November itinerary in Japan Day 6 (Fukuoka Day 4 Meal edition)

(Saturday, November 20th)

Table of contents

1.Nadai Ramen-tei Hakata Station EKICHIKA (Underground Shopping Center)

On the last day of my trip to Nagasaki and Fukuoka, I had Hakata Ramen for lunch early. The ramen shop that became the last ramen on the trip is “Nadai Ramen-tei” in the Hakata Station EKICHIKA (Underground Shopping Center). It’s open from 10am, so it was perfect for an early lunch. Moreover, the morning service was exceptionally cheap at Yen 480 (usually Yen 580) for char siu (barbecued pork) noodles.

The char siu men I ate were very delicious. It wasn’t cheap but not delicious ramen. It’s cheap and delicious ramen. It is one of the best Hakata ramen I have ever eaten. The soup, noodles and char siu tasted much higher than average. Of course, red pickled ginger and pickled takana were also placed on the table, so I’ll put them in the ramen. The taste has changed and it has become even more delicious. In addition, there was a poster in the store saying that “Meidai Ramentei” appeared in Cooking Papa (a long-selling gourmet manga, Hakata is the residence of the main characters).

I entered the store before 11 o’clock, but when I was eating ramen, customers came in one after another and it was almost full. After all, cheap and delicious shops are popular. Even though it’s a morning service, it’s been a while since I ate ramen for less than Yen 500. Most ramen shops these days cost Yen 700 or more without toppings, so Yen 480 is too cheap because it includes both Ajitama (soft-boiled egg marinated in soy and mirin) and char siu. I am worried about what the cost is and whether the store is profitable.

It happened that I found the article four days before the writing date of BLOG, “Do you think” Yen 800 for a bowl of ramen “is expensive? Do you think it’s cheap? What is the result of the questionnaire? This is a survey conducted by the TOKYO FM program “Skyrocket Company”. According to the results of this survey, 73% of the respondents said that 800 yen ramen was expensive, and 27% said it was cheap. After all, it seems that many people find ramen expensive.

Certainly, the ramen price 20-30 years ago was around Yen 500. That is the impression that it has soared from the ramen boom. In fact, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications’ Retail Price Statistics Survey, the national average unit price of Chinese noodles increased by 18% from 2005 to 2020. Of course, I think the taste of ramen has improved, so I have no complaints. I like ramen, so I’m happy to eat ramen that costs more than Yen 800 per a bowl.

In my opinion, the rise in ramen prices was due to the existence of SNS. For example, Instagram hashtags (as of December 2nd) have 16.16 million “#Ramen”. On the other hand, even with the same noodles, “#Pasta” was 4.94 million, “#Udon” was 2.45 million, and “#Soba” was 1.93 million. In addition, “#Yakiniku” has 6.46 million, “#Curry” has 6.37 million, “#Izakaya” has 6.04 million, “#Italian” has 4.22 million, “#Sushi” has 3.41 million, and “#Sushi”. With 2.38 million “#French” and 1.89 million “#Onigiri”, you can see that ramen overwhelms other meals. There are only 370,000 cases of “#Gyudon” where price competition does not end.

When I looked up the hashtags on Instagram, it was interesting to find that the only food genre that exceeded 16.16 million for “#Ramen” was 24.8 million for “#Cafe”. Certainly, there is an image that the average customer price is rising because cafes enrich meals such as pancakes and parfaits. In fact, according to the “Food Service Industry Trend Survey” by the Japan Food Service Association, the average customer price for 2005 was 100, and in 2020, “Cafe Association, the worst was 95 at pub restaurants / izakaya. This is the only category in which unit prices have fallen in the last 15 years.

I think there is an opinion that the number of Instagram hashtags for “#Izakaya” is 6.04 million, which is fairly high. However, there are many Izakaya, and the number of hashtags per Izakaya is extremely small. For example, the hashtags per store (whole Japan) registered in Tabelog are 325 for “Ramen”, 226 for “Yakiniku”, 223 for “Cafe”, etc., while there are only 50 for “Izakaya”. If the ability to attract customers and, by extension, the unit price rises in the SNS era, I think we are in an era where the appearance of the meals we serve is also important.

I have thought about various things because of the cheapness of ramen at “Nadai Ramen-tei” and the rise in the unit price of the entire ramen industry.

2. Izakaya Maruya Nishinakasu

I had an early dinner at “Izakaya Maruya Nishinakasu“. “Izakaya Maruya Nishinakasu” is an izakaya with a focus on fish and shellfish. Especially, “squid sashimi (sashimi prepared from live squid, arranged in its original shape)
” is famous. Of course, I also ordered it. The squid of the day was oval squid. It was fresh, sweet and chewy, and it was very delicious.

After eating squid sashimi, the rest was made into tempura for free. This system is the same as the izakaya “Sasaizumi” that I went to in Sasebo, Nagasaki Prefecture on the second day of this trip. The fresh squid tempura was the best.

I also ordered pickled mackerel, cod milt, and sashimi of ark shell. Pickled mackerel was a mackerel caught in the Genkai Sea, and the condition of pickled mackerel in vinegar was the best and it was delicious. The amount of ark shell sashimi was not large, but it was sweet and delicious. Only cod milt felt a slight odor and was not delicious. However, most of the food was delicious overall, and the service of the clerk was good, so “Izakaya Maruya Nishinakasu” was a very satisfying shop. It is a recommended izakaya when eating seafood in Hakata.

3. Izakaya Hikari

Before heading from Hakata Station to Fukuoka Airport, I went to “Izakaya Hikari”. As I posted on the BLOG four days ago, I had dinner at “Izakaya Hikari” the day before, so I returned to this day. I visited in a row because all the meals were delicious when I visited the day before and I was attracted to the poster of “Kue (longtooth grouper) Nabe for one person”.

A hot pot of high-class fish Kue (also called Ara in Kyushu), one drink, and a small bowl of “Kue (longtooth grouper) Nabe for one person” for Yen 3,300 is a great deal. However, the problem was the offer time. It took about 50 minutes from ordering to serving “Kue Nabe”. I had already eaten at “Izakaya Maruya Nishinakasu”, so I didn’t order anything other than “Kue Nabe” at “Hikari”. Waiting for 50 minutes with just one drink felt quite long. The staff should had made sure that it takes time to serve “Kue Nabe” when ordering. I felt that “Hikari” was not able to educate young male staff who (probably) part-time job. On the other hand, the female part-time job (or full-time employee) was providing proper service.

The taste of “Kue Nabe” was delicious. However, it is certain that “Hikari” was disappointed with the long offer time. When you go to “Hikari”, I think it’s best to order something other than hot pot dishes. Or, if you order hot pot dishes, order other dishes and wait patiently.

I was able to eat delicious fish and shellfish and local dishes during this trip to Nagasaki and Fukuoka. Nagasaki and Fukuoka are areas where fish and shellfish are especially delicious. In addition to that, the food other than fish and shellfish is delicious, so I was looking forward to eating every day while traveling, and I was able to enjoy a delicious meal that exceeded my expectations.

Note: The departure / arrival times, fares, admission fees, meal fees, etc. of transportation listed in the text are as of the time of writing the BLOG. Please check for yourself when you go on a trip as it may change in the future.