Spicy and spicy ramen is popular with a “separate stomach”! Satoko Morimoto, a ramen girl who eats 600 bowls of ramen a year, recommends “10 ramen dishes you should eat in 2025”.
G-type ramen that is not scary.
7) Kapusaimen (Ichinomiya, Aichi)
A ramen restaurant called “Eating Sauna” is a hot topic of conversation in the Tokai area. This is one of my favorite flavors after having eaten at “Mongolian Ramen Restaurant Nakamoto” and “Spicy Ramen Restaurant Masumoto”.
The “Chili Tamago Toshi Ramen” is characterized by the combination of chili peppers, garlic, and minced meat in a deliciously spicy soy sauce broth, softly covered with an egg, and can be customized with any spiciness and toppings. In addition, as the company that operates “Gifu Tamen”, Gifu Tamen lovers are sure to be addicted to it!
Address: [Main store] 7-1-7 Denboji, Ichinomiya City, Aichi Prefecture [Nagoya Moriyama store] 2-710 Hakusan, Moriyama-ku, Nagoya City, Aichi Prefecture [Gifu store] 13-2 Mae-Ishiki Nishimachi, Gifu City, Gifu Prefecture Business hours / 11:00 – 1:00 a.m. Closed / Open year-round *Fastpass is available for a limited time from December 28 to January 5.
8) Szechuan Cuisine Rakuda [Kyoto, Kyoto City, Japan
A popular authentic Szechuan cuisine restaurant with a photogenic green exterior located near Kyoto University of Art. Characterized by its deep, rich and spicy taste made with plenty of sansho (Chinese pepper), chili peppers and homemade seasonings, reservations are recommended as lines are inevitable during lunch time.
Especially recommended is the “Tantanmen” which is a perfect match of the spiciness of sansho, sweetness of chi-ma-jang, meat miso, and thin noodles. The refreshing spiciness spreads in your mouth, and you will surely be overwhelmed by its deliciousness from the first bite! It is a great place for a girls’ night out or a date night!
Address: 27-4 Senouchi-cho, Kita-Shirakawa, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto Business hours: 11:30-13:45, 17:30-20:45 Closed: Every Monday, 1st and 3rd Tuesday, December 30 – January 4
9) Kusukusu Ramen (Hiroshima City, Hiroshima)
This stylish restaurant with table seating is popular among women and is attracting attention as a “G-kei (Jiro-inspired) ramen restaurant that is not scary. The secretly popular “Buchiro Ramen” is an impressive bowl of ramen with “Buchi” meaning “very” in the Hiroshima dialect.
It is a fusion of Osaka’s “Takaida-kei Ramen” and “Sta-Man Jiro,” featuring extra-thick noodles and a thick soy sauce broth, and is attractively topped with a variety of luxurious toppings such as hormone, egg yolk, and Hiroshima bean sprouts. You can enjoy this ramen to your own taste with free back fat and garlic “Mashi” (extra spice) and a choice of spiciness.
Address: [Yokogawa Branch] 2-12-9 Yokogawa-cho, Nishi-ku, Hiroshima City, Hiroshima Prefecture Business hours: 11:00 – 14:00, 17:30 – 21:00 (L-O 20:30) Closed: No regular holidays
⑩Sekime Danchou【Osaka-City, Osaka
You may see the word “man” everywhere, but of course, it is safe for women to enter. The restaurant has a very athletic atmosphere that will get you fired up before you even start eating. You can choose from a menu that ranges from deliciously spicy to extremely spicy, but the extremely spicy menu requires a written pledge to eat! The restaurant is a major player in the hot and spicy food scene.
I ordered the umami spicy miso, which is not as spicy as the redness of the soup, but spicy and safe. The soup is a combination of special spicy miso and Tottori’s re-finished soy sauce, and you can choose between thick or thin noodles. Add some vinegar to the soup for a refreshing taste!
Address／5-23-2-101 Seiku, Joto-ku, Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture Business hours／11:30 – 15:00, 18:00 – 23:00 Closed on Thursdays (open on national holidays)
How was it?
We hope you will find it useful as a reference for “starting to eat ramen” in 2025!
Interview and text by Yoshimi Mizuno
After working for an editing production and publishing company, I became a freelance writer. She enjoys touring Japan’s deepest spots, working in the public gambling industry, and writing interviews with celebrities.
Photo by Satoko Morimoto
