麺や蒼 AOI

After a day on the water at Ibaraki’s Kasumigaura, I headed out for ramen with a couple of friends. I run a Meetup group for boat enthusiasts, and during the hot summer months, we hit the freshwater for tubing and chilling. Tsukuba is a town famous for research universities, a mountain, and not much else. But with a huge population of students, maybe great ramen could be another thing this city is known for.

AOI was on the list of Tsukuba shops to hit. The menu covers a lot, but first-timers should probably just get the miso ramen (ラーメン) from the button on the upper left. There’s also shrimp miso, tsukemen, and soupless ramen, all with thick noodles, and a torisoba with a clear broth and thin noodles. Limited-run ramen is also the norm and side dishes are aplenty.

The choices for extra chashu are wild. Belly stewed for hours. Lean meat cooked sous vide. Charcoal roasted. Chicken breast. Go hard on the protein or chill out with their soup and homemade noodles.

Don’t get caught up in the chashu, this bowl has a lot more going on. The miso tare is made from Shinshu miso blended with three kinds of fruits and ten other ingredients. Yes, it’s a secret. What fruit do you think they used?

The broth is a mix of pork and seafood. Some dried fish powder on top gives a little more umami. Thick homemade noodles are somewhere down there. A very tasty bowl and worth your time if you are in the area.

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Ramen Adventures

Ramen Shop Reviews from Japan and Abroad

麺や蒼 AOI (Aoi in Tsukuba, Ibaraki)

中華そば先崎 (Masaki in Mito, Ibaraki)

マグロ卸のマグロ丼とラーメンの店ウミノイロ (Uminoiro in Ginza, Tokyo)

風雲児新宿本店 (Fuunji in Shinuku)

麺や 蒼 AOI (Aoi in Tsukuba, Ibaraki)

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中華そば 先崎 (Masaki in Mito, Ibaraki)

マグロ卸のマグロ丼とラーメンの店 ウミノイロ (Uminoiro in Ginza, Tokyo)

風雲児 新宿本店 (Fuunji in Shinuku)

麺や蒼 AOI (Aoi in Tsukuba, Ibaraki)

中華そば先崎 (Masaki in Mito, Ibaraki)

マグロ卸のマグロ丼とラーメンの店ウミノイロ (Uminoiro in Ginza, Tokyo)

風雲児新宿本店 (Fuunji in Shinuku)