kenleewrites in 日本

This is where it all began. The very first iekei (家系) ramen. The head of the “house ramen” clan. The chinese characters for iekei are 家 “house” and 系 “affiliated”. Yoshimura-ya (吉村家) was the very first shop that started using the suffix “house”.

Everything started in Yokohama. About 10 minutes from the station. Check out their website.

At this shop with as many seats outside as it does inside.

I was told that any ramen shop that wants to use the suffix has to get permission from the big boss. Don’t know how true that is though. ^^. If you go by ramen genre, I think iekei ramen falls into the syoyu tonkotsu genre; thick yellow noodles with seaweed, spinach and a slice of pork in greasy soy sauce, pork bone based soup laced chicken oil. Some might argue otherwise. I do have a good reason for categorizing it under syoyu tonkotsu. It’s much easier to explain iekei being a select group of ramen chefs than a separate taste.


Go during lunch time or dinner time, expect to sit outside for a while. Was a 10 minutes wait from this spot in the queue.

I remember reading somewhere that Yoshimura san was involved in something naughty. Don’t know what though. But nevertheless, the ramen at his shop is still top notch. You can easily tell by the queue.

These are instant versions of his disciples’ ramen. I asked if they still sold these instant versions. Thought of getting some souvenirs for friends. Unfortunately, they don’t. These are just memorabilia.

Lots of toppings and garnish to add flavour. Green stuff is not wasabi. It’s garlic!

Yoshimura ramen with no toppings.

Yoshimura ramen with some garlic and toubanjan (chilli paste). Just the way I like it.

People come in in groups and leave in groups too. It’s amazing how everyone spends the same amount of time on their ramen and leave almost immediately after. I usually tend to linger a little longer. ^^. Seats are only vacant for 2-3 minutes between groups of customers.

The taste was heaven. ^^. I particularly like the Yoshimura slice of pork. Found it quite different to what I’m used to (which is usually rasuta).

If you’re a fan of iekei ramen, this is your mecca. ^^.

More From kenlee

• Kyusyu Jangara Ramen
• Japanese Onsen
• Musashi-ya Ramen (武蔵家ラーメン)

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