How To Eat Ramen Like A Pro

This is an unlimited guide on how to eat ramen like a pro in Hokkaido. I have written this article information from my Japanese family, friends, and my experience. The article teaches you to place an order with Japanese staff or a Japanese ramen ticket vending machine.

Do you like Japanese-style ramen? People never miss out on a bowl of ramen when they visit Japan. It’s great to make your Japan journey remarkable by eating like locals.

Table of Contents

How To Use This Guide

Open this web page on your mobile or tablet when you want to place an order. And going to the “Place Your Order With Waiters” or “Ramen Vending Machine” from the table of contents. Then follow it step by step to complete your order.

I will show you some Japanese words translated into English to help you place orders.

About Japanese Ramen

Ramen, one of the famous Japanese signature foods. A good broth with some secret ingredients, the al dente wheat noodle, and the toppings make a bowl of ramen unique.

There are 5 common ramen flavors,

醤油 (しょうゆ) Shouyu – soy sauce-based broth. Asahikawa is known for its Shouyu ramen.
味噌 (みそ) Miso – miso-based broth. What is miso? It’s a paste made from fermented soybeans. Sapporo is known for its Miso ramen.
塩 (しお) Shio – salt-based broth. Hakodate is known for its Shio ramen.

豚骨 (とんこつ) Tonkotsu – made with pork bones that have been boiled down until they dissolve into a cloudy white broth.
カレー (かれー) Curry – the soup is made by curry. Muroran is one of the cities that claim to be its place of origin. Muroran claims it originated there in 1965.

Don’t try to remember it. I will show you in the order section.

How To Order Ramen

The first thing when you walk into the ramen shop is looking for the ramen order machine. If there is no ramen order machine, which often means you have to place an order with staff.

NOTICE: Not all the shops have that much choice. Some shops only simply choose the flavor.

Place Your Order With Waiters

You can point the word from this website if it’s too hard to pronounce. Some shops only can choose flavor, so that you just need to do Step 1.

Step 1. Select a Flavor

In Japan, there 5 common ramen base flavor:

醤油 (しょうゆ) Shouyu – soy sauce-based broth. Asahikawa is known for its Shouyu ramen.
味噌 (みそ) Miso – miso-based broth. What is miso? It’s a paste made from fermented soybeans. Sapporo is known for its Miso ramen.
塩 (しお) Shio – salt-based broth. Hakodate is known for its Shio ramen.

豚骨 (とんこつ) Tonkotsu – made with pork bones that have been boiled down until they dissolve into a cloudy white broth.
カレー (かれー) Curry – the soup is made by curry. Muroran is one of the cities that claim to be its place of origin. Muroran claims it originated there in 1965.

Step 2. Choose Your Noodles

Choose the noodle texture you prefer. Normally there are 5 different textures to choose from:

ばり硬 (ばりかた) Barikata – extra-firm
硬麺 (かためん) Katamen – firm
普通 (ふつう) Futsuu – medium
軟麺 (やわめん) Yawamen – soft
ばり軟 (ばりやわ) Bariyawa – extra soft

Step 3. Choose Toppings

Classic ramen comes with some toppings, and you can add more toppings if you want. Below is a list of topping that is commonly served with ramen:

焼豚 (ちゃーしゅー) Chasu – braised sliced pork belly
なると巻 (なるとまき) Narutomaki – fish cake
メンマ (めんま) Menma – preserve bamboo shoots with a salty flavor
玉子 (たまご) Tamago – egg, there’re 3 types of eggs all popular toppings.
- 固茹で (かたゆで) Hard-boiled eggs
- 半熟 (はんじゅく) Soft-boiled eggs
- 煮卵 (にたまご) Marinated eggs
ネギ (ねぎ) Negi – spring onion
海苔 (のり) Nori – dried seaweed
コーン (こーん) Ko-n – corn
バター (ばたー) Bata – butter

Ramen Order Machine

These days, most ramen vending machines are multi-languages in big cities in Japan. But many shops may Japanese-only in the Hokkaido countryside. However, I still show you how to order by ramen vending machine just in case.

Step 1. Insert Money

Only a few machines accept credit cards. Most machines don’t accept ¥5000. Don’t forget to prepare cash just in case.

Step 2. Select a Flavor

The menu is different by machine. Normally the meals on the top row are the best seller. To order ramen, you can start from the flavor:

醤油 (しょうゆ) Shouyu – soy sauce-based broth. Asahikawa is known for its Shouyu ramen.
味噌 (みそ) Miso – miso-based broth. What is miso? It’s a paste made from fermented soybeans. Sapporo is known for its Miso ramen.
塩 (しお) Shio – salt-based broth. Hakodate is known for its Shio ramen.

豚骨 (とんこつ) Tonkotsu – made with pork bones that have been boiled down until they dissolve into a cloudy white broth.
カレー (かれー) Curry – the soup is made by curry. Muroran is one of the cities that claim to be its place of origin. Muroran claims it originated there in 1965.

Step 3. Add Topping

If the ramen vending machine only can choose flavor, which often means it’s come with toppings. You can decide to add extra toppings or not. Below is a list of topping that is commonly served with ramen:

焼豚 (ちゃーしゅー) Chasu – braised sliced pork belly
なると巻 (なるとまき) Narutomaki – fish cake
メンマ (めんま) Menma – preserve bamboo shoots with a salty flavor
玉子 (たまご) Tamago – egg, there’re 3 types of eggs all popular toppings.
- 固茹で (かたゆで) Hard-boiled eggs
- 半熟 (はんじゅく) Soft-boiled eggs
- 煮卵 (にたまご) Marinated eggs
ネギ (ねぎ) Negi – spring onion
海苔 (のり) Nori – dried seaweed
コーン (こーん) Ko-n – corn
バター (ばたー) Bata – butter

Step 4. Take the tickets to the staff

After you confirm your order, take the tickets to the staff and find a table.

NOTICE: Don’t forget your change.

Sluuuuuuuurp!

Ramen noodles get soggy quickly and should be eaten immediately after they are served. A slurping sound is made when eating ramen. The slurping not only enhances the flavors and helps cool down the piping hot noodles as they enter your mouth, but hint to the ramen chef how tasty it is.

Let’s slurp!