Menya Raizo / 麺屋らいぞう - Aomori

Menya Raizo is a ramen shop in the Eastern outskirts of Aomori, a good walking hour away from the city center or a 20 minute bus ride. Thanks to a big parking lot in front of the shop, going there by car is probably the easiest way.

Raizo serves a rich and complex bowl of ramen. The broth is called “Butatorisoba” which literally means pork and chicken noodles. However the clearly dominant flavor component is the dried fish.

I went there as part of my Aomori Ramen Tour, of which you can see Part 1 and Part 2 on YouTube. Menya Raizo is in part 1 in the second half, if you are only interested in this shop.

I was personally a big fan of this bowl. For me, it combined the depth and richness of tonkotsu with the punching aroma of niboshi in a great way. Once you start, you won’t stop until you see the bottom of your bowl. I also greatly appreciated the thick noodles here, which stand well against the heavy flavors of the soup and manage to bring their own character to play. The egg and chashu were also exceptionally good.

If you are in the area anyway, make sure to also check out places like Takahashi Chukasobaten and Nishi Chukasoba.

Menya Raizo on YouTube

I have visited Menya Raizo as one of the spots of my Aomori Ramen Tour at the start of 2021. Check out the full video of part 1 below. Part 2 can be found on YouTube!