We have pretty good ramen here in Southern California, but while in Japan, I was on a mission to try the real deal. A reader from Kyoto suggested Isshindo which she said was cheap and tasty…check!. Then when doing google searches it turns out Kyoto Foodie had also been there and loved it….ding, ding, we have a winner!

A few of us got on foot in search for Isshindo which was only a 5-10 minute walk from our hotel. It was easy to miss with it's lack of English signage and hole-in-the-wall location. However, the journey was certainly worth it for the lovely bowl of noodles that would follow. There were no English menus or signs, so we did our best to tell the waiter that we wanted ramen. He said there were two choices: pork or seafood. Turns out, whatever we picked had a pork broth and seafood inside {clams specifically…Kyoto Foodie gives a detailed explanation here…wish I had read this before going!}. The Isshido Soba we did have {which they call soba but is actually ramen} was delicious…rich, perfectly salty, and fragrant…the clams were an unexpected, but nice, addition. The place is tiny, but it felt so hidden and real and just perfect…

{photos by Oh Joy}