Kokutei in Obama, Fukui, is my favorite local ramen spot, as it is fairly close to my house, cheap, and quite good. They offer the usual range of broths on their menu: soy sauce, salt, miso, or pork bone soup, coupled with their thin noodles.

You can also opt for the red versions, which just has a lot of red ichimi pepper on top for a hint of spiciness. (They may look vicious, but they are far from truly spicy.) You can customize it by adding as much negi green onion, dried garlic chips, and other condiments to suit your taste.

I usually opt for their Red Miso Chashu Ramen for 970￥ ($9 USD) and pile on the onions and garlic chips. My breath afterwards can probably ward off any vampire or knock someone dead… But when it’s so delicious going down, I don’t mind keeping people at a distance after the meal!

Most recently, I broke with my regular bowl and ordered their Gyokai Shoyu (Seafood Soy Sauce) Ramen for 900￥ which had a lighter but fishy and savory taste. I really enjoyed it much more than I was expecting to, but since I love heavier soups usually, I’ll stick with my usual.

For those extra hungry, you can order a kaedama extra side of noodles or a larger size for 100￥ more. Their karaage fried chicken is also deliciously crunchy and crispy. If you are going to stop by this restaurant, drop me a line!

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