厚木家

I’ve been on an Iekei kick lately. Iekei (家系) is Yokohama’s answer to heavy, creamy, rich tonkotsu ramen. Unlike Kyushu’s 100% pork broth, Iekei is cut with a bit of chicken. There’s also green a-plenty with nori seaweed, green onion, and spinach as default toppings. Feel free to add some wakame seaweed as well. Atsugiya is located, not surprisingly, in Atsugi on the edge of Tokyo and Kanagawa. It’s an area known for a naval airbase, some scenic mountains, and affordable living for people who work in Tokyo and don’t mind a commute.

There’s that telltale kanji character. 家 can be pronounced ie or ya depending on the word. It’s usually ya in the full name of the shop, a tribute to the ya in Yoshimuraya (吉村家). Atsugiya is in the direct line, having trained at Yoshimuraya before opening in 2005.

There is a lot of information to take in. Rules about parking. Rules about smoking. Rules about photos. Atsugiya does something I’ve never seen a shop do: you can only take one photo! Plan your shot wisely.

So here it is. I spiced mine up with wakame seaweed for some extra green. I found Atsugiya to be more mild than other iekei shops I’ve tried. I was very happy with this one. While I only added on the wakame, their topping selection is huge. Cloud ear mushrooms, quail eggs, takenoko moyashi (bamboo shoots with bean sprouts), and special winter-only green onion called Shimonita (下仁田ネギ) from Gunma Prefecture.

Official site here.

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厚木家 (Atsugiya in Atsugi, Kanagawa)

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