Tsukemen Hama Momiji / つけ麺はま紅葉 - Yokohama

Tsukemen Hama Momiji (つけ麺はま紅葉), as the name suggests, serves tsukemen style ramen in Yokohama. To be more precise, they serve tonkotsu-gyokai tsukemen, which blends pork and fish into a thick gravy-like soup, which is then used as a dip for cold ramen noodles.

*Menu at Hama Momiji on their ramen ticket vending machine.*

Hama Momiji has a couple of interesting features. First of all, it is one of the few female owned and run ramen shops in Japan. Still a rarity in Japan, this shop is run by a woman in her early 30s since 2017. But just being run by a woman won’t make a shop survive for 5 years in the highly competitive ramen scene around Sakuragicho station.

*The selection of noodle style you have to pick from. I got to try the both on the right.*

The main draw of Hama Momiji are the in-house made noodles, which can be ordered in 5 different shapes, which range from thin and hand massaged to thick and flat, not unlike some Italian pasta styles. For convenience, all available noodle shapes are displayed next to the vending machine to make your decision easier. You will be asked about your preference when handing in your ramen ticket.

*This is the noodle option all the way on the right (太麺).*

*This is the option second to the right (平打麺).*

The noodles are served cold shocked on a separate plate next to the soup. The shocking with cold water is done to get the perfect texture for the noodles, slurpy and chewy at the same time.

*Soup at Hama Momiji, tonkotsu-gyokai base.*

The soup is a classic tonkotsu-gyokai with good notes of both pork and fish. Compared to others of the same style, the soup here is a bit on the sweeter side, but not overly. It is also not as thick, compared to places like Tomita or Michi. Very enjoyable, but not necessarily outstanding.

*Seasoned tenkasu can be found on the counter, a great crunchy addition.*

On the counter you will find a wide range of condiments to adjust the flavor to your liking. One specialty is their seasoned tenkasu on the counter, which is more common at udon shops. When added, it gives a good crunch to every bite and of course additional flavor from the seasoning. At the end of the meal, you will most likely have some soup leftover. At Hama Momiji you have then three options: you either fill your bowl up with tenkasu, you can order a “mini-rice” to soak the soup up or you order the classic “soupwari”, which means filling up your soup with some katsuobushi heavy dashi with strong yuzu notes, to make it easily drinkable.

*Well executed ajitama ramen egg at Hama Momiji.*

Summarized, there’s a lot of way to customize the tsukemen experience to your liking. Especially for ramen heads with a focus on noodles, this shop might be worth a visit. Judging from thei social media, they sometimes do specialty noodles for a limited time, like working Szechuan pepper into the noodle dough. Might be worth keeping an eye open for these specials if you’re interested in going.