviction that I will not be having this ramen again.

Number 6
Yokokura Storehouse

Putting this ramen at number seven breaks my heart. Last year, I had Yokokura Storehouse's ramen and it was fantastic. I would have rated last year's ramen as number one. This year though, it was very disappointing. The soup was oily and a bit tasteless, the noodles had a nice texture but again tasteless, and the spinach (I think it was spinach) just floated around the ramen like a last-minute idea that the chef put in. The grilled chicken was very tasty but that's about it. The staff wasn't that great either and I felt like they didn't want to be at this event. I wanted to visit this ramen place in Tochigi but now I am not so sure.

Number 5
Dai Ichi Asahi

Mrs. Ibaraki Eats would not agree with me on this shoyu ramen's ranking. Dai Ichi Asahi from Kyoto, was dishing out a ramen with a heavy shoyu taste and thin noodles. I thought the noodles were perfect with the broth and the chashu was also delicious. I didn't think the moyashi helped the ramen at all. It didn't do anything but just get in the way of all the other ingredients. One thing that was great about this ramen is I had it on a night that was around 4 degrees and after I drank the broth, it kept me warm for quite some time. My wife loved everything about this ramen and I ended up switching ramen with her. Not bad Dai Ichi Asashi.

Number 4
Katsuryu

At number 4 we have Ibaraki's very own Katsuryu! What ramen is this you might be wondering? Would you believe me if I said this was uni (sea urchin) ramen? Well, it was. The soup was uni but there was no uni meat in the ramen. I did enjoy this ramen a lot. The chashu had a smoked taste to it which was awesome and the noodles were a perfect match for the soup. I even loved how thick and chewy the bamboo shoots were. I was a little bit disappointed in the broth though. It had a light taste of uni. I thought it would have been stronger. That being said, I did enjoy this ramen and hope to go to Katsuryu sometime soon.

Number 3
High Mount

Another ranking I believe my wife would disagree with me on. High Mount from Tochigi is all about the garlic. My wife bought this tsukemen and ended up switching with me for the Kyoto ramen. What is the best way to describe this ramen? How about, having a whole garlic clove shoved in your face and mouth with a bunch of noodles and an extremely delicious chashu. If that doesn't sound appealing to you, I understand. But for me, a garlic lover, this tsukemen is my kind of tsukemen. The thick miso broth with those thick noodles covered in dry garlic was a dream. That thick chashu on the side tasted so amazing that I am having flashbacks to how my teeth bit into it while writing this. This chashu was probably the best chashu I had at the festival. If all that fried garlic wasn't enough, there was extra ground garlic on the side in case you needed it. Bring on the garlic High Mount, I hope to visit you in Tochigi sometime.

Number 2
Idouji

Another one from Ibaraki Idouji, is a kind of fancy ramen. I know what you are thinking, "Raw onions in a ramen? What!?" I know. I thought the same thing too and almost didn't get this ramen. Then I took a leap of faith with a friend of mine who also ordered it and I am happy to write that I am glad I took that leap. This ramen was fantastic. The noodles were so good with the fancy-tasting chashu it came with. I felt like I was dining at an elegant ramen restaurant. Udaiji, I am planning on coming to your place in Tsukuba.

Number 1
Chiba Kara

Can you guess where this ramen is from? Chiba Kara is my number one pick for this month-long ramen festival. It has everything I love and it is incredibly delicious. A huge piece of chashu? Check. Garlic? Check. Soft thick ramen noodles that go well with the somewhat thick miso broth? Check. Everything was perfectly balanced in this ramen and everything tasted phenomenal. Another thing I loved was there wasn't too much moyashi to get in the way of everything else. Grabbing a piece of that sexy-looking chashu with those long thick noodles and slurping them down was the highlight of my Friday when I visited this event. The broth was excellent and a joy to drink. I almost drank the whole bowl. My friend ordered the same ramen and agreed that this was the best ramen he had had at this festival. Chiba Kara, thank you for an amazing ramen that I will not forget. Since you are right next door, I am planning to visit your place soon.

I am so happy that this ramen festival did so well this year. I truly believe it will become a yearly event and it is something I can be proud of about living in Tsuchiura. When I meet people from other cities around Ibaraki prefecture, I can say with much confidence that we have the best ramen festival in all of Ibaraki. That's right Tsukuba Ramen Fest, even better than yours! (I did like the Tsukuba Ramen Fest though.)
Thank you for the great times and great ramen Ramen World Expo in Tsuchiura. Until next year! Keep slurping!

For more information on Ryuusuke and the Ramen World Expo, check out Ryuusuke's Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/ryusuke_project/