My Favorite Ramen in Okayama

Recommended for foodies and ramen lovers!

Okayama Prefecture boasts a lot of great ramen shops. Actually, Okayama is known regionally for having some really great ramen shops, but there isn’t one particular style or flavor that is definable as “Okayama ramen”. You can find shops selling soy sauce ramen, chicken and salt ramen, pork ramen, sardine-based ramen, and miso ramen. In fact, the Okayama Tourism Information group is trying to promote Okayama ramen to visitors, both domestic and international.

Various types of ramen in Okayama City

(photos from the Okayama Tourism Information website)

However, my favorite ramen shop is not listed on the Okayama Tourism Information website; it’s somewhat of a hidden gem among the other shops in the city. The name of the shop is Menya Koraku, and they serve ramen in a sardine-based broth. The soup is thick and rich and doesn’t taste overtly fishy. You can get a choice of thin or thick noodles, as well as regular soup or extra rich. The shop also has a special ramen that changes monthly. An English menu is available, and the young owner speaks some English as well.

A hot bowl of the Classic Style “Chu-ka Soba” ramen, 850 yen (photo by the author)

◆Menu information: English menu with photos available. It is not suitable for vegetarians or Muslim or Jewish people.

◆Business hours: 6:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m. / Closed on Wednesdays.

◆Location: From JR Okayama Station, take the streetcar bound for Higashiyama; get off at the Kencho-dori stop and walk east for about 2 minutes.

◆Other info: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/menya_koraku/

◆For more information, click here: https://menya-koraku.com/ (You may want to use an extension to translate pages in Japanese.)

The shopfront at Menya Koraku (photo by the author)