Yet another discovery of a great restaurant that I have driven past hundreds of times and never knew about! Ramen Tenshin is a tiny little restaurant on the main street of Ishiuchi, though if you did not know it was there, you could be forgiven for missing it. There is a small door with a curtain above it set back just off the road, and behind that, another contender for best ramen shop in the area.
The restaurant itself is pretty small with a few seats at the counter, a couple of tables with chairs, and a small tatami area. Tickets are purchased from a vending machine. I'd heard about the place during a conversation about good ramen shops and the consensus was that the mabo tofu ramen was unbeatable. Being a glutton I opted for the largest size on offer.
Next to the vending machine are a couple of large china urns full of homemade pickles of various kinds. Help yourself to some of these with the long chopsticks provided (quite an art given that they are slippery and often cut in such a way to give no chance of a good grip), sit back and enjoy.
The largest size ramen is huge - probably the biggest bowl of ramen I have ever been served. Heaps of noodles covered in thick mabo sauce. A colorful mix of sliced vegetables on top as a garnish was a really attractive touch. The sauce is delicious with just the right amount of spice. I would caution about the large size though. I was really hungry but found myself struggling to finish what seemed like a never ending bowl of ramen - not a bad problem to have, though we had also ordered the dumplings. These were outsized monsters covered in more vegetables and a tasty dipping sauce. I managed to finish everything which was a joy for my taste buds but not so great for my stomach!
Ramen Tenshin is really good food. It is a short walk from the bottom of Ishiuchi ski area and would make for a great lunch off the slopes, though I am not sure how well you would ski after tackling the big bowl.
