はりけんラーメン

No ramen road trip around Ibaraki would be complete without a visit to a few key shops. Apart from every ramen magazine giving Hariken a nod, they are also one of four shops in the prefecture on the Tabelog Top 100. The only issue with things out here is that you really need a vehicle to access the shops. So get your license, rent a cheap k-car, and slurp some epic noodles.

Hariken is known to draw massive crowds during popular times. Even on a weekday, I had to wait a few minutes for a seat.

What will take even longer is the time to choose. Hariken’s menu is massive. The above signboard shows their two limited bowls for the day. A light tsukemen and a mazesoba with an onsen-style poached egg.

Proof that they have been on the Tabelog list multiple years in a row.

This is the kind of shop you could visit weekly if you lived in the area. Chukasoba, tori paitan, thick gyokai ramen, tsukemen, shrimp mazesoba. The side menu includes gyoza and rice bowls. No matter what you choose, don’t sleep on the special topping (特製トッピング). For 300 yen you get extra pork and chicken chashu, an egg, and chicken meatballs.

We tried the complicated toripaitan (鶏そば) seasoned with salt and the simple chukasoba with shrimp (中華そばエビ風味). Both were excellent with homemade noodles. I can personally recommend the toripaitan. It’s rich and creamy.