Sakurai Chukasobaten / 櫻井中華そば店 - Hodogaya

Sakurai Chukasobaten (櫻井中華そば店) is one of the hottest contenders of 2021 for the ramen throne in Yokohama. Only one station away from Yokohama, this might well be the best ramen in Yokohama. Or only the best shoyu ramen? I went with Cody from Ramenguidejapan.com to find out.

*Excellent shamo chicken broth with refined shoyu tare*

Sakurai is serving very refined chicken soup based shoyu ramen and shio ramen. They are very particular about basically every single ingredient for their bowls, having long lists of ingredients and explanations on their walls. For example, for their broth, they exclusively use the famous shamo chicken breed, which is well known for being used in cock fighting events (which are not illegal in Japan).

*Easily one of the more beautiful ramen bowls around Yokohama - Shoyu Ramen at Sakurai*

Besides their ramen soup being absolutely excellent, Sakurai elevates their ramen bowl to a whole other level with their fantastic toppings. The egg, often not a wow factor anymore after hundreds of bowls of ramen, really caught me by surprise here with its rich and popping flavor.

Top ajitama marinating game at Sakurai. The other flavor explosion came in the form of the 2 types of chashu, which were both prepared in a Chinese char siu(?) style. It had distinct notes of grilled meat and coal, which makes me really wonder how exactly they prepare it. However they do it, the resulting chashu is incredible. Among the Japanese noodle soups I have had so far, Sakurai really sticks out and takes a place in the top ranks.

*The noodles similar to Kitakata style ramen noodles, but thicker*

The next point of excellence are the in-house made noodles. You can see the noodle machine while waiting in front of the shop, proudly displayed behind the glass front. If you want, you could potentially watch the whole noodle making process from there, although I don’t know at what time they make them.

The noodles have the typical Kitakata hand massage wave, but are somewhat thicker than regular Kitakata style noodles. For a comparsion, check out the noodles at Menya Shichisai or at Men Mitsui. Sakurai’s ramen noodles have a great bite and a lovely slurp to them.

Overall, if you're a fan of Japanese noodles, you will have to give the ramen at Sakurai Chukasobaten a try. Especially if you are living in Yokohama or around Hodogaya station, you should not miss the best ramen of Hodogaya.