Ramen for breakfast
Hakata ramen (Fukuoka, Japan)
My first morning in Japan in almost three years and I found myself jet-lagged, hungry, and roaming empty streets. When this “morning ramen” (朝ラーメン) sign caught my eye I instantly knew what I was having for breakfast. At just 290 yen (about $3) I wasn’t expecting greatness, but I didn’t care.
博多ラーメン
Tonkotsu ramen is about my favorite kind (after Matador’s beef variety), and Hakata ramen is basically synanomous with tonkotsu. Is there a difference? I’m not sure. Let me know with a comment if tonkotsu doesn’t equal Hakata-style ramen. Anyway, I was literally in Hakata so this bowl made perfect sense.
Most ramen places have you pre-pay through a vending machine. Not so here. Partially because of that, and perhaps because I was jet-lagged, I accidentally forgot to pay until I was at the door leaving. The poor girl behind the counter was probably sweating bullets that this strange foreigner was going to stiff her for 290 yen.