- Sano, a town just 80 minutes from Tokyo, is known for its light, soy sauce-based ramen made with fresh spring water.
- The town has around 60 ramen shops, many of which still use the traditional bamboo pole method (aodakeuchi) to make chewy noodles.
- Top spots like Tamuraya and Menya Yosuke serve toothsome bowls with rich broths, handmade wontons, and melt-in-your-mouth pork belly.
I’ll admit it—as a ramen lover, I’ve visited some of the most picturesque areas in Japan only to spend my time face down in a bowl of noodles. Luckily, the best ramen town in the country (in my humble opinion) is an easy day trip from Tokyo.
Sano, a city located in Tochigi prefecture on Honshu island, is renowned for having some of the clearest water in the country—an underrated but key ramen ingredient. While visitors to Sano might be tempted by its castles, mountains, and temples, my trips to the city usually have only one thing on the itinerary: ramen.
Sano ramen is so famous that you can grab a map from the tourist center that highlights the 60 ramen shops scattered across the city. Outside the station, you’ll find Sanomaru, the town mascot, a samurai dog sporting an upside-down bowl of ramen on his head.
One sip and you’ll see why people venture here to sample this broth. The city’s water comes from Izuruhara Benten Spring, a top 100 spring water source according to the Ministry of Environment. Historically, Sano was a big textile manufacturing hub in the 1930s, and ramen shops opened in order to fuel factory workers with a quick but delicious meal.
There are many different varieties of ramen across Japan, and Sanno ramen is characterized by its blend of soy sauce, pork, and chicken. This is not an oily, greasy ramen, but rather, light and flavorful. Some people, myself included, even consider Sano ramen a perfectly fine breakfast food.
While many modern ramen shops use noodle machines to churn out hundreds of portions an hour, Sano keeps it old school. Chefs use the aodakeuchi method, a long bamboo pole that works the dough before it’s cut and cooked. The bamboo is wedged into a workbench, the chef drapes one leg over the far end, and bounces up and down to massage the dough. It may look more like a fitness class than a kitchen, but this traditional method increases the dough’s gluten content and results in chewy, curly noodles—I’ll never forget my first taste.
Sano ramen shops are typically small, family-run businesses, which often still use age-old, traditional ramen-making methods. One of my favorite ramen restaurants in Sano that still prepares noodles the aodakeuchi way is Tamuraya. The broth is enhanced with beef tendon, and the marinated eggs are a rich amber hue. Furthermore, the ramen here also has wontons, which are made using a different flour than the noodles, so you can experience the contrasting textures with each bite.
If you want the full Sano experience, your next stop has to be Menya Yosuke—the chef here trained at Tamuraya before opening his own restaurant in 2012. I always order extra slices of the melt-in-your-mouth pork belly as well as a side of their crispy gyoza. Menya Yosuke also has 58 seats, making it a good choice for groups.
Sano is an easy day trip from Tokyo—you can make the trip in under 80 minutes on the Shinkansen. But with ramen this delicious, you may find yourself tempted to stay a few nights just to fit in some more bowls.
