
The Ever-Evolving Culture of Ramen
Mizuhara Hiromitsu: Ramen Maverick Known for Crowds and Michelin Success Shares His Story
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Midas Touch
Launching a successful ramen shop in Tokyo is no walk in the park. Yet Mizuhara Hiromitsu has managed to strike gold again and again. The ramen restaurateur first made his mark with Ramen Koike in Kamikitazawa, and in the decade since he has launched a string of shops, each earning rave reviews. Today Mizuhara’s name is associated with eight establishments: Koike, Chūka Soba Nishino in Hongō-Sanchōme, King Seimen in Ōji, Tsukemen Kinryū in Ogawamachi, Koike no Iekei in Sugamo, Aidaya in Okachimachi, Hongōen in Hongō-Sanchōme, and most recently, Inose in Shinjuku.
Successful ramen shops are typically founded by chefs who cut their teeth at well-known establishments or are backed by major enterprises. Mizuhara, meanwhile, began his journey with only a rudimentary understanding of how to make ramen. He launched Tsukemen Koike, the forerunner of Ramen Koike, in 2013, and looking back, he recalls those early days as a time of constant struggle.
“At first I wanted to be a musician, then a shoemaker,” he recounts, “but neither career worked out. I held a job at an izakaya for a time, then at 28, I threw my hat into the ramen business.” Three months into the venture, though, the shop had only a trickle of customers.
Mizuhara’s first ramen outing was with tsukemen, a style where the noodles are dipped in a rich soup. He followed the then-popular trend of fish and pork bone-based broth, but lacking a clear vision for the business, his customer turnout remained low.
As the prospect of having to close shop became a reality, Mizuhara swallowed his pride and started visiting Tokyo’s most popular ramen shops, where he learned recipes for kaeshi, the concentrated flavorings that form the base of ramen, and soup-making methods from experienced ramen chefs. Armed with these newly acquired fundamentals, he overhauled his self-taught approach to ramen making.
After around six months of steady effort honing his ramen recipe, Mizuhara noticed that customers were beginning to line up outside his shop. But he says that the burgeoning uptick in business presented a new problem. “Tsukemen noodles take longer to boil than regular ramen, and we found it harder and harder to keep up with orders.” After mulling over the problem, he decided to forsake tsukemen and switch to ramen. Nine months after opening, he rebranded the shop as Ramen Koike and began specializing in niboshi (dried fish) ramen. The move was a success, with Mizuhara managing to retain his original customer base while further increasing sales.
Ramen Koike’s special niboshi ramen. Priced at ¥1,350, it offers a dried fish-based broth seasoned with salt and mild soy sauce that delivers an umami-rich flavor. (© Yamakawa Daisuke)
Mizuhara’s big break came in 2015 when Ramen Koike was featured in the Bib Gourmand section of the Michelin Guide. Both his second and third shops, Chūka Soba Nishino opened in 2018 and King Seimen opened in 2020, would also go on to receive Michelin accolades.
Not a Natural Cook
The ramen shops Mizuhara has established each serve distinct ramen styles. At Chūka Soba Nishino, for instance, the specialty is ramen featuring the refreshing flavor of sanshō (Japanese pepper), while Tsukemen Kinryū serves up house-made noodles soaked in a cold kelp broth. Typically, a ramen shop that gains popularity will open a new branch with the same concept to capitalize on their fame, but Mizuhara has shunned this approach, choosing instead to develop an entirely fresh concept for each new shop, leading to the creation of fresh ideas and unique flavors.
Mizuhara laughs off the notion that having created so many different types of ramen makes him some sort of master chef. “I’m really anything but that,” he chuckles. “There’s just so much I want to do and experiment with.” He insists that making ramen is different than regular cooking. “It’s something that even somebody like me can handle. Maybe ramen just happens to be my forte.” He insists that he is not one of those chefs who gets bored unless they keep changing up the menu. Rather, he enjoys the challenge of trying to prepare the same dish perfectly each time. “The circumstances are always changing when making ramen. The ingredients are the same, but there are slight variations, like the size of the braised pork, which affects the fat content. And, of course, the customers are always different.”
Mizuhara says he enjoys trying to make a flawless bowl of ramen each time. (© Yamakawa Daisuke)
Even with his shops earning Michelin fame, Mizuhara says that he has paid little attention to the fanfare. “The criteria for making the Michelin Guide are different from publications specializing in ramen, so it was never really on my radar. It just happened that what I made was a good fit.”
Winning Local Hearts First
Intentional or not, being featured in the Michelin Guide has exposed Mizuhara’s shops to a broader customer base that increasingly includes foreign tourists. However, Mizuhara says that he has refrained from going to any special trouble to accommodate overseas customers. “I don’t give tourists any particular thought,” he admits. This stance comes from his own penchant for avoiding places targeting tourists when abroad. “One way to think about it is that tourists don’t want to go to places that don’t excite the locals, so attracting Japanese ramen fans is the first order of business. Once that’s achieved, I incorporate elements that might also delight foreign visitors.”
This approach is evident in the fact that none of Mizuhara’s shops have foreign-language menus. “When you go to a restaurant overseas and the staff can speak Japanese and the menu is in Japanese, it kills the excitement and you wind up a bit disappointed,” he explains. “I’d rather go to places that are authentic and have a strong local feel, which is the vibe I try to create at my own shops.”
Mizuhara says that his priority is to create shops that inspire passion among Japanese people, even at the risk of seeming unwelcoming to foreign visitors. The result, though, is a ramen experience that pleases local as well as customers visiting from abroad.
Another important consideration for Mizuhara when designing his shops is eliminating any hurdles that might deter female customers. This means presenting a clean, fashionable look. “When I designed Aidaya, I wanted women to feel comfortable entering, even alone,” he says. “I wanted to offer a bowl of ramen that they would post on Instagram without batting an eye at what their friends or followers might say.” To encourage women to share photos on social media, he paid special attention to the aesthetic appeal of table material, bowl design, and presentation of the ramen at Aidaya. “I want women to feel at ease in the shop and start to embrace ramen more.”
On this particular day, there were many young women among the line of customers outside Aidaya waiting for the restaurant to open. It goes without saying that designing a shop that appeals to women is bound to leave a positive impression on male customers as well. In this way, Mizuhara is creating an environment where customers of all stripes can relax and enjoy a bowl of ramen.
The interior of Aidaya in Okachimachi. (© Innocence)
Regrets of a Maverick
Many ramen shop proprietors are cut from the classic artisan mold, choosing to slave in the kitchen honing a single flavor to perfection. Mizuhara, on the other hand, prefers to let others handle the day-to-day running of shops while he focuses his attention on developing new ramen concepts. Lately, he has participated in different events across Asian and further afield.
While seemingly enjoying smooth sailing, Mizuhara admits that he has some regrets when it comes to ramen making. “I admire those chefs who are able to create signature flavors that people immediately recognize,” he says, tipping his hat to shops like Tomita in Matsudo, Chiba, and Iida Shōten in Yugawara, Kanagawa. “There was a time when not being able to create such iconic flavors troubled me. Maybe if I’d had more training I wouldn’t have struggled as much.” On the flip side, Mizuhara recognizes that he might not have the flexibility that he enjoys now. “I do have some regrets, but in the end, I’m glad how things turned out.” That said, when talking to his staff, he is sure to stress that they master their own style first before going independent.
As Ramen Koike reaches its tenth anniversary and Mizuhara’s ramen momentum continues to build, what is the next goal for the restaurateur?
“If the opportunity arises, I’d like to open more shops,” declares Mizuhara. “I’ve already done some interesting things in the ramen scene, but I want to explore even more unique paths. Coming from an izakaya background, I’m more passionate about the food service business than about ramen itself. My approach comes from a different perspective, which is why I appear more flexible in what I do. I don’t have much pride specifically in ramen. As long as my customers have a good time at my shops, that’s enough for me.”
(Originally published in Japanese. Banner photo: Mizuhara Hiromitsu stands outside Aidaya in Tokyo’s Okachimachi. © Yamakawa Daisuke.)