About The Shouting and a new Restuarant.

Drifted into a modernistic shop - modern in that it had etched glass for partitions and had a black/red wooden motif which seems to be the current rage for raamen shops in Japan. While the decor was modern, the serving style was not: Lots of shouting. As a cure, I've posted a calming Toaist photo with two swan-boats.

Let's talk about the shouting, shall we? First, you open the door and are met by a veritable avalanche of shouting: Irrashaimase! Yelled by the first eagle-eyed worker to spot you. Then all the other workers shout out in response. Irrashaimase!! You sit down, scan the menu, choose your poison and relay your choice to a server. This server shouts it out to the cooks who in turn repeat the order in nice loud voices. All the way down to the poor slob stuck washing the raamen bowls. Miso raamen Icho! Miso Icho! Miso Icho! Like an echo, if you know what I mean. Then, while you're eating, the shouting continues for each new customer who comes and goes. You leave: everyone shouts: Arigato-gozaimasu! Or Maido! (this being the first part of the phrase Maido Arigato-Gozaimasu!) A quiet little out of the way place for a romantic interlude a raamen-ya is not.

This new place was called Hokushin 北辰.
A chain but this particular place was put up about three months ago.

It had a vegetable raamen that I ordered that had slices of carrots, cabbage, mushrooms, corn, bean sprouts and four small hunks of an unidentifiable meat, more than likely pork. At first it tasted funny but I grew to like it. Lots of vegies. Lots and lots. And the noodles were al dente, perfect. In fact, the vegetables were not over-cooked, either. The carrot slivers were crunchy. And it was cheaper by about 100 yen than the place yesterday. On a scale of 1 to 10, I'd rate it about a 7.6 (points off for chain affiliation but points added for quantity and price.)

I promise to get pictures of these places soon, not just park photos passing as Taoist thought. Before it's too late.

Peace be Upon You; Share Your Raamen.