Jyanmaru/ 醬丸 - Yutenji
A proper bowl of iekei style ramen at Jyanmaru in Yutenji
Iekei style tonkotsu ramen is probably still the fastest growing style of ramen in Japan in the recent years, with chains and franchises popping up everywhere, but also new owner run shops here and there. While the big names often focus on opening shops around central spots and busy areas like train stations, you will find the “one man show” iekei shops often a good walk away from the stations in the local residential areas, where there often isn’t much else in terms of business. In these areas, rents are more affordable, but ramen business is hard. You will stay afloat only if you can manage to build up a loyal following in the neighborhood, as probably nobody is willing to go out of their way for an unknown iekei ramen shop. That’s the business Jyanmaru is in.
Jyanmaru opened their doors in 2007 in an area between Yutenji and Nakameguro, but a good walking distance from both of them, a bit in the middle of nowhere. The only thing really nearby is the Yutenji Buddhist temple, which draws crowds a couple of times a year for its festivals, but otherwise is a quiet and nice place to visit. So I think it is fair to classify this already as a “local neighborhood”, since almost everything around is residential.
Iekei style soup, shoyu tonkotsu with chicken fat as aroma oil
The bowl of ramen at Jyanmaru is a classic iekei style tonkotsu ramen, although the soup is a bit on the lighter side on the iekei scale. Not as thick and viscous as at some other ramen spots like at Rasuta, nor as funky and bold like at Makotoya. You could almost call it “easy to eat”, since you can modify it to your liking and the base soup isn’t anything extreme in itself. But that’s also the reason why there isn’t much to draw crowds to this shop. But it gets the job done for the local residents.
Lots of ways to modify your ramen means you will never get bored!
Like at many other iekei shops, you can modify your bowl to your heart’s content. In the picture above you see the note okonomi (お好み) describing that you can modifiy the hardness of the noodles from al dente to soft, the amount of seasoning and the amount of additional chicken oil on top of your ramen. My personal recommendation is to order at least order al dente hard noodles by saying “katame” (かため) when you go to a new shop for the first time and leave the seasoning and oil as the ramen chef intended it. Ordering the noodles on the firm side gives you a bit more time to enjoy the bowl before the noodles get soggy.
Close up of the ramen noodles at Jyanmaru in Yutenji
The noodles are a bit on the thinner side when it comes to iekei ramen noodles. They fit well to the lighter soup and stand well against it. The chashu are great slabs of meat, probably simmered in the soup for hours and then marinated afterwards, if I had to guess.
Summarized, Jyanmaru serves a satisfying bowl of ramen that won’t win any awards and won’t be featured by your favorite foodbloggers. But it feeds the local neighborhood and satisfies their iekei ramen cravings. Maybe you will drop in one day? Who knows.
More information about Jyanmaru / 醬丸:
