Where the locals keep coming back

Sapporo’s Best Ramen Shops

Tucked along a stretch of new road beneath the expressway overpass — hardly a prime location — stands this long-established ramen shop. Owner Takahashi left his office job to teach himself ramen-making before opening the shop, which he now runs together with his son. His guiding belief: “ramen you'll still want to eat tomorrow.” In the 26 years since opening, he says it took a full decade just to reach a bowl he was satisfied with. Even now he keeps refining the recipe little by little, evolving the flavor with the times, while sticking firmly to one rule: never serve anything he wouldn't want to eat himself.

The chashumen (choice of flavor), 800 yen, is Takahashi at his very best. With nothing but scallions and chashu as toppings, it's a study in restraint that lets the pork shine. The broth is built on a chicken-bone base enriched with pork bone and generous amounts of roughly shaved bonito, finished with a neutral, confectionery-grade lard. The pale-pink pork loin chashu goes into the bowl at the very end, warming through and soaking up the broth just before serving. Each bite brings out more of the meat's natural sweetness and umami. Light on the palate, yet with a richness that lingers — a truly well-calculated bowl of ramen.

Ittetsu, marking its 18th year this year, is known for its ramen, but by night it also draws a loyal following as an izakaya serving home-style dishes. Before opening this shop, owner Tetsuichi Bessho was himself a regular at the ramen shop that once stood on this very spot. After the owner he'd affectionately called “Oyaji” (the old man) passed away, Bessho thought, “I want to taste that ramen again,” and opened his own shop in the very same location. He was never taught the recipe, but Oyaji's dedication and spirit live on all the same.

Surprisingly, what the locals order is the shoyu ramen, 690 yen. Even before the idea that “Sapporo ramen means miso” took hold, Oyaji's pork-bone shoyu ramen was already a local favorite. More than 60 years on from the shop's original incarnation, traces of that legacy remain. It defies the usual image of shoyu ramen — a cloudy, straight-up pork-bone broth, rich in flavor yet smooth on the palate, never heavy. The noodles, made with a lighter egg content, let the natural flavor of the wheat come through. A modest-sized bowl packed with the owner's dedication and heart.

Tucked in the basement of a mixed-use building just off central Sapporo, this shop is run by owner Aoyama, who worked at a Western-style restaurant before training at a long-established Sapporo ramen shop and going independent. Come lunchtime, the place fills with office workers and a line quickly forms outside — sometimes joined, somehow, by school-trip students who've heard about it. Twelve years since opening, it's become one of Sapporo's signature ramen shops. “Some customers travel a long way to get here. I can never let them down” — the everyday pressure of “delicious” being the baseline. Today, as every day, he carefully checks the condition of his ingredients before starting the prep.

The misosou ramen is 730 yen. The broth — pork bone and chicken combined with seafood, plus generous garlic and ginger — has a remarkably deep flavor drawn from Western cooking techniques, fragrant with distinctive spices like Japanese pepper. The medium-thick, curly egg noodles have great bite and cling well to the broth. It's topped with a lightly seasoned soft-boiled egg, thick chashu simmered until meltingly tender, scallions, and bamboo shoots — the crystallization of the owner's dedication.

It's not unusual for the broth to run out before the day is done. On weekends, a line forms almost the moment the doors open. Owner Kudo spent ten years building his career at a Chinese restaurant before opening this shop. With a large celebrity following, the walls are covered edge to edge with autographed shikishi boards. One small pleasure here is watching the noodles fly through the air for a split second as they're rhythmically drained in a flat bamboo strainer. In this always-bustling space, the skill and care of the owner and staff really stand out.

The rich miso ramen is 900 yen. What stands out above all is the broth — a blend of red and white miso finished with pork bone and chicken paitan, elegant yet bold and rich. Never too heavy, with a wonderfully smooth finish. The subtle thickness comes from a secret ingredient: rice. It's topped with a soft-boiled seasoned egg, house-made chashu of pork belly and chicken thigh, shredded white scallion tossed with mizuna greens, and crispy shoestring fried potato. A branch recently opened in Sapporo's Tanukikoji, so now this Susukino specialty can be enjoyed from lunchtime too.

Right in the heart of Susukino, marked by an irresistibly charming sign. Owner Suzuki, who trained at a long-established Sapporo ramen shop, opened this place only about a year and a half ago. Even so, word spread quickly after opening, and it's now a beloved destination for ramen fans. One distinctive feature: many of its fans are fellow restaurant owners. Open until 6am, it's the perfect spot to cap off a night out in Susukino.

The dish the owner most wants you to try is the chicken-broth shio ramen, 750 yen. Free-range Hokkaido chicken is slowly simmered over low heat, combined with kombu and seafood for a clear, translucent broth packed with chicken depth and seafood umami. Drawing on his family's background running an oden shop, the owner brings distinctly Japanese flavors into his ramen. The noodles are medium-thin and straight. House-smoked eggs and tender-simmered chicken chashu pair beautifully with the broth, while fu (wheat gluten), nori, scallions, and bamboo shoots round out the bowl.