The Ramen Alley in Sapporo Hits The Spot For Ramen Lovers

What is the Ramen Alley in Sapporo?

The Ramen Alley in Sapporo is located in the lively Susukino district. This narrow alley has been around since 1948. Shockingly, there’s nothing but ramen shops found in this delightful alleyway, who thought with a name like that? Lol. The original Ramen Alley opened up with eight total ramen shops. There are now 17 that line the famous alley. Miso Ramen was also created here, adding to the lore.

These shops are all quite tiny, most likely seating no more than 7-15 people from what I could gather walking by. Since this is a tourist spot expect crowds, especially at peak lunch / dinner times for the most popular spots. All the shops have varying hours as well so if you know the specific place you want to go to make sure to check their hours.

I got here at an odd time when some shops weren’t open yet but was able to find a seat at Ichi Kura.

Ichi Kura

Ichi Kura was one of the places that were open and had available seats. I hadn’t done any research on the individual shops themselves, so I wasn’t sure what the most popular or well-know shops were. The ramen pictured in front of the shop looked great though so I decided to give it a try.

Toppings that are more uniquely associated with Hokkaido include corn and butter. Hokkaido is known for their dairy and produce so this would be the place to get those toppings in your ramen!

The Ramen

Like I mentioned above, the main driving force behing getting this particular bowl was for the butter and corn. I’m not entirely sure what the broth was, possibly shoyu, but it was very light. The butter once, melted really adds a richness and creaminess to it which was a welcome addition to the overall flavor. In addition to the butter and corn the ramen was topped with bamboo shoots, green onion, half an egg, and chashu.

The semi-firm noodles were light, springy, and fresh. The egg was nice and runny, and the corn was definitely sweet. All solid additions to go along with the bamboo and green onion. The chashu was good, but nothing to really write home about. Definitely tender but was lacking in flavor to a certain extent. Overall the bowl of ramen was really good. I did enjoy the butter and the corn so I was glad I got the chance to give it a try.

Is the Ramen Alley in Sapporo worth a visit?

If you’re a ramen lover like myself, without a doubt you’ll want to visit the Ramen Alley in Sapporo. Can you imagine an alley lined with nothing but ramen shops? It’s a ramen lover’s dream! It’s just a cool experience as well since the alley is quite narrow and the shops are all quite small. It’s fun walking by and checking out the different types of ramen that each shop offers. Next time I go I’ll have to do a better job of researching the restaurants to know which ones I should target!