A deep and richly flavored shoyu ramen, a dish you’ll be dying to eat after drinking
Taiho Ramen is located an 8 minute walk from Kawaramachi Station on the Hankyu Railway, and a 5 minute walk from Sanjo Station on the Keihan Electric Railway. The specialty of Taiho Ramen is a deep and rich-tasting shoyu ramen, whose flavor has remained unchanged since long ago.
Here in Kiyamachi Street, where Taiho Ramen is located, in addition to the coffee shops, bars, and Japanese-style restaurants, are restaurants offering international cuisine, all crammed into tiny spaces, making this one of Kyoto’s unique downtown areas. Residing quietly on one of these back streets is Taiho Ramen, which remains a beloved place for locals, established as a place everyone always goes after drinking. Because people working nearby will often drop by to get a late night snack, the place is always full, even late at night. While Kyoto is a big city, Taiho Ramen is perhaps the only ramen shop that will be packed to capacity at 1 in the morning.
Because it is located in a downtown area, the shop does not serve during lunch hours(business hours are 6:00pm to 6:00am). Since it is in a back alley, it can be difficult to find, but that hideaway atmosphere is one of this shop’s many unique characteristics. Once you step foot inside, you can experience the nostalgic environment that evokes many an old-fashioned ramen shop. The customers are mostly male, irrespective of age.
1Recommended
Ramen
/ ￥700
A Taiho Ramen specialty, Ramen。
Taiho Ramen's Ramen is a deeply flavored shoyu ramen, prepared with a tonkotsu soup base, and completed with soy sauce. The rich body of bone broth is present in the soup, and finished with the spicy sharp bitterness of shoyu as it plunges into your mouth. If you would like to taste this ramen after drinking nearby, you are sure to experience the amazingly pleasing kick of shoyu flavors flooding into your slightly hazy tastebuds.
The toppings are green onions, bamboo shoots, and char-siu. Only lightly fatty, it’s not an insistent taste, providing the experience of the solid umami flavor and texture of meat.
2Recommended
Tokusei Char-Siu Ramen
/ ￥950
The Tokusei Char-Siu Ramen is a version of the above-mentioned Ramen, with a massive topping of additional char-siu. The huge slices of char-siu surround the bowl in a circle, and the anticipation of scooping noodles from out of this well of meaty delight is just too much for words. While the visual impact alone is outstanding, this is a fully satisfying bowl that gets a perfect score for quantity.
For those who want to satisfy themselves with the full Taiho Ramen experience, we definitely urge you to order the Tokusei Char-Siu Ramen. However, as you can see, it comes in quite a large volume, so we recommend this bowl to big eaters only.
3Let's Try!
Karaage
/ ￥450
One of Taiho Ramen’s side dish items, karaage(deep-fried chicken). Compared to regular karaage, these are packed with juicy chicken meat and comes in a satisfyingly large quantity. Seasoned thoroughly, this meat dish is enough of a meal for those who only want to nibble a bit. And the fact that it will immediately be served, freshly fried, is another happy bonus.
4Let's Try!
Gyoza
/ ￥300
One of Taiho Ramen’s side dish items, Gyoza.
Taiho Ramen's Gyoza is a bit smaller than regular gyoza dumplings, and since it is also seasoned a bit lighter as well, it is the perfect dish to pair with the deeply richly flavored ramen.
On the tabletops are gyoza sauce and chili oil, so we urge you to sprinkle on some when eating. The chili oil is spicy, so make sure you don’t pour on too much.
How to Order
The menus are on the wall, so read those when ordering. Basically, no English is spoken here, but if you order by pointing at the items you want on the menu, the staff should be able to understand you.
- Order Tips -
If you would like to get a larger serving of noodles, you can ask for a large size serving(Omori) for an extra ￥100.
When you want a large size serving, say: Omori ni shite kudasai.
When you are ordering your ramen. A large size serving(Omori) for men should be just right, while a normal size serving(Namimori) will be appropriate for women.
3.0
food3.3
service2.5
atmosphere3.3
Price
Overseas Tourist-Friendly
Yama
3.0
food3.5
service2.5
atmosphere3.0
In the Kiyamachi area, this ramen shop is the place to go after drinking. The shoyu flavor is pretty strong, so the taste may be a bit too sharp to eat for dinner, but as a bowl of ramen after drinking, I can declare that there is no better shop than this. The interiors are old, the service is rather gruff, and hard to find because it’s located in a back alley, and seems to be going in the exact opposite trend as many modern ramen shops. But even when you take all that away, there’s enough to Taiho Ramen to make it all worth it and more. Because the exteriors are so nostalgic, it may give one pause before entering, this is a shop so loved by the locals that it practically represents the neighborhood. So if you think you would like to experience every nook and cranny of Kyoto, you should drop by for a visit.
Writer Details
Kenji
3.0
food3.0
service2.5
atmosphere3.5
Taiho Ramen, a popular ramen shop that I definitely recommend you go to after drinking in Kiyamachi. Located in a narrow alley off Kiyamachi Street, the difficult thing is that it is really hard to find.
My recommendation is the Tokusei Char-Siu Ramen, filled with plenty of this shop’s specialty black pig char-siu slices. The rich and full-bodied soup and fatty char-siu are perfect for after drinking.
3.2
food3.5
service3.0
atmosphere3.0
Price
Overseas Tourist-Friendly
test
Hong Kong
3.2
food3.5
service3.0
atmosphere3.0
Yuta
China
3.2
food3.5
service3.0
atmosphere3.0
Taiho Ramen - Kiyamachi store
/ 大豊ラーメン 木屋町店
| Category | Ramen |
|---|---|
| Phone | +81 75-251-6784 |
| Address | 191-11, Shimokorikicho, Nakagyo-ku Kyoto-shi, Kyoto, 604-8016 |
| Directions | 5-minute walk from Keihan Sanjo Station. 8-minute walk from Hankyu Kawaramachi Station. |
| Open Hours | [Monday – Thursday / Sundays / Holidays]: 18:00 ～ 6:00 the following morning [Fridays / Saturdays / The day before holidays]: 17:00 ～ 6:00 the following morning |
| Reservations | No reservation |
| Closed | Irregular holidays |
| Price range |
- ￥1,000
|
| Credit cards | Not accepted |
| Good for | Solo, With Friends |
| Overseas Tourist-Friendly |
In general, no services provided in English.
|
| Menu | Japanese only |
| Lanuages spoken | Japanese only |
| Number of seats | 16 seats |
| Private dining rooms | Nothing |
| Non smoking / smoking | Smoking |
Access
